Drom complete three-in-a-row as Clonoulty’s wait goes on

CAMOGIE: FBD Insurance County Senior Championship Final

Drom & Inch 3-9

Clonoulty-Rossmore 1-10

Report: Thomas Conway at the Camogie Grounds

MATCH DIGEST

Player of the Match: Niamh Treacy (Drom & Inch)

SCORERS – Drom & Inch: Eimear McGrath 0-6 (5 frees), Joanne Ryan, Anne Eviston 1-1 each; Miriam Campion 1-0; Dee Dunne 0-1.

Clonoulty/Rossmore: Cáit Devane 0-9 (7 frees, 1 '45), Casey Hennessy 1-1.

Secure back-to-back county titles and you’ve achieved something marvellous. Do it three times, and you have yourself an annual tradition and such is the feeling palpable in Drom & Inch camogie circles right now.

After years of playing second fiddle to Burgess-Duharra, the Mid side have broken free of that crucible and established themselves as the power holders in Tipperary Camogie.

Last Saturday, they dispatched Clonoulty-Rossmore in the county final for a second consecutive year, outmanoeuvring a brave and unrelenting performance from Kieran Hammersley’s side. Brave and unrelenting as it might have been however, the display fell just short, matching Drom for effort and perseverance but coming second in terms of skill and panache.

Heading into this final, Drom hadn’t found the net in three games, but that changed dramatically on Saturday. By half-time they had sent the sliotar roaring past Clonoulty keeper Therese Shortt on three separate occasions. Their opponents had also fired one home, Casey Hennessy once again illustrating how effective she can be when given the slightest hint of time and space.

Those opening thirty-plus minutes certainly produced plenty of drama, Drom’s venerated full-forward Joanne Ryan opening the show with a well-taken point just 39 seconds in, her finish teed up by a bursting Eimear McGrath solo-run and a clever offload at just the right moment. It took some time for Clonoulty to respond, until eventually Casey Hennessy stole possession from a pack of players and connected with the ball shoulder height to send it sailing over from the wing.

The Clonoulty supply-lines seemed to be working well, but it was already becoming apparent that the Drom back-line had been programmed to minimise risk. They were as compressed as physically possible, instantly suffocating their opponents whenever a goal chance looked likely, then filtering through to their forwards with typical efficiency.

In the seventh minute, the direction of this game started to materialise. A quick hand-pass from centre-back Aoife McGrath set free Mary Burke, who delivered the ball straight into the hands of Miriam Campion. She cut through like a rocket, flashing the ball mid-height past Shortt and sending her side into a 1-1 to 0-1 lead.

Clonoulty/Rossmore retained their composure, Devane slotting over two frees in five minutes before things took a turn for the better. While the Drom full-back line had dealt with more or less every scramble in the square, they failed to anticipate the danger from outside, and so on thirteen minutes Casey Hennessy cruised in, burning all in her wake and snapping the ball past Caoimhe Bourke in the Drom goal.

Immediately the tempo ramped up, and immediately Drom responded courtesy of an Anne Eviston point. She quickly struck another, with McGrath sending the defending champions back in front just after the water-break. By the 25th minute, they were leading 1-5 to 1-3, but in the moments which followed, Drom would place one hand on the trophy.

A neat ball down the wing from Dee Dunne created space for midfielder McGrath, who swept in from the side-line and sent one across the square. Drom’s first effort was blocked, somewhat heroically, but it was forgotten in an instant, as Joanne Ryan connected sweetly with the breaking ball to net their second goal.

Devane did intervene with a free just after, but with the clock ticking towards half-time, Drom upped the ante once more. A trademark Treacy solo-run brought the ball right into the danger zone, where Eviston was waiting. She was the finisher on this occasion, arrowing past Shortt and contributing to her side’s six-point advantage at half-time, Drom leading 3-5 to 1-5.

Drom manager Pat Ryan admitted in the aftermath that his side knew Clonoulty would come back in force following the interval, and that was exactly what happened. The West side concentrated play in the Drom half for the majority of the quarter, Devane instrumental in every attack. She hit Drom for four in fifteen minutes, three frees and one beautiful effort from play, sending her side right back into contention.

McGrath opened the final quarter with a free, before Treacy raced through diagonally and won another. Again, McGrath made no mistake, and although Clonoulty watched the ball spill off the post at the other end, time was running out. There was late drama when Casey Hennessy was brought down inside the square, resulting in a stoppage-time penalty.

A goal would have reduced the deficit to just a point, but Devane drilled just left of centre, and Bourke killed the ball down onto the turf.

The whistle sounded not long after. Three times and counting for Drom. A Munster Final next on the horizon.

TEAMS - Drom & Inch: Caoimhe Bourke (7), Maria Connolly (7), Maureen Ryan (8), Eimear Cahill (7), Aoife McGrath (8), Mairéad Eviston (7), Niamh Treacy (9), Mary Burke (7), Niamh Long (7), Eimear McGrath (9), Anne Eviston (8), Miriam Campion (7), Dee Dunne (7), Joanne Ryan (8), Michelle Woodlock (7).

Sub: Siobhán McGrath (7) for Woodlock (49).

Clonoulty-Rossmore: Therese Short (6), Lorna Ryan (6), Moira Kinnane (6), Kellie Quirke (6), Katie Murphy (7), Courtney Ryan (8), Eimear Loughman (7), Cora Hennessy (7), Bernie Ryan, Casey Hennessy (8), Cáit Devane (8), Avril Quirke (7), Sinéad Ryan (6), Sarah Fryday (7), Kate Ryan (6).

Sub: Kayleigh Davern (7) for K Ryan (43).

Referee: Philip Shanahan (Nenagh Éire Óg).