Minors continue hot start

CAMOGIE: Tesco All-Ireland Minor Camogie Championship Group 3 Round 2

Tipperary 2-18

Wexford 0-6

Report: Thomas Conway at The Ragg Camogie grounds

MATCH DIGEST

Player of the Match: Anna Fahie (Tipperary)

SCORERS - Tipperary: Lisa O’Connor 0-6 frees; Celine Guinan 1-2 (1-0 ‘45), Grace Moloney 0-4; Cora Heffernan 1-0; Anna Fahie, Orla O’Brien 0-2 each; Kate Ralph, Aoife Dwyer 0-1 each.

Wexford: Sarah Doyle 0-3 (2 frees); Sadbh Buttle 0-2; Ciara Butler 0-1.

Having opened their All-Ireland campaign with an impressive win over Limerick the previous weekend, Tipperary’s camogie minors had made a statement, established a platform, and generated momentum.

Building on that momentum was the objective last Sunday against Wexford, and they completed the task in expert fashion, delivering a superb all-round display and effectively sealing their place in the knockout stages of this year’s championship.

Although the under-18 competition has only existed since 2006, Wexford have never featured in an All-Ireland minor final. Tipp, in contrast, have made three appearances, winning two of them, the most recent in 2016. If they continue to execute performances similar to last weekend, they stand every chance of securing another final berth, though Michael Ferncombe will not allow his players to countenance any thoughts of glory when the road to the top prize still stretches far into the distance.

The fit again Celine Guinan began the onslaught in the third minute, breaking through and flicking over from close-range, having been unleashed by a brilliantly-weighted cross-field ball from centre-forward Grace Moloney. Moloney is arguably the greatest exemplar of Tipp’s attacking style - full of incessant energy, expansive running and creative on-the-ball vision.

Furthermore, Tipp are as proficient in front of the posts as they are relentless in their work-ethic, and they demonstrated that throughout. Anna Fahie was next on the scoresheet, latching onto a neat O’Connor pass and weaving her way in before slotting over from the wing.

Goals are not a necessity for this Tipp team, nor are they an outright priority, which in itself indicates a certain self-confidence. Eighteen points is a considerable total on any day, particularly in mid-February, so when Aoife Dwyer swept through on goal in the fifth minute, her decision to fire over rather than under the crossbar was clearly a conscious decision, as opposed to a last-minute reversal. O’Connor followed it with a well-struck free, but then the tenor of this game suddenly changed.

Wexford started to run with purpose; they started to hassle and harry; they started to play direct into the full-forward line, bypassing Tipp’s central command - the half-back line, always expertly marshalled by Abbie Lenihan. Sadbh Buttle knocked over the visitors’ first point approaching the tenth minute, before another flowing move saw Niamh Costigan slip a handpass through to full-forward Sarah Doyle. For a second the waters seemed to part in front of her, but Doyle hesitated slightly before pulling the trigger, eventually sending her effort rocketing over for Wexford’s second point.

An unfortunate injury to Wexford full-back Niamh O’Rourke then created a temporary hiatus, with play delayed several minutes as she received treatment before departing the field.

Whatever momentum Wexford had built, it dissipated entirely on the resumption, Tipp re-assuming control and dominating the middle, Kate Ferncombe instrumental in almost every move. O’Connor clocked in with another free, Moloney arrowed one over from the wing, and Tipp steered towards half-time in cruise control, leading 0-10 to 0-4 at the interval.

To their credit, Wexford never stopped working, displaying flashes of potential while playing a refreshingly traditional no-nonsense brand of camogie. Soon enough however, the second-half became an act of repetition, Tipp stealing possession in the middle third and spraying the ball towards the space of the wings, where Anna Fahy et al., would invariably conjure up a scoring move. The latter, enlisted at corner forward but operating in a far more extensive role, slotted her second in as efficient a manner as could be imagined - snapping a rolling ball and whisking over on the turn, extending Tipp’s advantage to nine points.

As previously referenced, goals were never a concern for Tipp, so much so that their first one wasn’t even wanted. O’Connor had departed the action, leaving Guinan to assume the placed-ball duties. She may have miscued the 45, but it flew in the right direction, deceiving Kate Butler in the Wexford goal and securing Tipp’s first goal just as the last ten minutes began to evaporate.

Cora Heffernan’s effort some moments later was far more impressive, but again it arose from a defensive miscalculation - a short puck-out gone wrong, with disastrous consequences, Heffernan forcing a turnover and rifling the ball home from an angle.

You can waste countless years waiting patiently for minor talent to transfuse its way into the senior ranks, only for it never to arrive, leaving fans perplexed and coaches irritated. Best to seize the moment and not think too far ahead. That seems to be Michael Ferncombe’s strategy in the context of this Tipp minor team. And so far, it seems to be working.

TEAMS – Tipperary: Kacey Meehan (Brian Borus 7), Lily Fahie (Cashel King Cormacs 7), Niamh Franks (Shannon Rovers 7), Shauna Heffernan (Eire Og Annacarty 7), Lorna Ryan (Clonoulty/Rossmore 7), Abbie Lenihan (Newport/Ballinahinch 8), Emma Horgan (Boherlahan-Dualla 7), Kate Ferncombe (Clonoulty/Rossmore 8), Orla O'Brien (Eire Og Annacarty 8), Aoife Dwyer (Thurles Sarsfields 7), Grace Moloney (Cashel King Cormacs 8), Niamh Costigan (Cahir 7), Lisa O'Connor (Boherlahan-Dualla 7), Celine Guinan (Shannon Rovers 8), Anna Fahie (Cashel King Cormacs 8).

Subs: Kate Ralph (Moycarkey/Borris 7) for Dwyer (42); Cora Heffernan (Eire Og Annacarty 8) for O’Connor (50); Eimear Fogarty (Shannon Rovers 6) for Lily Fahie (55); Maebh Ryan (Holycross/Ballycahill NR) for Franks (59).

Wexford: Kate Butler (6), Zoe Tobin Cosgrove (6), Niamh O'Rourke (6), Martha Kavanagh (6), Rebecca Ogilvie (7), Karen Tomkins (7), Roisin Hughes (6), Nicola Corrigan (7), Cora McGrath (7), Orla Redmond (6), Aoibheann Mernagh (6), Sadbh Buttle (7), Ciara Butler (7), Sarah Doyle (7), Caoimhe Byrne (6).

Subs: Lizzie Dempsey (6) for O’Rourke (16 inj); Robyn O’Connor (7) for McGrath (26 inj); Katie Sweetnam (6) for Redmond (48); Leah Furlong (6) for Hughes (51).

Referee: Ray Kelly (Kildare).