Goals kill off Naas chances in Camross
Ciara Ryan tries to get a shot away for Naas before Camross' Leah Daly can block Photo: Denis Byrne
Naas came to the end of the road in their hunt for Leinster Intermediate Championship glory as they travelled to face Laois champions Camross on Saturday.
It was war of attrition like stuff in the early stages of the contest even though conditions were ideal for camogie as the sun beat from the sky.
Ultimately it was the physicality of the home side that gave them the edge in the contest as they won the war in the opening 15 minutes against a younger Naas side and set out their stall early with some hard tackles in the middle of the field, nullifying the running game of the visitors.
Despite that, Rebecca McDermott and Caoimhe Maher both put in good performances, however it was Roisin Roche in the goals that stood out the most for Naas.
Despite the concession of six goals, the stopper was excellent and without her things could have been much worse for Naas as she pulled off some great saves and remained calm and composed under a barrage of high balls from Camross.
It was also a quick turnaround for this Naas side from their quarter-final saga which saw them drawing with Wicklow champions Knockananna at the end of full time, extra time and extra extra time which meant they had to play for 90 minutes before eventually coming out on top in a 45 shootout.
For Camross, they came away with a much less dramatic three point win over Westmeath champions Clonkill in their quarter final.
The strength of the Camross backs played a major role in the victory for the Laois champions who will now go on to face Na Fianna of Meath in the final this weekend.
Donnagh Mortimer and Aisling Burke were excellent in defence for them, which allowed the likes of Sarah Anne Fitzerald, Kirsteen Keenan and Erin Walsh to flourish in attack.
Naas did get the first score on the board through the energetic Rebecca McDermott, aided by a slight breeze that blew behind her, though Camross quickly replied after a trademark speeding run from Andrea Scully.
Kirsten Keenan and Aimee Collier both battled for scores from play either side of a Sarah Anne Fitzgerald free to send Camross ahead by three with six minutes gone.
It took nine minutes for the next score to come as the sides worked had in the middle of the field to stamp their authority on the game, aided by the free flowing nature of referee Gavin Donegan.
Naas got four of the next five scores with two frees from McDermott along with brilliant efforts from play by Caoimhe Maher and Aoife Stynes, but crucially for Camross in the midst of those scores Kirsten Keenan latched onto a ball and turned to drive it home into the net.
Despite being the dominant side for much of the half the hosts led by just two as Stynes and Fitzgerald traded points but things would turn bad for Naas before the safety of half time.
A long ball was pumped into the heart of the Camross defence and as usual excellently fielded by Donnagh Mortimer before finding its way into the grasp of Erin Walsh who tore into space before finishing neatly and Camross made it three goals when Leah Daly took off on a run before finding Keenan who netted her second before the break to make it 3-5 to 0-6.
Grainne Delaney opened the second half with a point and Camross continued to dominate proceedings after the break.
Fitgerald slotted a free after Keenan was fouled and soon found herself in for a quick brace of goals.
The first came off the back of another dazzling run by Walsh and the second came just seconds later after a great move by Andrea Scully and that effectively meant it was game over with 20 minutes still to play on the clock.
The sides traded a brace of scores with McDermott on the double for Naas in reply to Fitzgerald and Scully for the hosts.
There was still time for a cherry on top for Camross however when Aimee Collier found herself in possession to rattle net from close range to make it six goals for Camross, which truly was no reflection on the performance of Naas goalie Roisin Roche who had a great game and denied many Camross attempts.
To their credit Naas saw out the game with four points in a row through two each for McDemott and Maher, but it wasn’t to be as their season came to an abrupt stop.
Sarah Anne Fitzgerald 2-4 (0-4 frees), Kirsten Keenan 2-1, Aimee Collier 1-1, Erin Walsh 1-0, Grainne Delaney 0-2, Andrea Scully 0-1.
Rebecca McDermott 0-7 (0-6 frees), Caoimhe Maher 0-3, Aoife Stynes 0-2.
Niamh Dollard; Mairead Burke, Aisling Burke, Fiona Scully; Aoife Collier, Donnagh Mortimer, Ella Cuddy; Luisne Delaney, Aimee Collier; Leah Daly, Grainne Delaney, Andrea Scully; Erin Walsh, Sarah Anne Fitzgerald, Kirsten Keenan.
Aoife Daly for Delaney (47), Tara Lowry for Scully (51), Sile Burke for Fitzgerald (54), Sara Cuddy for Keenan, Ava Guilfoyle for M Burke, Muireann Bennett for Daly and Chloe O’Riordan for F Scully (all 58).
Roisin Roche; Aoife Keane, Aine Conway, Fahsai Ni Chonchradha; Kate Murphy, Niamh Hegarty, Aoife McCarthy; Orlaith Delany, Sara Carroll; Aoife McDermott, Ciara Ryan, Aoife Stynes; Rebecca McDermott, Caoimhe Maher, Aoibhin Delany.
Millie Kelleher for Aoife McCarthy (43), Sophie Hazzard for Aoibhin Delaney (48), Rachel Byrne for Ni Chonchradha (51), Grainne Dowling for Orlaith Delaney (53).
Gavin Donegan
