Kildare cough up six-point lead as they come undone against Cavan
Kildare's Niamh Mortell is hit with a tackle by Cavan's Niamh Keenaghan Photos: Michael Anderson
Despite carving out a six-point cushion by the midway point in the first half, Kildare still finished second best to Cavan when the two sides locked horns in the Glen Dimplex Premier Junior Camogie Championship in Manguard Park on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors, having reduced their arrears to just two (1-5 to 0-6) by the interval, outgunned their opponents by six in the second half to secure a comeback win that extends their perfect run in this season’s competition to three games.
Meanwhile, the Lilies remain empty-handed after their opening three championship fixtures, leaving them facing must-win games against Wicklow and Tyrone over the next three weeks if they are to have any chance of clinching a semi-final berth.
The two teams exchanged points in the opening two minutes of Saturday’s clash, Aoife Stynes striking over for Kildare after just 30 seconds, only to see Eimear Brady respond with a free for Cavan.
The next 12 minutes would prove Kildare’s most productive spell of the match, as they served up a further 1-3 without reply, Caoimhe Ní Bhuircéal igniting that run with a free before Aoife McDermott latched on to Róisín Forde’s pass and fired to the back of the net on four minutes.
McDermott then won another free for Rob O’Neill’s side after she was caught on the ankle by Ciara Shalvey, Ní Bhuircéal again doing the honours before the same player converted another big score from wide out on the left to make it 1-4 to 0-1 on the quarter-hour mark.
Shanise Fitzsimons went very close to rattling the net for Cavan when her strike few right across the face of goal and out of play, but the lively wing forward did get her side up and running again when she served up a tremendous 18th-minute point from off the right touchline.
A goal was very nearly added to that score when Brady delivered in a threatening delivery that dropped right in under the Kildare crossbar, but goalkeeper and captain, Róisín Roche was adjudged to have been impeded in her bid to gather the ball and Kildare were able to clear their lines.
Cavan, however, kept on coming, and, after Fitzsimons served up another brilliant point from a similar position to her first, Róisín O’Keefe and Brady combined for a further three without response that brought Cavan back to within two.
And they might well have taken the lead before the half-time recess, had Emma Plunkett been a bit more fortunate with her attempt on goal that dribbled out the wrong side of the right post from a Cavan perspective.
Instead, Kildare held on to their narrow two-point advantage by the interval, and enlarged it to three a minute into the second half when Ní Bhuircéal converted another free.
But Cavan were not about to fall adrift again and stormed back with points from Fitzsimons and O’Keefe, that served to restore parity by the 38th minute.
McDermott edged Kildare back in front, but that lead was short-lived as Brady converted a further two frees and Niamh Keenaghan also got on the scoresheet to see Cavan overtake into a three-point lead.
Kildare did their utmost to work more possession into their full-forward line, but the Cavan defence maintained that intensity and energy to keep them at bay, affording their hosts just a further two points over the closing 13 minutes of play.
And while Ní Bhuircéal converted her fifth free of the day and Forde opened her account on 54 minutes, the scores were just too few and far between for the homeside, who saw this game slip away from them as Keenaghan and Brady served up some late points.
Although they have nothing to show for their opening three rounds of the competition, Kildare will be hopeful of getting off the mark against fellow strugglers, Wicklow in just under a fortnight’s time ahead of another crunch game against Tyrone a week later.
Eimear Brady 0-8 (0-7 frees), Shanise Fitzsimons 0-3, Róisín O’Keefe 0-3, Niamh Keenaghan 0-2.
Aoife McDermott 1-2, Caoimhe Ní Bhuircéal 0-5 (0-5 frees), Aoife Stynes 0-1, Róisín Forde 0-1.
Michelle Ennis, Nomonde Majola, Roise Crowe-McKeever, Ciara Shalvey, Aideen Coyle, Alannah Tierney, Rebecca Fitzsimons, Hannah Fitzsimons, Niamh Keenaghan, Róisín O’Keefe, Eimear Brady, Shanise Fitzsimons, Daria Kaledek, Emma Plunkett, Aoibhe Conaty.
Aela O’Sullivan for Conaty (47 mins) and Eavan O’Sullivan for Rebecca Fitzsimons (49 mins).
Róisín Roche, Róisín Naughton, Laoise Mimnagh, Sadhbh Horgan, Caoimhe O’Sullivan, Aoife McCarthy, Kate Murphy, Sara Carroll, Hannah Davis, Niamh Farrell, Caoimhe Ní Bhuircéal, Aoife Stynes, Niamh Mortell, Róisín Forde, Aoife McDermott.
Lea Sutton for Mortell (42 mins), Gráinne Dowling for Naughton (47 mins) and Sophie Hazzard for Farrell (54 mins).
Paul O’Neill
