Minor A All Ireland Championship Quarter Final
Kilkenny 6-16 Galway 2-11
By Tom Egan
Kilkenny’s minor camogie girls survived a very poor start to their All Ireland quarterfinal last Sunday in Ballinasloe to emerge as comfortable winners in the end. The final scoreline seemed impossible to imagine after nine minutes when they trailed by eight points but Kilkenny worked their way into the game from here, had taken the lead by half time and went on to record a convincing and confidence boosting win in the end.
This was a knockout All Ireland Minor A quarterfinal and the Kilkenny girls knew that an improvement in performance from earlier rounds was needed to avoid exiting the championship at this stage. Aisling O’Sullivan did open the scoring for Kilkenny in the second minute but they played nervously against a breeze afterwards for ten minutes and Galway took full advantage with goals coming from Leah Behan (3rd minute) and a second three minutes later from Mia Rodgers. They looked well in charge when three points from Katie Lawless (2F) saw the lead stretch to 2-4 to 0-2 by the 9th minute. Kilkenny were certainly on the rack at this stage although a fine goal from Ona Kennedy in the 11th minute would turn out to be a turning point in the match. Further scores from Niamh Davis and an Ona Kennedy free reduced the deficit still further. Shannon Doheny’s arrival as an early substitute was helping Kilkenny up their workrate and although Galway added further points from Mary Brigid Cosgrove and Katie Lawless, Kilkenny were now increasingly threatening the Galway defence – and points followed from the lively Molly Conroy, Niamh Davis and Ciara O’Shea before Ciara setup Molly for an excellent goal in the 27th minute to put Kilkenny ahead (2-8 to 2-6). The sides traded points before half time as Lucy Boyd cancelled out a Galway score by Leah Behan but Kilkenny would have been delighted to head to half time with a two point lead with the wind elements to favour them in the second half.
After a dramatic opening half, scores were harder to come by early in the second period as both management teams adjusted their defence formations at half time. Kilkenny had stretched the lead to 2-12 to 2-8 by the 40th minute and when substitute Shona Ruane finished a fine move to the net in the 41st minute, it broke Galway’s spirit and allowed Kilkenny to dominate the rest of the match. Points followed from Emily Phelan and Ona Kennedy before a fine Rachel Phelan goal put Kilkenny 4-13 to 2-9 clear in the 48th minute. Kilkenny did not let up at this stage and further scores came from Shona Ruane (1-2), Eleanor Doheny and Niamh Davis to see them emerge as convincing winners by the time the full time whistle was sounded.
Kilkenny will be delighted to have survived his big quarterfinal test and they can now head to an away semifinal in two weeks with increased confidence. This was a first outing for Ella Walton in goal replacing the injured Jenny Saunders and she grew in confidence throughout this match as the team settled. They will also know that they have a very competitive panel as all substitutes contributed well particularly Shona Ruane who scored 2-2 in the second half. On the day, they were well served by Ona Kennedy, Rachel Phelan, Aisling O’Sullivan, Emily Phelan, Niamh Davis and Molly Conroy. Galway will be disappointed to have ended up on the losing side after failing to build on the fine start – they were best served by Katie Lawless and Leah Behan.
Scorers – Kilkenny – Shona Ruane 2-2, Ona Kennedy 1-3 (1-2f, 1 45), Niamh Davis 0-4, Molly Conroy 1-1, Rachel Phelan, Eleanor Doheny 1-0 each, Aisling O’Sullivan 0-2, Lucy Boyd 0-2 (2f), Ciara O’Sullivan, Emily Phelan 0-1 each
Galway – Katie Lawless 0-7 (7f), Leah Behan 1-1, Mia Rodgers 1-0, Emily Lawless, Mary Brigid Cosgrove 0-1 each, Katelyn Walsh 0-1 (1f)
Kilkenny: Ella Walton, Caoimhe Power, Grace Brennan, Jessica Smith, Ciara Hickey, Ona Kennedy, Taylor Aylward, Rachel Phelan, Eleanor Doheny, Lucy Boyd, Aisling O’Sullivan, Niamh Davis, Emily Phelan, Ciara O’Shea, Molly Conroy. Substitutes: Shannon Doheny, Shona Ruane, Michelle Kileen, Rebecca Hayden, Sadhbh Shefflin.
Galway: Leah Horan, Amy Morgan, Laoise McGrath, Alisha King, Caoimh Fahey, Rebecca Gardiner, Cara O’Brien, Aoife Scarry, Kerri O’Driscoll, Mary Brigid Cosgrove, Katie Lawless, Emma Barrett, Leah Behan, Mia Rodgers, Emily Lawless.
