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2023 Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship Semi-Final – Cork 0-15 Galway 2-6

July 22, 2023 @ 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Cork defeated Galway by 0-15 to 2-6 in the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship Semi-Final on Saturday July 22nd at UPMC Nowlan Park Kilkenny.

Cork grind it out against Galway

By Daragh Ó Conchúir, at UPMC Nowlan Park

Cork 0-15 Galway 2-6

Cork ended a run of eight consecutive losses against Galway, including three this year alone, to emerge victorious in a fiercely fought Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior camogie semi-final at UPMC Nowlan Park.

In front of a strong overall attendance for the televised double header of 7,257, the Rebels held the upper hand for most of proceedings but they found it difficult to shake off their doughty opponents.

With Waterford in the opposite corner for a unique derby final pairing, Cork will be looking to end another losing record, having fallen short in the last four national deciders stretching back to the 2021 All-Ireland.

This was a game that was less elemental than the first semi-final, cagier, with a little more testiness between players who know each other well.

Cork could find their go-to players more easily than Galway, and whereas Matthew Twomey could introduce Laura Hayes, Cliona Healy, Orla Cronin, Ashling Thompson and Orlaith Cahalane off his bench, Cathal Murray has been shorn of the talents of Niamh Kilkenny, Sarah Dervan, Sarah Healy, Catriona Cormican and Heather Cooney to name just five this year.

The westerners, who got the better of the duel between the counties in the Very League Division 1 final, battled all the way to the line, with Aoife Donohue driving them forward and Róisín Black a resolute presence in defence, but Cork would not be denied.

Libby Coppinger and official player of the match Saoirse McCarthy had huge second halves and with the subs having a big involvement, the Cork victory was merited.

It was 0-6 to 1-2 at half-time of this arm wrestle, Mackey slotting two points and O’Connor three on her way to a tally of seven.
Siobhán McGrath buried the first of her two goals in the 17th minute however, thanks to a real bit of magic by Donohue to somehow get a pass off to Rachel Hanniffy, who in turn supplied the Sarsfields finisher who drove low beyond the advancing Amy Lee.

Donohue brought the teams level but half-time sub Hayes and O’Connor pushed Cork clear, while Healy also hit the first of her two points from the bench as Matthew Twomey’s crew moved four clear.

Back came Galway with McGrath’s second goal, after Lee failed to gather, but with so much experience and talent to call upon, as well as vast reservoirs of grit, the Cork response was notable.

Healy lofted her second and when McCarthy, who had powered into the fray in the second half, pointed gloriously from a tight angle, after taking the return from a quickly-taken sideline and making ground up the left before cutting in, felt significant.

With O’Connor bringing her tally to seven and Orlaith Cahalane making it a fourth point from subs for Cork, they would not be pegged back.

SCORERS FOR CORK: A O’Connor 0-7(5fs, 1 45); K Mackey, C Healy 0-2 each; L Hayes, O Cahalane, C Sigerson(f), S McCarthy 0-1 each
SCORERS FOR GALWAY: C Dolan 0-4(3fs); S McGrath 2-0; A Donohue 0-2

CORK: A Lee, M Murphy, L Coppinger, P Mackey, M Cahalane, L Treacy, I O’Regan, A Healy, H Looney, C Sigerson, F Keating, S McCarthy, S McCartan, K Mackey, A O’Connor
Subs: L Hayes for Murphy (ht), O Cronin for McCartan (40); A Thompson for O’Regan (49)

GALWAY: F Ryan, S Healy, R Black, D Higgins, R Hanniffy, E Helebert, A Keane, A Donohue, S Gardiner, S Spellman, C Dolan, N Hanniffy, N McPeake, S McGrath, A O’Reilly
Subs: S Rabbitte for McPeake (33), O McGrath for Gardiner (50)

REFEREE: Ray Kelly (Kildare)

Cork v Galway, UPMC Nowlan Park, 5.30pm
Referee: Ray Kelly (Kildare)
Live on RTÉ2 & RTÉ Player

On pure form figures and a head-to-head from this year, there can only be one winner. But while Cork were bitterly disappointed each of the three times they lost to Galway in the space of two months this year as their run of losses to the Tribeswomen stretched to eight consecutive League and Championship ties since the 2019 All-Ireland semi-final, it would be foolish to discount Matthew Twomey’s side.

There was a League title up for grabs of course in the second of this year’s encounters, after Galway had beaten the Rebels in Páirc Uí Chaoimh to earn their spot in the decider. They then came out on top of another tight game in the opening championship tie, ensuring the Tribeswomen topped their group and came out of the hat for a direct run to the last four.

That was what Cork wanted too but having lost four national finals in a row and fallen short in a number of close games, coming out on top by a point to Kilkenny, the team that had denied them by that margin in last year’s All-Ireland final, had to have been a huge boost, particularly as they were better value for that victory than the minimum margin.

Once more, their conversion rate was not what it should be but the direct running and pace of Saoirse McCarthy and Fiona Keating to name just two created so many opportunities that they deservedly advanced, despite a late Denise Gaule-inspired wobble. They also got Ashling Thompson, Orla Cronin and Laura Hayes on the pitch in the closing stages.

Galway did tremendously to win the League as they were down even more than Cork for a variety of reasons. The likes of Niamh Kilkenny and Sarah Healy remain unavailable but they are closer to full strength than at any time this year. That they could win the League while giving experience to so many younger players was a considerable achievement.

Cathal Murray has always rewarded Spring form over previous heroics. He is used to dealing with the three-week break too and the dual All-Ireland winner has seen the likes of Carrie Dolan assume a strong leadership mantle alongside stalwarts Aoife Donohue and new captain, Shauna Healy.

The Tribeswomen are very strong defensively so the match-ups with the likes of Amy O’Connor and Katrina Mackey as well as the speedsters further out will be interesting. Shauna Healy, Róisín Black and Dervla Higgins will need to be at their best while at the other end Pamela Mackey, Libby Coppinger and Laura Treacy are key figures with the likes of Dolan, Siobhán McGrath, Ailish O’Reilly and at least on occasion, Donohue to watch closer to goal.

Team News

Details

Date:
July 22, 2023
Time:
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Venue

UPMC Nowlan Park Kilkenny

GAA Units

Clare GAA
Cork GAA
Kerry GAA
Limerick GAA
Tipperary GAA
Waterford GAA
US GAA