Maher leads Vincent’s to senior camogie success

DUBLIN SENIOR CAMOGIE FINAL

ST VINCENT'S 4-11 ST JUDE'S 2-5

Marino maestro Aisling Maher inspired St. Vincents to their fourth Dublin Senior 1 Camogie Championship title in five years at the GAA National Games Development Centre in Abbotstown on Sunday afternoon.

Maher, alongside the powerful Niamh Hetherton, proved too hot for the Jude's defence to handle. The half-forward pair were responsible for 3-7 of Vincent's full-time tally of 4-11, and ultimately it was their efficiency in front of goal which meant the trophy was returning from Templeogue to what have become familiar surroundings in Marino for yet another year.

For those who weren't fortunate enough to witness the end-to-end thriller at the National Sports Campus, the full-time scoreline may seem to have a Halloween horror theme to it, however it was not a fair reflection of the game itself.

On an afternoon which saw the Vincent's forward-line fire the northsiders to a twelve point victory, the fact that full-back Ciara O'Leary was awarded Player-of-the-Match bears testament to the dogged defensive performance which was required to prevent last year's champions from keeping in touch on the scoreboard.

After a fiery opening four minutes which wouldn't have looked out of place in the Colosseum in Rome, Vincent's captain Ali Maguire and Aoife Walsh exchanged scores to get both sets of supporters located in the packed stand off their seats early on.

Vincent's opened up a two-point lead with points from Maher and a hard-fought individual score from Anna Sullivan. However, an Aoife Molloy goal put St Jude's a point ahead ten minutes in to the first half. Molloy was originally named as a substitute, however manager Donie Fox was rewarded for the late change as Molloy pulled on a loose ball which was batted down by Vincent's goalkeeper Claire Clinton and the ball rattled the net.

The goal celebrations didn't last long as a Maguire free midway through the half leveled the sides again. A further three unanswered points from Maher (0-2) and Hetherton edged Vincent's into a three point lead after twenty minutes.

The next five minutes were key as Vincent's truly stamped their authority on the game. They doubled their lead when a Maguire free dropped into the goal-mouth and was batted into the net by Jude's goalkeeper Hannah Begley.

The Templeogue outift had a golden opportunity to bag their second goal from the resulting puck-out when Aisling Gannon was brought down as she went through on goal. Referee Gavin Donegan awarded a penalty, and goalkeeper Begley ran the length of the field only for her attempt to be saved by Vincent's corner-back Lora Smith on the right-hand post.

Begley made amends for the penalty miss as she brilliantly denied a low-drilled attempt on goal from Maher at the opposite end moments later. Maguire and Clíonadh Nicoletti exchanged points from placed balls in first-half stoppage time as Vincent's led 1-8 to 1-2 at the interval.

The second half began just like the first, as the Vincent's defenders put their bodies on the line, giving Judes no space to breathe. The relentless pressure paid dividends four minutes after the restart as Eimear McCarthy flicked the ball on to Maher who made no mistake in netting her first goal of the game.

Five minutes later Maher had her second goal with an identical finish, widening the gap to 12 points. Any fear that the game would turn into a rout were swiftly put to bed as Judes continued to battle away in a desperate attempt to defend their title. From the resulting puck-out, Caragh Dawson forced Clinton into making a save worthy of winning any Championship, however the net-minder couldn't prevent Gannon from pointing the rebound.

At the opposite end, Nicoletti notched her second point of the game from an impossibly tight angle to leave ten points between the sides.

Vincent's lead was soon increased to fourteen points when center-forward Hetherton, fresh from an All-Ireland winning campaign with the Dublin senior ladies footballers, scored a goal and a point in quick succession.

However, the excitement continued as yet again Jude's responded with a goal and a point of their own. Molloy was on target for the second time as her well driven shot found the back-of-the-net, and Nicoletti followed up with a point from a free moments later.

The Vincent's players showed their big-match experience as the game failed to find any rhythm in the final fifteen minutes. The substitutes began to roll on and the 'professional fouling' ran down the clock. They too won their fair share of frees in the closing stages as Jude's began to tire. Two Maher frees in the dying minutes were followed by the full-time whistle.

Ali Maguire and Aine Woods' mothers were both invited onto the field to present their daughters with the trophy, as the Marino girls tasted sweet victory for the first time since 2017.

ST VINCENT'S: C Clinton; A Woods, C O'Leary, L Smith; E O'Leary, D Johnstone, G Quinn; A Sullivan (0-1), M Kelleher; A Maher (2-5, 0-2 f), N Hetherton (1-2), E McCarthy; E McGovern, A Maguire (1-3, 1-2 f), A Fanning. SUBS: E Twomey for A Fanning; S McBride for A Maguire.

ST JUDE'S: H Begley; E O'Riordan, E Browne, C Devlin; C Gannon, H Hegarty, A Darcy; N Gannon, M Noone; A Gannon (0-1), A Walsh, C Dawson; E Young, A Molloy (2-0), C Nicoletti (0-3, 0-2 f). SUBS: L Butler for M Noone; H O'Malley for A Darcy.

REF: Gavin Donegan.