Five-in-a-row For Naas after Conleth’s thriller
Naas lifted their fifth successive Kildare Senior Camogie title on Friday evening at Cedral St Conleths Park.
Hats off to the camogie players of Naas and Celbridge who, on a bitterly cold October Friday evening, served up a heartwarming and breathtaking Senior Camogie Final in Cedral St Conleth’s Park. From the moment Referee, Ray Kelly, blew the whistle to start the game until he blew it again to end it six minutes over the regulation sixty minutes, we were treated to a merry go round of physicality, of hooking, blocking, tackling, relentless attacking and resolute defending, six great goals and no little skill between two determined and well drilled teams. At the end of it all it was defending champions, Naas, who delivered on the Drive for Five and claimed their ninth title in all while Celbridge were left to wait another year to try and claim the title they last won in 2021. The two clubs have shared eight of the last nine titles with Johnstownbridge the only interruption in 2019.
It was a thriller that has seldom been witnessed from any of the four codes that grace the green sward of Cedral St Conleth’s Park, tenderly manicured by Fintan Barrett and his team, over the last number of years. The excitement and the tension were palpable throughout with the game, as a spectacle, made all the better by the “let it flow” attitude of Referee Kelly. The sizable crowd, populated by a greater number from Celbridge, gave great support to the players from first whistle to last.
Points by Rebecca McDermott and her namesake, Aoife gave Naas an early lead but these were quickly cancelled by two frees from Celbridge corner forward, Ella Copeland. The Hazelhatch side may have been living off scraps from a tight Naas defence but those scraps turned to manna in the ninth minute when midfielder, Niamh McInerney, set up Copeland for a brilliant, Celbridge goal and again in the fifteenth minute when wing forward, Maura Brady, reacted quickest to a Copeland free that came off the post to fire past county goalkeeper, Roisin Roche, in the Naas goal. In between we had a sweet goal from Allie McGrath for Naas from a pass by Sara Carroll. Three great goals in the space of five minutes. And breathe!
Naas, now trailing by three points, 2-2 to 1-2, slowly worked themselves back into the game and fierce pressure from the defending champions was met with resolute defending from the challengers. Points by captain, Caoimhe Maher and Rebecca McDermott (free) reduced the deficit to one and four minutes from the break Allie McGrath claimed a Celbridge puck out to drive through the defence and give Megan Doherty Brennan no chance for her second goal of the evening. An Ella Copeland free left just a point in it at half time, 2-4 to 2-3 as the players left the field to a great and fitting ovation. Celbridge were dealt a blow when top scorer, Copeland, didn’t appear for the second half, although her replacement, Holly Tynan put in a fine performance.
McGrath increased the Naas lead to two points early in the second half but a scoring burst of 1-1 in the space of a minute by centre half forward, Aoife Treacy, had Celbridge in front by two, seven minutes after the restart. Time for Naas to reset again and although Aoife McDermott and Róisín McDermott exchanged points, Naas began to take a firmer grip of proceedings, without fully fending off the Celbridge challenge. The defending champions outscored Celbridge 1-7 to 0-3 in the final ten minutes with the goal coming from captain, Maher in the 42nd minute after a good pass from Aoife Stynes. Substitute Roise Hennessy added a couple of points and Rebecca McDermott popped over three placed balls and while continued in a welter of excitement, the closest Celbridge got to a goal that might have brought them back into the game was an attempted goal from a Holly Tynan free which was batted away for a ’45 which was converted by another substitute, Niamh O’Connor. And breathe again!
Roisin Roche; Aine Conway, Aoife McCarthy, Kate Murphy; Maria Doyle, Aoife Keane, Millie Kelleher; Orlaith Delaney, Aoife Stynes 0-1; Sara Carroll, Allie McGrath 2-1, Rebecca McDermott 0-5 (3 frees, 1 X ’45); Aoife McDermott 0-3, Caoimhe Maher 1-1, Sophie Hazzard. Subs: Roise Hennessy 0-2 for Sophie Hazzard H/T. Niamh Hegarty for Aine Conway 59.
Megan Doherty Brennan; Tiegan Brennan, Annie Courtney, Meabh O’Donovan; Fionnuala Hughes, Neasa Ní Ógáin, Emma Barry; Chanice Corcoran, Niamh McInerney; Maura Brady 1-0, Aoife Treacy 1-2, Orla Carragher; Ella Copeland 1-3 (2 frees), Niamh Mortell, Roisin Gilchrist 0-1. Subs: Niamh O’Connor 0-1 (1 X ’45) for Niamh McInerney H/T, Holly Tynan for Ella Copeland H/T, Mia Mahon for Chanice Corcoran 53, Rebecca Lynch for Maura Brady 55, Roisin Naughton for Emma Barry 58, Ciosa Kelly for Meabh O’Donovan, Ämer Reilly 0-1 for Róisín Gilchriest 61.
Ray Kelly.
