Drom & Inch falter in second half against Loughgiel Shamrocks in All Ireland semi-final

AIB All Ireland Club Camogie Championship Semi-Final

Drom & Inch 2-6

Loughgiel Shamrocks 3-6

Drom & Inch came up short in the fog and frost in Kinnegad last Saturday afternoon as they couldn’t match the intensity and strength of Ulster and Antrim champions Loughgiel Shamrocks in the All Ireland senior camogie semi-final.

The weekend conditions played havoc with the scheduling of this game, with the fixture originally set to be played in Ashbourne in Meath, but an early morning pitch inspection scuppered that plan with the game taken to Kinnegad in Westmeath.

Despite the plans being changed in the early morning, Drom & Inch had themselves in a good position after the first half with goals from Miriam Campion and Niamh Lnong giving them a good half time lead of 2-4 to 2-2 in the frosty and tough underfoot conditions.

But the second half was a disaster from the Drom & Inch perspective, with only two points being scored from a brace of Eimear McGrath frees in the second period, as the Munster champions simply couldn’t break down a stubborn and powerful Loughgiel Shamrocks team who pulled away convincingly in terms of the play by the final whistle.

Loughgiel came out of the blocks like a team with real hunger from the throw-in, picking up possession from the first ball through Annie Lynn who galloped through the Drom & Inch defence before pointing a beauty from distance to get the Ulster champions blood up quickly.

Conditions were going to have a big bearing on the game, with a slush of white frost covering most of the pitch which was causing big issues for the players, which made the defenders task a little easier but some overzealous tackling on Joanne Ryan after three minutes led to a Drom equaliser from an Eimear McGrath free.

Loughgiel were looking the slightly more dangerous team in the opening quarter and had the lead again in the seventh minute, with Annie Lynn turning provider with a clever slip pass to Caitrin Dobbin to plant her feet to strike and find the target.

But Drom would soon hit the front through some very hard work from Niamh Treacy, involved in two passages of play which led to a brace of scorable frees for Eimear McGrath to dispatch in the ninth and 11th minute respectively, and probably came a bit against the run of play.

Indeed, Drom got a big stroke of luck in the 18th minute through a long point attempt from Joanne Ryan, who was found in space by Eimear McGrath found the veteran forward on the 45 and her effort bounced on the artificial surface in front of Eimear Boyle who deflected it onto the crossbar, only for Miriam Campion to read it well and flick the rebound to the back of the net.

That gave Drom & Inch a solid early four point lead but it didn’t last long and some of the early pressure on the Drom goal from Loughgiel finally paid off for the Antrim team in the 20th, with Caoimhe Bourke making an initial smart save come off her line from Caitrin Dobbin, but the lose ball was whipped on by Annie Lynn to the back of the net to offset that goal concession a few minutes prior.

Despite the conditions, the teams were making it an impulsing contest and there was an element of deja vú for the next score of the game, with Drom finding the back of the net again two minutes later with Joanne Ryan again the provider with a shot at goal after a strong run dropping short, seemingly safely into Eimear Boyle’s hand in the Shamrocks goal, but it scuttled out of her hand and Niamh Long this time was the one following it in as she managed to flick the ball over the line from the closest of ranges.

The conditions were causing defensive chaos for the first few goals, but it was some poor play from the Drom & Inch full back line which led to yet another goal, this time for Loughgiel; Lucia McNaughton playing a long ball down field from midfield and with acres of space in front of Caoimhe Bourke and the ball, Caitrin Dobbin picked up possession and finished low past Bourke to the net to once again cut the deficit to one pint at 2-3 to 2-2 after 29 minutes.

But it was Drom & Inch who had the final say with the McGrath sisters linking up three minutes into first half added time, Aoife breaking out of defence powerfully and despite losing her footing, had the presence of mind to find Eimear back the field and the wing forward slotted over well from distance to give the Tipperary and Munster champions a 2-4 to 2-2 lead.

The second half was comparatively slower to get going with some really scrappy passages, a real feature of the opening five or six minutes, despite the foggy conditions clearing. 

It wasn’t until the 38th minute that the game came to life again, but unfortunately from a Drom & Inch perspective, it went in favour of their opponents, first from a Annie Lynn free after 38 minutes, before a really unfortunate passage which came when Roisin McCormick’s point attempt landed short of the target, but the slickness of the boss deceived Bourke who bounced the ball behind the line, with the goal signalled by the umpire to give Loughgiel a 3-3 to 2-4 lead.

From here, Drom were really struggling to get a grip on the game and it was a case of backs to the wall in the following minutes as Loughgiel kept applying pressure, and they extended their lead after 44 minute with Roisin McCormick getting her first point of the day after being set up by Mary McKillen.

It was all going wrong for Drom now as Loughgiel pointed again two minutes later through Annie Lynn, with McCormick influential now and setting up the corner forward to score on the run as the gap was extended to four points with the final quarter of the game to play.

Drom needed scores badly to settle them down and get back into the game, with all the momentum firmly flowing in the direction of the north team, and it would eventually come after a stoppage due to an injury, through another Eimear McGrath free to give them their first score of the second half and maybe get them back in the game with a three point game in it.

There was a big chance a couple of minutes later when Mary Burke made a big break through the Loughgiel defence with Miriam Campion on her shoulder, but she decided to hold onto possession which proved to be the wrong decision, as the clearing free from the Shamrocks defence led to substitute Chloe Higgins splitting the post to give the Ulster women a four point lead again with time into added time.

Eimear McGrath had a chance some 30 metres from goal from a free to maybe look for a shot at goal, but the management called for the point to bring it back to a one score game, and despite the Tipperary champions best efforts, they couldn’t find the major they needed as they crashed out against Loughgiel Shamrocks who booked their place in next weekend's All Ireland final against Sarsfields of Galway.

Drom & Inch: Caoimhe Bourke; Áine Greed, Christina Brennan, Maureen Ryan; Eimear Cahill, Mairead Eviston, Aoife McGrath; Niamh Long (1-0), Mary Burke; Eimear McGrath (0-6, 0-5f), Anne Eviston, Joanne Ryan; Niamh Ryan, Niamh Treacy, Miriam Campion (1-0).

Subs: Katie O'Dwyer for J Ryan (42), Siobhan McGrath for N Long (51).

Loughgiel Shamrocks: Eimear Boyle; Charlene Campbell, Katie Lynn, Clare McKillop; Maria Lynn, Úna McNaughton, Shauna Devlin; Amy Boyle, Lucia McNaughton, Christine Laverty, Mary McKillen, Anna Connolly; Caitrin Dobbin (1-2, 0-1f), Roisin McCormick (1-1), Annie Lynn (1-2).

Subs: Katie McKillop for A Connolly (42), Ciara Boyle for A Boyle (58), Chloe Higgins (0-1) for Mary McKillen (59), Orlagh Laverty for C Laverty (61).

Referee: Liz Dempsey (Kilkenny)