KILKENNY 3-14 DUBLIN 0-8
Dublin progress to the quarter-finals of the Senior All-Ireland Camogie Championship despite losing by 15 points to Klkenny in Tom Ryall Park on Saturday evening.
The Dubs will face Wexford in two weeks' time and will hope to bounce back in style from this defeat to the reigning league and All-Ireland champions.
Kilkenny looked razor sharp from the off and opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a free from Denise Gaule. Dublin responded in kind two minutes later with a well struck free from Aisling Maher.
But Dublin were to be undone by three defensive mistake that were avoidable and were punished clinically by their opponents with three first half goals.
The first of them came in the 10th minute when Miriam Walsh pounced on a poor clearance raced in on goal and palmed the ball to the back of the net. Kilkenny quickly added another point from Katie Power and in the 14th minute raised their second green flag of the game when Danielle Morrissey snap the ball from the grasp of a Dublin defender and finished to the net.
Dublin struggled to create scoring opportunities from play and had to rely on the free taking skill of Aisling Maher who hit two fine efforts in the 19th and 23rd minute, but each time the girls in black and amber responded with points of their own, a free in the 21st minute from Danielle Morrissey and an excellent strike from Aisling Dunphy.
A minute from the half-time break and Kilkenny all but sealed the win when Miriam Walsh pounced on another defensive mistake and slotted the ball into the back of the net.
In injury-time Dublin hit two points both frees from Aisling Maher and with the score at the break 3-8 to 0-5 in Kilkenny’s favour it already looked a bridge to far for Dublin to cross.
David Herity’s side did play better after the break but they continued to find it difficult to get any change out of the Kilkenny defence.
The Dubs did though hit the next two points, Faye McCarthy hit a beautiful long range free straight between the posts and in the eight minute Ali Twomey scored Dublin’s only point from play in the game but there was no way back against an very impressive Kilkenny side.
SCORERS - Kilkenny: Miriam Walsh 2-2, Danielle Morrissey 1-3 (1f), Denise Gaule 0-2 (2f), Katie Power 0-2, Meighan Farrell 0-2, Anna Farrell 0-1, Aisling Dunphy 0-1, Jenny Reddy 0-1. Dublin: Aisling Maher 0-5 (5f), Faye McCarthy 0-2 (2f), Ali Twomey 0-1.
KILKENNY
1. Emma Kavanagh
2. Catherine Foley
3. Davina Tobin
21. Aisling Dunphy
5. Claire Phelan
6. Anne Dalton
7. Grace Walsh
8. Meighan Farrell
9. Anna Farrell
10. Julieann Malone
11. Katie Power
12. Denise Gaule
13. Shelly Farrell
14. Miriam Walsh
24. Danielle Morrissey
Substitutes:
25. Grace O’Donnell For 13. Shelly Farrell (47 Min)
18. Michelle Teehan For 3. Davina Tobin (48th Min)
19. Jenny Reddy For 12. Denise Gaule (49th Min)
15. Michelle Quilty For 8. Meighan Farrell (51st Min)
DUBLIN
1. Faye McCarthy
2. Arleen Cushen
3. Eve O’Brien
4. Eva Marie Elliott
5. Hannah Hegarty
6. Ali Maguire
7. Grainne Quinn
8. Miriam Twomey
9. Eimear McCarthy
10. Ali Twomey
11. Ellen McGovern
12. Siobhan Kehoe
13. Emma Flanagan
14. Zoe O’Donoghue
15. Aisling Maher
Substitutes:
17. Claire Donnelly For 7. Grainne Quinn (HT)
18. Sarah O’Donovan For 14. Zoe O’Donoghue (42nd Min)
16. Mairi Moynihan For 12. Siobhan Kehoe (48th Min)
23. Aine Woods For 5. Hannah Hegarty (52nd Min)
24. Alex Griffin For 13. Emma Flanagan (54th Min)