Quarter final place up for grabs for Waterford Camogie
Waterford Camogie manager Jerry Wallace will be hoping that his side can progress to the All-Ireland quarterfinals with home victory against Derry. Photo: Noel Browne.
Croke Park is within touching distance for the Waterford camogie team once again.
The All Ireland quarter finals will be played as curtain raisers to the hurling semi finals on July 6 and 7. Victory over Derry on Saturday and Déise fans will be walking down Jones’ Road early next month.
The Oak Leaf County also hold ambitions of knockout camogie as they are only a point behind Waterford in Group 1. Tipperary and Kilkenny will battle it out for top spot in The Ragg. If Kilkenny lose, Waterford could slip into second place on score difference. The Cats are currently 30 points better off.
Derry will struggle to contain the firepower in the Déise ranks. They will need markers for Beth Carton and Niamh Rockett for starters. These two turn up no matter what the opposition. Goal getter Mairéad O’Brien is in All Star territory. 6-2 from play in four games for the Modeligo front woman. She could have two All Ireland quarter finals to prepare for.
Abby Flynn was back in the team against Antrim and back among the goals. Sarah Lacey and Annie Fitzgerald are also putting their hands up for selection. Lacey scored 1-2 from play on her introduction last Saturday.
The Waterford subs have produced 3-5 in this year’s championship. Jerry Wallace isn’t afraid to move early. He has made first half substitutions in all four matches. Minor All Star Maggie Gostl found the net against Limerick but hasn’t featured in the last two outings. Will she get another opportunity on Saturday?
The Cork man seems to have settled on Clodagh Carroll at three and Laoise Forrest at six. Kate Lynch and Keeley Corbett Barry also look nailed on starters with the other two defensive spots up for grabs. The returning Vikki Falconer is back in the mix for a jersey. Lorraine Bray and Orla Hickey are the first choice midfield pairing. Like Mairéad O’Brien, Brianna O’Regan appears like an All Star in waiting. When an opposition forward goes through one on one, Waterford players fancy her to stop the shot.
26 squad members have been given a chance to shine so far. That list doesn’t include Anne Corcoran and Clara Griffin who are still recovering from injury. A deeper squad and a wider scoring spread strengthen Waterford’s case for the O’Duffy Cup.
On the same day that the Déise lost the senior final to Cork at GAA HQ, Derry drew with Meath in the intermediate decider. The Oak Leafers emerged victorious in the replay.
Wins over Limerick and Antrim secured their place in the senior ranks for 2024. Derry found it far more difficult against the big hitters in the group however. Kilkenny ran out 4-17 to 0-7 victors last weekend. Tipperary won by 24 points earlier in the campaign (5-22 to 0-13). Despite these sizeable defeats, they still have a shot at the quarter finals.
2023 Soaring Stars Aoife Shaw and Áine Barton offer their main scoring threats. Shaw scored 2-2 in the win over Antrim. Barton, who was named Intermediate Player of the Year, got six of their seven points against Kilkenny. Bríd Rogers is another for Waterford to worry about. She accounted for five points against Antrim. Her husband Brendan will tog out for the Derry footballers this weekend.
This will be the first meeting between these two counties at senior level since the 2016 National League. Waterford ran out six point winners on that occasion in Owenbeg.
Tipperary, Kilkenny and Waterford look a cut above the rest in this group. The Déise want to win and run up a score which is bad news for their opponents. Come 6 o’clock on Saturday evening, the 2023 All Ireland runners-up will be planning another trip to Croke Park.
