CORK 3-17
KILKENNY 0-13
TWO Saoirse McCarthy goals ensured Cork’s unblemished Very Camogie Division 1A League record remains intact following victory over Kilkenny at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Leading by one point (1-7 to 0-9) at the interval, a resurgent Cork made it three Division 1A League wins in as many outings thanks to a much-improved second half performance.
Outscoring their opponents 2-10 to 0-4 after the break, a brace of goals from Courcey Rovers’ Saoirse McCarthy and Orlaith Cahalane’s 1-2 ensured the Rebels stayed top of the table.
‘Saoirse is just a brilliant hurler,’ Cork manager Ger Manley told The Southern Star.
‘Her first goal today really kicked off the game. She’s got that ability to just take off. She’s a great finisher as well.
‘Saoirse is up in Dublin at the moment so we don’t see as much of her but, clearly, she is looking after herself. When she gets back down to Cork to be able to work full-time with us again, she is only going to get better.’
There are two games to go in the round-robin section of this year’s league with Cork travelling to second-placed Tipperary next. Third-placed Galway visit Leeside on March 29th by which time Manley and his players will hopefully have secured a league final berth.
‘Those two games will be similar to last year’s final round of league fixtures and will be two tough games for us again,’ Manley added.
‘Tipperary beat us down the park and Galway beat us above in Athenry. Look, that’s why we set out to win our first three league games this year and we have.’
Alas, it isn’t all good news. Injuries to key players, including Izzy O’Regan and St Colum’s Libby Coppinger, means Manley will have to chop and change his line-up over the coming weeks.
‘It is hugely disappointing to lose Izzy O’Regan to a cruciate ligament injury,’ Manley said.
‘I don’t know what it is with the cruciates because we lost Lucy Kelly to the same injury earlier in the year. Izzy’s probably been one of our most consistent players since I have been involved.
'Libby Coppinger has a broken finger, which is also unfortunate, but we hope to have her back in action in the next three or four weeks.’
Injured: Libby Coppinger.
Last Saturday, Kilkenny settled quickly and were ahead thanks to early Laura Murphy, Aobha O’Gorman and Aoife Prendergast scores. Orlaith Cahalane was denied a goal by Kilkenny goalkeeper Aoife Norris shortly after.
Cork kept pressing and reduced the deficit to a single point once Sorcha McCartan and Kate Wall found their range. Kilkenny’s response was swift as Prendergast and O’Gorman frees plus a fine Steffi Fitzgerald point made it 0-6 to 0-2 just past the quarter-hour mark.
Creditably, despite being unable to settle into their usual rhythm, the hosts hit back when Cahalane fired into the net. The same player raised a white flag after Aoife Prendergast and Saoirse McCarthy had exchanged frees.
Then, a free-flowing Cork hit the front for the first time thanks to Kate Wall. The opening half concluded amid a welter of excitement as Amy Lee cleared off her goal-line. Two Sorcha McCartan scores handed Cork a 1-7 to 0-9 lead after Laura Murphy and Caoimhe Keher-Murtagh pointed at the opposite end.
The Rebels were far more clinical once play resumed. Sorcha McCartan (two frees), Orlaith Cahalane, Emma Murphy and Katrina Mackey raised consecutive white flags during a dominant spell. Next, Saoirse McCarthy put the seal on yet another eye-catching performance by billowing the net.
Unable to stem the tide, Kilkenny pulled a couple of points back via Niamh Deely and Asha McHardy. There would be no denying a rampant Cork however, as McCarthy netted her second and match-clinching goal late on.
Our Star: Saoirse McCarthy has carried her superb form from 2024 into the current campaign. 0-2 against Waterford, 0-3 against Dublin and 2-1against Dublin means the Courcey Rovers player poses a consistent scoring threat.
Scorers
Cork: S McCarthy 2-1 (1f); S McCartan 0-7 (4f), O Cahalane 1-2; K Wall, K Mackey 0-2 each; C Finn, A Fitzgerald and E Murphy 0-1 each.
Kilkenny: A Prendergast (2f), L Murphy (1f) 0-3 each; C Keher-Murtagh, A O’Gorman 0-2 each; N Deely, S Fitzgerald, A McHardy 0-1 each.
Cork: A Lee; M Murphy, P Mackey, M Cahalane; H Looney, L Treacy, L Hayes; A Thompson, M Condon; S McCarthy, K Wall, C O’Sullivan; O Cahalane, S McCartan, C Finn.
Subs: K Mackey for C O’Sullivan (37), E Murphy for M Condon (40), A Fitzgerald for K Wall (49), R Harty for H Looney (55), O Mullins for O Cahalane (55).
Kilkenny: A Norris; M Teehan, T Fitzgerald, C Phelan; N Deely, C Dowling, D Quigley; L Murphy, A O’Gorman; M O’Connell, S Fitzgerald, K Doyle; C Keher-Murtagh, L Green, A Prendergast.
Subs: C Doheny for M O’Connell (ht), A McHardy for A O’Gorman (44), A Brett for M Teehan (45), S Dwyer for A Prendergast (52).
Referee: Ray Kelly (Kildare).
