by Kevin Egan

Kilkenny locked down their place in the quarter-finals of the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior championship after an easy home win against Clare but the other knockout place in Group 2 is wide open and up for grabs after Offaly secured a sensational two-point win over Dublin in Birr.

That sets up a titanic clash between the Banner and Faithful women next week at St Brendan’s Park..

Limerick aren’t out of the running either as two late points from Laura Southern saw them pick up a 1-18 to 3-11 win over Wexford at Chadwicks Wexford Park.

It all means that if Offaly overcome Clare at home next week, then Limerick could yet snatch that all-important second berth, albeit like Offaly, they would have to make up a fair bit in scoring difference against Clare.

Wexford are now certain to be in the bottom two and involved in the relegation final in a fortnight, while Dublin need to beat Limerick next week to have any chance of overhauling either Limerick or Offaly and escaping a nerve-wracking hour that no-one would have expected for them at the start of the year.

There’s no doubt who the team to watch out for of this sextet is however, with Kilkenny producing their best display of the year so far to put Clare to the sword, 4-14 to 1-8.

There were perfect conditions at UPMC Nowlan Park and the action was intense and enjoyable, but it took a while for the scoring to get going, with seven minutes on the clock before Caoimhe Carmody struck the first point for Clare.

Steffi Fitzgerald worked hard to chase down a lost cause and set up a goal for Sarah Barcoe in reply, and the contest was nicely poised when Carmody made hard yards through the middle and through tackles to set up an attack that ended with Andrea O’Keeffe floating in a tantalising ball that Róisín Begley hit to the net with an overhead pull.

Another overhead goal, this time from Fitzgerald, pushed Kilkenny two clear approaching half-time, and that lead was doubled at the turnaround with points from Barcoe and Caoimhe Keher Murtagh.

The contest was still there for the taking for either team midway through the second half, but a run of four Kilkenny points put distance between them, and the contest was wrapped up when Claire Doheny struck a shot off the post and Katie Nolan was first to the rebound, firing the ball into the net from a tight angle.

Fitzgerald brought her tally to 2-5 with a further goal late on to make it four wins out of four for the in-form Cats.

A fast start was crucial for Offaly in Birr, and after falling 0-2 to 0-1 behind, they rallied brilliantly to hit six in a row, including a couple from Clodagh Leahy as she went on her way to a fine tally of 0-12.

Mairéad Teehan also fired over some excellent long-range frees but Offaly also needed a wonderful diving full-length save to deny Kerri Finnegan a goal just before half-time to lead by 0-11 to 0-6 at the break.

Two Caitlin McKenna points briefly brought the margin back to three after half-time but Offaly’s collective defending was outstanding and with Leahy in superb form, Offaly could afford to concede a well-taken goal to Aisling Gannon and still see out a vital 0-18 to 1-13 win.

The scores flowed thick and fast at Chadwicks Wexford Park, Caoimhe Byrne and Anais Curran both hitting the net for the hosts in the first quarter. Sarah O’Brien and Southern caught fire before half-time however, with O’Brien hitting three points in a row and Southern striking 1-2 to nudge Limerick into the lead.

The scoring slowed down after half-time, with Caoimhe Byrne’s 1-1 the only advancement in the third quarter. Wexford were 3-9 to 1-12 in front going into the last ten minutes, only to be undone by Limerick’s stronger finish.

In the Glen Dimplex Intermediate Championship, wins for Antrim and Kerry over Down and Derry respectively confirm their top two spots in Group 1. Down and Derry will now go into Monday morning’s quarter-final draw, where they will meet Laois and Meath, the two sides that topped Group 1. Westmeath and Carlow will contest the intermediate relegation final.  

RESULTS:

GLEN DIMPLEX SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP GROUP 2

Offaly 0-18 Dublin 1-13

Wexford 3-11 Limerick 1-18

Kilkenny 4-14 Clare 1-8

GLEN DIMPLEX INTERMEDIATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Down 0-10 Antrim 3-9

Kerry 2-16 Derry 0-8

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