Senior 2 Camogie Championship semi-final

Skerries Harps 0-15 Erins Isle 1-7

Skerries Senior 2 camogie team survived a tough test on Sunday morning last to reach the

championship final. A very experienced and tough tackling Erins Isle team tested the mettle of the

Skerries girls but they rose to the challenge and emerged victorious with a 5-point margin.

Skerries, playing into the road goal, started well. A well worked move between Robyn Kehoe and

Nicola Thorne was converted from an awkward angle by Thorne. Thorne and captain Aoife Halpin

then converted frees and Kehoe added a great score from play from the right corner. Many of the

Skerries attacks during the first half came from some excellent play from young wing-back Megan

Carroll. Isles then started to play the opposite wing and brought veteran Gillian McLoskey into play.

She landed two great scores from play and was fouled for a converted free. The visitors would have

been right back in the game on the 20 th minute except for a superb diving save by Niamh Kirby in the

Harps goal.

The Harps reorganised and responded with a run of four points. Alix Buckley was winning good

possession in the corner and landed a score on the run. Kathy Gilmore, now putting a tight rein on

McLoskey, won a great ball and the Harps worked it smartly up field for Tara O’Flaherty to hit a great

point from out on the left side-line. A final point of the half from the strong running Orlaith Durkan

saw the Harps go in at the interval break holding a 0-9 to 0-4 lead

The second half started with the Isles, aided by a strengthening breeze, pressurising the Harps

defence. Stout work from full back Roisin Leneghan and the half back line of Carroll, Jean Murphy

and Grace Leach forced the Isles forwards to shooting under pressure and they only added one point

to their total in the first ten minutes of the half. Skerries added two points from Thorne and

O’Flaherty to maintain a five point lead. The Isles pressure finally yielded a goal and the questions

were now being asked of the home players.

First half substitute Rachel O’Flaherty was winning good possession and minimising the impact of

Isles star Louise O’Hara. Another Thorne free and excellent Tara O’Flaherty score from play settled

the Harps players. There followed a bout of tough battles for the ball around the middle third with

neither side gaining much fluency. The youth and speed of the Harps girls finally told in the last ten

and points from Buckley and Tara O’Flaherty stretched the Harps lead back to five points.

Working hard to the finish they held on to that lead. The Harps now look forward to a final against

St. Oliver Plunketts/Eoghan Ruadh in Abbotstown next Sunday at 1pm, hoping to go one better than

2016 when they lost out by a score to St. Judes.