Littlewoods Ireland Division 1 League

Tipperary 2-16    Waterford 0-11

After a disappointing opening round defeat to Cork Tipperary had the perfect response with a 11 point win over Waterford in the Littlewoods Ireland division 1 league. Tipperary showed their intention right from the start when Clodagh McIntyre goaled within 20 seconds after a blistering solo run through the heart of the Waterford defence. Tipperary had all the signs of a team who had the benefit of a game under their belt while for Waterford it was the second half before they really settled and got up to the pace of competitive camogie in their first outing of the year. 

By the 15th minute Cait Devane had slotted over her 5th point (2 from play) after receiving a clever pass up the line from Aoife McGrath. Waterford had no answer for Devane who was in excellent form and to no surprise was later named as player of the match. At the water break aided with a stiff breeze Tipp led 1-5 to 0-1. On the 20th minute Beth Carton pointed after good play from Abbey Flynn. Tipp responded with another pointed free at the opposite end. On the 25th minute Clodagh McIntyre who impressed throughout the hour pointed from as Waterford continued to struggle to break down the Tipp defence where Aoife McGrath, Clodagh Quirke and Mary Ryan all dominated. On the 27th minute Mary Ryan made a daring run up the field before linking up with Cait Devane to strike over a lovely score for the full-back. There was more anguish for Waterford when Eimear McGrath broke through the cover and coolly slotted the ball past Brianna O’Regan in the Waterford goal to give Tipperary a lead of 2-11 to 3 points at the break and effectively put the game beyond reach. 

Waterford upped their performance in the second half and with the advantage of the wind outscored Tipp 5 points to 2 with Vicki Falconer, Ciara O’Sullivan, Sarah Lacey and Beth Carton all raising white flags. They needed goals but couldn’t break down the Tipperary defence or Caoimhe Bourke in the Tipperary goals. Cait Devane added 2 further points in the final quarter to finish the scoring and bring her tally to 12 points.

Cait Devane - Tipp Senior & Clonoulty

Scorers

Tipperary: Cait Devane 0-12 (8 frees, 1’45); Clodagh McIntyre 1-1; Eimear McGrath 1-1; Mary Ryan, Emer Loughman 0-1 each.

Waterford: Beth Carton 0-6 (3 frees); Sarah Lacey 0-2; Ciara O’Sullivan, Vicki Falconer, Mairead O’Brien 0-1 each.

Teams

Tipperary: Caoimhe Bourke; Julieanne Burke, Mary Ryan, Clodagh Quirke; Mairead Eviston, Karen Kennedy, Aoife McGrath; Caoimhe McCarthy, Emer Loughman; Eimear McGrath, Nicole Walsh, Casey Hennessy; Ereena Fryday, Cait Devane, Clodagh McIntyre.

Subs: Roisin Howard for Hennessy (HT); Grace O’Brien for Loughman (39); Sarah Friday for A McGrath (48); Jean Kelly for E McGrath (48); Grace O’Toole for Quirke (58 inj); Eimear Heffernan for McCarthy (58).

Waterford: Brianna O’Regan; Sibeal Harney, Iona Heffernan, Keeley Corbett-Barry; Kate Lynch, Clodagh Carroll, Lorraine Bray; Orla Hickey, Shauna Curran; Niamh Rockett, Beth Carton, Abbey Flynn; Ciara O’Sullivan, Sarah Lacey, Vicki Falconer.

Subs: Clara Griffin for Heffernan (HT); Shauna Fitzgerald for Hickey (HT); Mairead O’Brien for Falconer (45); Aoife Fitzgerald for Curran (52); Claire Whyte for Corbett Barry (55).

Referee: John McDonagh (Galway)