Hanney and Keane come up trumps for Killimor

Loughgiel 1-5

FIRST half goals from Brenda Hanney and Susan Keane ensured Killimor an advantage they never relinquished last Sunday as they qualified for a third All-Ireland senior club camogie final this decade.

On a misty afternoon at St. Tiarnach’s Park, the Galway champions maintained control with crucial scores at critical moments to set up a repeat of the 2013 decider against Cork’s Milford on March 6

After a two month break, this was always going be a case of venturing into the unknown but Tommy Callagy’s charges were aware that Loughgiel Shamrocks were going to be a threat having tested eventual winners Oulart-the-Ballagh 12 months ago.

But while they took time to settle, Killimor always looked the most dangerous outfit and hit their first major after just eight minutes after already threatening Shaunie McAuley’s goal on two occasions.

Martina Conroy’s point attempt from a placed ball dropped towards the danger area with Hanney and Keane fighting for possession before the sliothar spinned away from Claire Conroy.  And the Loughgiel Shamrocks goalkeeper had to be alert about the black and amber presence again when another Conroy delivery worked its way to the small rectangle.

When the breakthrough came, Conroy was involved as she cut through the half-back line. She offloaded to Hanney and the former Galway forward turned on her left before striking to the roof of the net. Keane added a fine point on 11 minutes to make it 1-1 to 0-0 and a challenging opening period had Killimor on the front foot.

Admittedly, the poor shooting from Loughgiel Shamrocks had a major bearing on the result, but Killimor could not be faulted for their workrate throughout as they looked hungry for possession even if this  hostile January Sunday wouldn’t allow for a high scoring spectacle.

Emer Haverty and Denise Starr were standing out for covering ground and moving play quickly.  Haverty, in particular, looked like a woman possessed showing up in all areas with important breaks and interceptions. The defence were solid with Karen Brien producing a quality performance at full back.  The young, yet experienced, player broke down attacks and showed maturity in sending the sliothar to the flanks when taking possession wasn’t an option.

Loughgiel Shamrocks did open their axccount on 16 minutes when Racquel McCarry converted a free and they started to get into the contest with Killimor held scoreless for a quarter hour. They should have added to their tally quicker then Aisling McFadden’s second on 21 minutes when Killimor’s defence switched off temporarily but Helen Campbell was alert when the Ulster champions had their best chance – Emma McMullen’s delivery towards McFadden was batted to the left of the posts.

Full match report in this week's Connacht Tribune.