Tipp aim to edge closer to quarter finals

CAMOGIE: Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Championship Group 1 Round 4 Preview

By Joe Scully

LIMERICK v TIPPERARY

Cappamore

Saturday, 21st June

Throw-in @ 1.00pm

Referee: Gavin Donegan (Dublin)

Tipperary make the short trip to Limerick on Saturday for their third game in the group stage of the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship, knowing a win will put them in a very strong position to qualify for the knockout stages.

It has been a mixed campaign to date for the Premier ladies who suffered an eighteen point defeat at the hands of Cork in their opening fixture but bounced back in fine style, travelling to Wexford and coming back with a 32-point victory.

For Tipperary manager Denis Kelly, Saturday’s fixture is another opportunity to right the wrongs of the Cork game, but he knows it will be a tough game for his side against an ever-improving Limerick outfit, Tipperary having beaten them in the first round of the Munster championship earlier in the campaign.

“We were happy with the way we responded in the Wexford game after not reaching our levels against Cork,” he admitted.

“We’re looking forward to Limerick after a two-week break and raring to go again.

“We know Limerick will be tough, they have a win and a draw so far under their belt, and they have definitely been improving game on game, so it will be a bigger challenge than it was in the Munster Championship, so we will need to be ready for it and we can’t be complacent.

“We need to take this game as serious as we do every game and if we can do that we should have a good chance.”

The Templemore based primary school teacher has been very happy with his sides reaction since the Cork defeat and wants to see more going forward.

“Look, the girls themselves were disappointed with the way they performed that day,” he admitted.

“But they have really come back strong, and training has been top class for the last few weeks, and they are really pushing themselves in training and yeah delighted with the way they have responded and looking forward to another big performance against Limerick on Saturday.

There are one or two injury concerns for Tipp ahead of the game and a decision will be made closer to the weekend on Caoimhe Maher and Sarah Corcoran.

“Caoimhe Maher had a concussion after the Cork game, and Sarah Corcoran got a knock in the last game so them two in particular we’re not sure about just yet,” Kelly revealed.

“But our panel is good and strong, and we are looking to get other players in to get them a bit of game time, so we will see how things fare out.”

It's another big game for Tipperary and they head into it knowing a win will go a long way to securing safe passage to the knockout stage, and depending on other results in the group, a win might secure a quarter final place ahead of their final group game against Clare.