Camogie- Three goal Royals bring an end to Kilkenny Intermediate's Championship hopes

At half-time in Saturday's All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie encounter at Rathmolyon Kilkenny had every reason to be hopeful they could emerge from the picturesque south Meath venue with a victory to ease their journey back to the south-east. 

By the end of the third quarter such ambitions appeared as forlorn as a someone trying to reach the moon on a freight plane. The game at that stage was effectively over.  Meath led 3-9 to 0-9, the lead built up after they had emerged for the second-half and produced a powerhouse display that Kilkenny simply couldn't match. 

The Meath management made three substitutions at the interval and the changes had the effect of greatly energising the home side who drew relentlessly away.  

It says a lot about Kilkenny's display and how much they struggled to gain any joy from the tenacious home defence that their topscorer was Emma Manogue who garnered all her scores from placed balls. No Kilkenny player managed more than one point from play with Aoife Cantwell, Ciara O'Keeffe, Hannah Scott, Aine Phelan and Carlise Comerford all raising white flags but unable to add to their tally. Kilkenny goalkeeper Sinead Farrell also made her mark by making a fine save from Minogue in the opening half. 

Kilkenny's defensive battlements were exposed after just five minutes when Meath's top markswoman Jane Dolan fired to the net. Then, in the second-half as the Royals swept relentlessly forward further goals were scored by Amy Gaffney and Aoife Minogue to ensure the Royals got the win they needed to progress to the quarter-finals. They were helped also by the fact that Derry had defeated Wexford. 

The sharp turnarouned in fortunes in Rathmolyon left Kilkenny manager John Scott contemplating just how things can change in life and sport - and he wasn't the only one. "I thought we were in with real chance at half-time but the first 10 minutes of the second-half really killed us and the heads dropped a bit and Meath drove on from there," he said. 

Scott reflected on a mixed series of games for his team in Group 2 with victories over Kildare and Derry highlights but on Saturday they simply couldn't match Meath's intensity in the second-half. Despite the defeat he had nothing but praise for his players, their grit and determination. 

"The girls gave it everything, they tried their hearts out. We are trying to get girls ready for the senior grade and they are still very young. We only had five players from last year they have to improve from here on in."

Sunday's setback was, he felt, a part of a learning curve, a harsh learning curve, for his young guns. One moment they were in the game with everything to play for, the next they could only watch as their opponents disappeared over the horizon. 

"This is a tough group and fair play to Meath hopefully they will go a lot further," he added before returning to his players who were engaged in a warm down after a chastening afternoon in picturesque Rathmolyon. 

Teams and Scorers

Meath - Jane Dolan 1-6 frees; Amy Gaffney 1-2; Aoife Minogue 1-2; Aedin Slattery 0-2; Niamh Daly 0-1.

Kilkenny - Emma Manogue 0-6 four frees, two '45s'; Aoife Cantwell 0-1; Ciara O'Keeffe 0-1; Hannah Scott 0-1; Carlise Comerford 0-1; Aine Phelan 0-1.

Meath - Maggie Randle; Sophia Payne, Claire Coffey, Sonia Leonard; Aine Keogh, Maeve Clince, Ellen Burke; Grace Coleman, Leah Devine; Aoife Maguire, Amy Gaffney, Aoife Minogue; Olivia O'Halloran, Jane Dolan, Sinead Hackett.

Subs - Tracy King for Keogh, Aedin Slattery for Maguire, Niamh Daly for Hackett all half-time; Aine McNerney for O'Halloran 56 mins.

Kilkenny - Sinead Farrell; Jane Cass, Ciara Murphy, Aideen O'Connor; Niamh Phelan, Sinead O'Keeffe, Niamh Leahy; Aisling Curtis, Rachel Brennan; Shauna Treacy, Aoife Cantwell, Ciara O'Keeffe; Emma Manogue, Hannah Scott, Carlise Comeford.

Subs - Therese Donnelly for Cantwell 46 mins, Tara Ronan for Treacy 50m, Aine Phelan for Comerford 51m, Laura Hegarty for C O'Keeffe 54m, Niamh Sweeney for Curtis 56m.

Referee - Barry Nea (Westmeath).