Gaffney goal crushes final hopes of valiant Westmeath

Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie Championship semi-final

Meath 1-11 Westmeath 0-10

By Jimmy Geoghegan

There were tears of disappointment shed by Westmeath players after Saturday’s All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie Championship semi-final. And the depth of disappointment felt by the vanquished players in the sumptuous surroundings of Semple Stadium was entirely understandable.

For much of this engrossing, swashbuckling encounter, it looked like the team in maroon might win the day. Just might. They didn’t make the brightest of starts and trailed 0-1 to 0-3 after eight minutes but then they got motoring. They found their rhythm.

Westmeath’s best spell was in the second quarter. It was then they troubled the Meath defence the most, stitching together a series of attacking moves that ensured the Royal County rearguard could never relax.

Diarmuid Cahill’s side went in at the break 0-7 to 0-6 in front and deservedly so. The omens looked promising but, facing the breeze in the second-half, the Lake County lost their way.

Instead of pushing on it was they who had to defend stoutly as the second moiety unfolded and Meath found an extra gear. Yet they tenaciously stayed in the hunt and trailed by only a point until the only goal of the game scored by Meath’s Amy Gaffney, brought a decisive and cruel, from their perspective, end to their ambitions.

There was 60 minutes on the clock when Meath’s midfield maestro Aoife Minogue lofted the ball towards the Westmeath posts. A ruck developed. The ball spun out to Gaffney who took a step or two before arrowing the ball to the net from about 25 metres out. There was nothing Westmeath’s netminder Fiona Keating could do about it, the sliotar flying into the small space between her and the right-hand post.

Gaffney did a little jig of joy and no wonder. She had been part of Meath teams that had last in three previous All-Ireland Intermediate semi-finals. There was three minutes of additional time added on but an exhausted Westmeath side, who had contributed handsomely to the entertainment all afternoon, couldn’t muster the required response. On this occasion there was to be no redemption.

Defeat was indeed a real blow for this hard-grafting Westmeath side. They must have travelled to the home of hurling in Munster with real hope in their hearts. After all, only her last month they had dished out a 4-11 to 2-7 defeat to Meath in the group stages of the championship. That day in Raharney the Maroons had looked commanding and on their game.

On Saturday, Sheila McGrath was Westmeath’s star of the show. What she lacks for in height she more than compensates in heart. With her energy and fire complementing a rich technical talent, she blossomed in the misty rain that shrouded Semple Stadium.

The St Munna’s player was particularly prominent in the opening half when her jinking runs and ability to side-step opponents left the Meath defence at times perplexed and bewildered.

Westmeath’s joint-captain Megan Dowdall had given her team an early lead with a point from a free. Meath hit back with three points before McGrath levelled matters with three exquisite scores from play to edge her team 0-4 to 0-3 ahead. And so, it continued. One team raising a white flag, the other responding with Dowdall converting two more frees while Caoimhe McCrossan also pointed from play to give Westmeath their opening half tally.

The team in maroon need to sustain the quality of play in the second half they had whipped up in the run in to the interval. They couldn’t do it. Instead, Meath took a grip on proceedings, lofting over four answered points from Minogue, Grace Coleman, Gaffney and Abbye Donnelly. The force was now very much with them.

Westmeath needed a goal and Dowdall sought to get one when, on 47 minutes, she embarked on a surging run and passed to Hannah Core. Her shot was blocked. The ball broke to McGrath who pointed to end her team’s sustained drought. McGrath added another point soon after as Westmeath’s fortunes revived. That revival gained further momentum when Laura Doherty sniped over a score on 57 minutes to leave the minimum between the sides.

The comeback looked on. Then Minogue lofted the ball towards the Westmeath posts and Gaffney did the rest, slicing the ball to the net with venom. In an instant Westmeath’s hopes were crushed, their ambitions cruelly thwarted. No wonder there were tears afterwards but they had done themselves and their county proud. They were carried off the battlefield on their shields.

Player of the match: Meath’s Aoife Minogue was chosen for the official award, but Westmeath certainly had their heroines who grafted hard, and Sheila McGrath was one of those who stood out. She ended up as her team’s main markswoman with five skilfully taken points from play and caused the Meath defence all sorts of problems throughout. Others such as Julie McLoughlin, Megan Dowdall, Caoimhe McCrossan, Laura Doherty and Muireann Scally never stopped battling, but McGrath’s contribution was immense. On this occasion it just wasn’t enough, however.

SCORERS - Meath: A Gaffney 1-2; A Minogue 0-4; E O’Connell 0-2; C Foley, A Donnelly and G Coleman (45) 0-1 each. Westmeath: S McGrath 0-5; M Dowdall 0-3 (3 frees); C McCrossan and L Doherty 0-1 each.

Meath: Tara Murphy; Rachel O’Neill, Claire Coffey, Sophia Payne; Tracy King, Maeve Clince, Leah Devine; Grace Coleman, Aoife Minogue; Amy Gaffney, Abbye Donnelly, Olivia O’Halloran; Ciara Foley, Ellen Burke, Emma O’Connell. Subs: Aoibhin Lally for O’Halloran (half-time), Aoife Carey for Coleman (56 mins).

Westmeath: Fiona Keating; Karen Gaffney, Julie McLoughlin, Emily McCabe; Aoife Doherty, Muireann Scally, Aoife O’Malley; Laura Doherty, Caoimhe McCrossan; Sheila McGrath, Megan Dowdall, Hannah Core; Maria Kelly, Elaine Finn, Denise McGrath. Subs: Shannon Dalton for Kelly (49 mins), Aine Newman for D McGrath (51), Olivia Glynn for McCabe (61).

Referee: Cathal McAllister.