History made as Tipperary minors clinch Munster title down in Waterford

Munster Minor A Camogie Championship Final

Tipperary 1-13 

Waterford 0-9

Tipperary are Munster Minor A champions for 2024 after seeing off a tough challenge from Waterford in Walsh Park on Sunday. John Ryan’s team overcame a slow start which saw them trailing four points to no score after 12 minutes to run out deserving winners on a final scoreline of 1-13 to 0-9.

Playing with the aid of a strong wind Waterford looked threatening early on with Emma Fitzgerald and Maggie Gostl putting them into an early lead. This was Waterford’s real purple patch and they will regret not having scored more as they hit several wides which proved very costly in the end. 

It was 13 minutes before Tipp registered their first score thanks to a Lucy Heffernan point from play. By now the Tipp management team had made some positional switches and these began to work as Coaimhe Stakelum and Danielle Ryan both began to exert their presence on the game. 

Three brilliantly executed frees by Caoimhe had Tipp back on level terms but by the 18th minute. And by the 20th minute, Tipperary were three points clear. Caoimhe Stakelum gathered possession and was baring down on goal before forcing Katelyn Gardner to pull off an excellent save. 

The rebound fell to Caoimhe and she connected on it beautifully to pull the ball to the back of the net to the delight of the travelling supporters. Caoimhe then hit two more points in succession from a free and play before Danielle Ryan pointed to extend Tipp’s lead. 

Waterford finished the half well with two points to leave the half-time score 1-7 to 0-6. With the wind advantage to come Tipperary were in a commanding position going into the second half. However, they didn’t get it all their way as Waterford continued to battle hard feeding plenty of ball into their dangerous woman Maggie Gostl.

Gostl used all her pace and skill to win key possession in the second half but Paula Quirke did a superb job marking her tightly and making sure she didn’t get in for a goal. The Tipperary defensive unit as a whole was brilliant with Sarah Corcoran leading from centre back while Danielle Butler was very assured and steady in the goals. 

Maggie Gostl and Caoimhe Stakelum exchanged frees early in the second half while Lucy Purcell and Ciara Shelly who worked hard throughout both got on the scoresheet. After the game captain Sarah Corcoran accepted the winning trophy from Munster chairperson Christine Ryan while Player of the Match award was awarded to Caoimhe Stakelum. 

Tipperary: Danielle Butler; Paula Quirke, Aoife Mellerick, Ellie Franklin; Eabha Dolan, Sarah Corcoran, Cairthlyn Treacy; Lucy Heffernan (0-1), Emer Dwan; Lucy Purcell (0-1), Danielle Ryan (0-1), Ciara Shelly (0-1); Ava Bevans, Caoimhe Stakelum (1-9, 0-7f, 0-1 45), Hannah Butler.

Subs used: Elana McGrath for Lucy Heffernan; Aoife Fitzgerald for Ava Bevans; Eimear Troy for Ciara Shelly.

Waterford: Katelyn Gardner; Katie O'Neill, Anne McGoldrick, Cara Cantwell; Holly O’Sullivan, Alex Healy, Abbie Burrows; Ali Ferguson, Hannah McGrath; Eimear O’Neill, Niamh Ryan, Katelyn Lyons; Emma Fitzgerald, Ava Fitzpatrick, Maggie Gostl.