Kildare camogie suffer comeback defeat to Roscommon

If, as a Kildare supporter, you followed last Saturday’s Camogie league clash on social media, you would have felt very optimistic at half-time, when the Lily Whites led Roscommon by seven points.

You’d have felt positively giddy with excitement when Lea Sutton stroked over a wonderful point to start the second half, making light of the stiff breeze as she split the uprights with a gorgeous strike from out on the right-hand sideline.

If, on the other hand, you were one of the hardy few souls that made your way down the M6 to Pádraig Pearses GAA club just outside Ballinasloe to support the team, you knew at this stage of the game that there was still a lot of work to do.

The breeze that blew down the ground was both very sharp and very strong, and it greatly restricted the options of the team hurling into the teeth of it.

Kildare’s strength in the first half had been their ball-striking, both from open play through the lines, and when shooting for scores. Sutton was the star of the show in that regard, but in general Kildare moved the ball quickly and directly, and to good effect.

Now they had to work the ball slowly through the lines, with hard running and good tight control, and mistakes were much more likely. Sure enough Roscommon slowly and inexorably worked their way back into the game.

First by scoring five points in a row to reduce an eight-point lead down to three by the midway point of the half, then in one fell swoop when the home side pounced for their only goal after 53 minutes.

Kildare still had a chance to save the game on the next attack, but after conceding one poor goal in the first half when she allowed Sutton’s shot for a point to skid off her hurl and into the net,

Michaela Fallon redeemed herself with a fantastic diving save to push Ailbhe Ryan’s goalbound shot around the post for a 45.
Sutton duly hammered the 45 between the uprights to tie the game up.

But by now Roscommon were dominating possession, pushing very high up the field to exert pressure on Kildare, and it was no surprise that the dam broke in injury time. Two Shauna Fallon frees, the first somewhat controversial but the second an easy call for referee Barry Nea, rounded off the scoring and condemned Kildare to their second defeat in this year’s league.
With ten minutes played in the first half, it all looked rosy, by comparison.

Even then, it was clear that Kildare would need to bank a substantial half-time lead to withstand the inevitable Roscommon
tide, and they made the perfect start.

Meabh Maguire and Sutton scored from distance, then some tenacious work from Ailbhe Ryan close
to goal yielded a rich harvest, as the Naas player chased down what looked like a lost cause before working the sliotar back to Niamh O’Connor for a goal from 12 metres out.

O’Connor followed up with the next point, and with ten minutes gone, Kildare were 1-3 to 0-1 in front and moving well.
For all their struggles in the second half, it was in the next 15 minutes that Kildare effectively lost this game.

The away side’s trump card was their striking and touch – but when it came to graft in the trenches and winning scrappy loose balls, Roscommon owned the middle third. Their energy and vim came to the fore, and with Kildare further boosting the home side by failing to convert a couple of half-goal chances, the Rossies cut the game to two points with three successive scores.
All was not lost, as Kildare found another surge before half-time. There was a stroke of luck to

Sutton’s goal, as Fallon really should have been able to handle the dropping ball and clear it, while her subsequent free was also a touch fortunate as Roscommon had just seen a five second advantage expire before they overcarried, and many referees would have gone back for the free out.

Still, 2-5 to 0-4 wasn’t a bad result, and when Sutton opened the scoring in the second half, even the Kildare supporters in the ground would have felt quite hopeful..

There are four teams in Division 3A, and when the three rounds of games are played, all four teams will contest semi-finals.
When we consider that Laois (who have now won both their games) are top of the table and Kildare are bottom, and these two sides were very closely matched when they met in Hawkfield a week previously, it’s understandable that management aren’t overly worried just yet.

Roscommon: Michaela Fallon; Ciara Gacquin, Marie Carty, Sally Bolger; Ciara Kilcommons, Orla Connolly, Sinéad Mannion; Sarah Dooley (0-1), Rachel Fitzmaurice (1-0); Erin McDermott, Niamh Fitzgerald (0-1), Anna Campbell (0-2); Shauna Fallon (0-7, 0-6f, 0-1 45), Claire Curley, Siofra Finneran (0-1). Subs: Ava Mulry for Curley (40 mins), Gráinne Lohan for Kilcommons (60 mins).

Kildare: Claire Evans; Kelly Perkins, Laoise Mimnagh, Ella Copeland; Sinéad O’Brien, Shauna Dunne, Aoife McCarthy; Meabh Maguire (0-1), Niamh O’Connor (1-1); Lea Sutton (1-5, 0-2f, 0-1 45), Sara Carroll, Caoimhe Ní Buirchéal; Aoife McDermott, Ailbhe Ryan, Shauna Mulligan. Subs used: Niamh Mortell for McDermott (50 mins), Aoife Newman for Perkins (54 mins), Eimear Stirling for Evans (55 mins), Shanahan for Mulligan (60+2 mins).Referee: Barry Nea (Westmeath)