Waterford take huge step in a bid to secure top status

Very National Camogie Division 1A League

Waterford 3-16

Dublin 0-13

Waterford took a huge step towards securing their Division 1A status in the Very Camogie Leagues this afternoon, as they fired in three first-half goals to set up a 3-16 to 0-12 win over Dublin at Parnell Park.

While Dublin travel to Galway for their next game, it’ll be their home tie against Kilkenny in the final round that now looks like a de facto relegation decider, though Waterford need at least a draw against their neighbours in round four to be fully safe.

There wasn’t much between the sides in the opening ten minutes in Donnycarney, when Niamh Rockett and Gaby Couch traded points. However when Rockett got the faintest of touches on an Abby Flynn shot to send in the game’s first goal after 16 minutes, Waterford never looked back.

Lorraine Bray added the second goal, getting the rub of the green when her shot from a point rebounded off the crossbar into goalkeeper Eimear Hurley and back over the line, but there was no luck attached to the third, when Flynn’s vision and stickwork allowed her to pick out Mairéad O’Brien for a one-on-one finish just before the break.

Both sides enjoyed lengthy purple patches in the second half, with Rockett (who finished with 1-5) and Beth Carton (scoring 0-6 in total) building up their tallies as Waterford moved 3-12 to 0-7 in front, before Dublin emptied their bench and finally got their running game going. Aisling O’Neill, in particular, caught the eye with two excellent scores from play, giving their management food for thought ahead of their trip out west in a fortnight.