Drom stave off spirited Silvermines challenge

CAMOGIE: FBD Insurance Tipperary Senior Championship Group 2

Silvermines 0-8

Drom & Inch 1-15

Report: James Hayden in Dolla

Drom & Inch maintained their unbeaten start to the Tipperary Senior Camogie Championship with victory over a spirited Silvermines side on Tuesday week last.

While the final margin suggested a relatively comfortable outcome, the scoreline failed to fully reflect the competitive nature of an absorbing second-half contest, as Silvermines emerged from the interval with renewed determination and subjected the favourites to sustained pressure.

Drom & Inch, however, had done much of the damage in the opening half, establishing a commanding 0-10 to 0-2 advantage. Player of the match Ciara Cahill was central to Drom's impressive opening, scoring three points inside the first ten minutes and repeatedly causing problems for the Silvermines defence with her direct running and intelligent movement.

The visitors made an assured start, with Cahill opening their account inside two minutes before adding a second point moments later. Cahill was proving a constant menace and, six minutes later, she again surged through the heart of the Silvermines defence before confidently splitting the posts for her third score.

Silvermines struggled to match Drom's intensity during the opening quarter and that slow start ultimately proved costly. Further points from Eimear McGrath (free) and Cahill extended the visitors' advantage to five by the mid-way point.

Drom continued to press with Mairead Eviston adding a fine point before Cahill completed another promising attack as the Mid side stretched their lead to seven by the 20-minute mark.

To their credit, Silvermines refused to buckle and finally opened their account in the 21st minute when Brid Quinn confidently converted a well-struck free. The 2023 county champions responded immediately with Eviston and McGrath, again from a free, finding the target to restore Drom's dominance.

Silvermines did manage to register another score in the 28th minute and almost had a third moments later when Ellen & Niamh Cunneen combined cleverly to create an opening, only for the effort to drift narrowly wide. Sarah Madden also came close to reducing the deficit late in the half when her snapshot just missed the target, but it was Drom who had the final say before the interval.

Sarah Jane Ormonde produced an assured finish to leave the visitors firmly in control at 0-10 to 0-2 heading into the dressing room.

If Silvermines' first-half performance had been disappointing, their response after the restart was anything but. They emerged with renewed purpose and immediately began to put Drom under pressure. McGrath extended the lead with a free, but two quick-fire points from Ellen & Maeve Cunneen signalled that the 'Mines were intent on making a contest of it.

The home side were now taking the game to Drom and their work-rate and intensity were causing the Mid side plenty of problems. However, just as the home side appeared to be building momentum, Drom struck a decisive blow in the 39th minute when Miriam Campion found the net. The goal was a significant setback but it failed to extinguish their fighting spirit.

With the rain continuing to fall heavily, Silvermines continued to attack and were rewarded when Sarah Madden finished off a beautifully constructed move. Brid Quinn produced an excellent piece of skill to pop the sliotar off her hurl and into the path of the advancing Madden, who made no mistake with a sweetly struck finish.

Drom responded with successive points from Aoife & Eimear McGrath, the latter from a free, but Silvermines continued to battle and Quinn converted another free in the 49th minute to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

The closing stages belonged to the ‘Mines as they added two points through Nessa Murray and a Quinn free. Drom might even have extended their winning margin further, and were unfortunate not to convert a couple of additional opportunities.

In the end, Drom & Inch's greater efficiency and stronger opening half earned them a deserved ten-point victory and maintained their unbeaten championship start.

For Silvermines, there was disappointment at the slow start, but considerable encouragement can be taken from the manner in which they responded after half-time. Their second-half performance demonstrated plenty of character and resilience.

Drom & Inch, meanwhile, continue to underline their credentials as serious contenders for county honours, with their ability to combine attacking quality with resilience in difficult conditions particularly encouraging as the championship progresses.

Player of the Match: Ciara Cahill (Drom & Inch).

Silvermines: Ashling Carey (7); Ava Quigley (7), Miriam Murphy (7), Grace Quinn (7); Jane Ryan (7), Eimear Murphy (7), Kellie O’Dwyer (7); Sarah Madden (0-1, 7), Niamh Cunneen (7); Maeve Cunneen (0-1, 7), Brid Quinn (0-4f, 8), Ciara Ryan (Capt, 7); Aoife Ryan (7), Nessa Murray (0-1, 7), Ellen Cunneen (0-1, 7).

Drom & Inch: Caoimhe Bourke (7); Eimear Cahill (7), Christina Brennan (7), Maureen Ryan (7); Michelle Woodlock (7), Mairead Eviston (0-2, 8), Aoife McGrath (0-1, 7); Niamh Long (7), Ciara Cahill (0-5, 9); Laurie Mullins (7), Mary Bourke (7), Caroline Shanahan (7); Sara Jayne Ormonde (0-1, 7), Eimear McGrath (0-5f, 8), Miriam Campion (1-1, 8).

Sub: Tara Hoare (6) for Ormonde (53).

Referee: Joe Leahy (Moyne-Templetuohy).