Irish Daily Star National Camogie League Division 1 Final – Cork 0-12 Wexford 1-7

Cotter power drives Rebelettes to glory

Report from the Irish Independent newspaper

CORK 0-12 WEXFORD 1-7 CAMOGIE NATIONAL LEAGUE FINAL – 06 MAY 2013

Cork retained the Division 1 title with a deserved victory over new-look Wexford at Nowlan Park. While the Rebelettes will be without Gemma O’Connor for the season due to Army duties, it is strange to see Wexford lining out without the services of Catherine O’Loughlin, Claire O’Connor and Una Leacy. This was a repeat of last year’s final but the flow was different as, on this occasion, it was Cork having a strong opening period and Wexford attempting to reel them in after the resumption. The ultimate result was the same, though, with player of the match Orla Cotter helping to ensure a midfield dominance that was critical.

With Rena Buckley in typically unwavering form at centre-back, Wexford’s forward unit were unable to make any significant headway until Ursula Jacob goaled from a 60th-minute penalty. That gave them renewed hope late on but though Kate Kelly, who had a big impact off the bench, reduced the margin to the minimum, they couldn’t find an equaliser in the four remaining minutes of injury-time. Instead, Cork substitute Finola Neville found the target with almost the last puck of the ball to secure a two-point victory. Wexford opened very brightly thanks to points from Ursula Jacob and Fiona Kavanagh but two frees from Cotter had Cork level by the seventh minute. Sile Burns and Jacob exchanged scores but the latter, from a ninth-minute free, proved to be Wexford’s last score of the half as Cork opened up. With the Leesiders monopolising possession from either team’s puckouts, they pushed ahead with points from Julia White, Briege Corkery, O’Sullivan and Burns to give them a 0-7 to 0-3 advantage at the break.

The scoring rate dropped considerably in the third quarter, with Jacob’s 39th-minute free the only return. It took Cork 18 minutes to get going again in the second half but White and Katrina Mackey’s quick-fire efforts certainly put Paudie Murray’s crew in the box seat. Frances Doran struck back with a lovely point from play before Kelly popped over the first of her two points. When Mackey and Cotter (45) raised white flags with six minutes remaining, it looked like curtains for Wexford. A penalty awarded for a foul on Kelly was blasted to the Cork net to give Martin Lynch and his charges hope, but they had left themselves too much to do.

SCORERS – Cork: O Cotter 0-3 (2fs, 1 ’45’), S Burns, J White, K Mackey 0-2 each, B Corkery, E O’Sullivan, F Neville 0-1 each. Wexford: U Jacob 1-3 (0-2fs), K Kelly 0-2, F Kavanagh, F Doran 0-1 each

CORK – A Murray; P Mackey, M Walsh, L O’Connell; D Cronin, R Buckley, A Geary; O Cotter, A Thompson; B Corkery, E O’Sullivan, K Mackey; S Burns, A Deasy, J White. Subs: J O’Leary for Deasy, F Neville for K Mackey.

WEXFORD – M D’Arcy; C Donohue, N Lambert, K Atkinson; F Doran, M Leacy, S Kehoe; J Dwyer, L Hammell; F Kavanagh, A Leacy, B Gordon; K Parrock, U Jacob, F Rochford. Subs: L O’Leary for Donohue, K Kelly for A Leacy, S Sinnott for Hammell, S McGovern for Rochford.

REF – F McNamara (Clare)

Cotter drives Cork to glory

By Daragh Ó Conchúir for the Irish Examiner newspaper

Cork 0-12 Wexford 1-7

Cork retained their National Camogie League Division 1 title with a deserved victory over new-look Wexford at Nowlan Park yesterday. The Model County, minus the services of Catherine O’Loughlin, Claire O’Connor and Una Leacy, struggled in the first half, but made a valiant attempt to rescue the game on the restart. But there was to be no denying Cork, with player of the match Orla Cotter dominating midfield and Rena Buckley in typically unwavering form at centre-back.

Wexford opened with points from Ursula Jacob and Fiona Kavanagh, but two frees from Cotter had Cork level. Síle Burns and Jacob exchanged scores, but the latter proved to be Wexford’s last score of the half. Points from Julia White, Briege Crokery, O’Sullivan and Burns gave Cork a 0-7 to 0-3 advantage at the break. The scoring rate dropped considerably in the third quarter, with Jacob’s 39th-minute free the only return. It took Cork 18 minutes to get going again in the second half, but White and Katrina Mackey got Paudie Murray’s side moving. Frances Doran struck back with a lovely point before sub Kate Kelly popped over the first of her two points. When Mackey and Cotter (45) raised white flags with six minutes remaining, it looked like curtains for Wexford, but a penalty awarded for a foul on Kelly was blasted to the Cork net by Jacob. Instead, Cork substitute Finola Neville found the target with almost the last puck of the ball to secure a two-point victory.

Scorers for Cork: O Cotter 0-3 (2f, 1 45); S Burns, J White, K Mackey 0-2 each; B Corkery, E O’Sullivan, F Neville 0-1 each

Scorers for Wexford: U Jacob 1-3 (0-2f); K Kelly 0-2; F Kavanagh, F Doran 0-1 each

CORK: A Murray; P Mackey, M Walsh, L O’Connell; D Cronin, R Buckley, A Geary; O Cotter, A Thompson; B Corkery, E O’Sullivan, K Mackey; S Burns, A Deasy, J White.

Subs: J O’Leary for Deasy; F Neville for K Mackey.

WEXFORD: M D’Arcy; C Donohue, N Lambert, K Atkinson; F Doran, M Leacy, S Kehoe; J Dwyer, L Hammell; F Kavanagh, A Leacy, B Gordon; K Parrock, U Jacob, F Rochford.

Subs: L O’Leary for Donohue; K Kelly for A Leacy, S Sinnott for Hammell, S McGovern for Rochford.

Referee: F McNamara (Clare)