First-half scoring burst leads Piltown to senior league spoils

A strong first half helped Piltown land the senior league camogie spoils after they beat Dicksboro in UPMC Nowlan Park.

Piltown had the perfect start to the match with Ellen O’Keeffe opening the scoring with a fine point straight from the throw in.

A minute later they were awarded a free in their own half. Aoife Norris came from her goal and struck it well - it arrowed towards the posts, deceiving defenders, forwards and even the ’Boro goalie before it ended up in the net.

The goal was a shock for Dicksboro but the city side settled after that, hitting the next three points through Asha McHardy, Aoife Prendergast (free) and Ciara Phelan to narrow the gap to one point. This was the closest that the ’Boro got to Piltown.

Katie Power and Aoife Prendergast (free) traded points, before Asha McHardy pointed for the ’Boro, a score which was sandwiched between two points apiece from Kellyann Doyle and Heather Phelan (two frees).

Asha McHardy tacked on a lovely point from play for the ’Boro before Ellen O’Keeffe hit over her second point after Kirsty Maher had batted out a Kellyann Doyle shot on goal.

Then, with 26 minutes on the clock, Piltown raised the green flag again. Kellyann Doyle started the move when she played in a long ball towards the City End goal. Katie Power fielded the sliotar, turned and buried it in the back of the net. Two minutes later Sophie Holden added another point for the South Kilkenny side.

Heading towards the half-time whistle, Dicksboro tried to find a big score. Asha McHardy ran at speed towards the O’Loughlins End posts but she was taken down in the square and the referee signalled for a penalty. Aoife Prendergast stood over the sliotar, facing her intercounty colleague Aoife Norris. Aoife Prendergast struck the sliotar but Norris went the right way, saving and clearing it away from danger.

The referee blew the whistle a short time later, leaving Piltown eight points clear of their rivals (2-8 to 0-6).

The leaders extended their advantage on the resumption. Heather Phelan converted a free before Lorna O’Shea added another point, pushing them 10 clear of the ’Boro.

Dicksboro didn’t panic however, as they hit five unanswered points through Aoife Prendergast (two frees, 0-1 45), Rachel Dowling and Orla Hanrick to halve the deficit with 43 minutes on the clock (2-10 to 0-11).

Over the next 10 minutes, both teams tried to add to their tallies, but both defences stood strong. Piltown substitute Aoife Doyle scored a great point on the run, before Orla Hanrick scored a lovely point for the ’Boro.

Piltown suffered a blow late on when Aoife Doyle went down with a knee injury. After a short delay in play, she was forced to leave the fray.

Despite this they finished on a high, Aine Doyle closing out the scoring with a fine point to seal the title for Piltown.

The focus now switches to the championship quarter-finals, which will be played this weekend. Piltown will face St Martin’s while Dicksboro take on Tullaroan. The other games will see Young Irelands meet St Brigid’s, with James Stephens lining out against Clara.

Teams and scorers

Piltown - Katie Power (1-1); Aoife Norris (1-0, free); Heather Phelan (0-3, frees); Ellen O’Keeffe, Kellyann Doyle (0-2 each); Sophie Holden, Lorna O’Shea, Aoife Doyle, Aine Doyle (0-1 each).

Dicksboro - Aoife Prendergast (0-5, frees); Asha McHardy (0-3); Orla Hanrick (0-2); Ciara Phelan, Rachel Dowling (0-1 each).

Piltown - Aoife Norris; Lorraine Long, Emily McCarthy, Alice Talbot; Lorna O’Shea, Laura Norris, Aoife Landers; Ellen O’Keeffe, Niamh Culleton; Alanna Gallagher, Kellyann Doyle, Sophie Holden; Karen Duggan, Heather Phelan, Katie Power.

Subs: Aoife Doyle for Niamh Culleton, Aine Doyle for Sophie Holden, Leah Cooney for Aoife Doyle (inj).

Dicksboro - Kirsty Maher; Jane Cass, Tara Clifford, Angela Carroll; Niamh Phelan, Caoimhe Dowling, Katie Byrne; Aobha O’Gorman, Orla Hanrick; Asha McHardy, Amy Clifford, Rachel Dowling; Ciara Phelan, Aoife Prendergast, Rose Kelly.

Sub: Ciara O’Shea for Rose Kelly.