Goal-hungry Cork blitz Waterford to end five-year wait for All-Ireland glory
VICTORIOUS: Cork’s Amy O’Connor lifts the Sean O'Duffy Cup. Pic: ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo
Cork’s five-year famine is no more. On an afternoon of a record All-Ireland camogie final attendance, Cork recorded the biggest final winning margin in 64 years.
Arriving into Croke Park with the weight of four consecutive final defeats hanging over them, Matthew Twomey’s side showed themselves to be totally unburdened by the narrow All-Ireland final losses of 2021 and 2022, and the league final setbacks of last year and last April.
Twomey’s side were ruthless and relentless in heaping misery on a Waterford team appearing in their first All-Ireland senior final and only the county’s second ever.
Never once led, Cork had a solid grip on the O’Duffy Cup at half-time when enjoying a 1-9 to 0-3 advantage.
Both hands were firmly clasped onto the main prize within four minutes of the restart, a sensational Amy O’Connor hat-trick in the space of two minutes turning this decider into a washout.
O’Connor was fed by Fiona Keating for the first, she made and finished the second all on her own, and then completed a captain’s hat-trick after an assist from Katrina Mackey.
At 4-9 to 0-3 in front, this final - watched by a record audience of 30,191 - was cooked. The majority of that record crowd had headed for home long before the final whistle, the sole suspense of the final 25 minutes being what the difference would be at the end.
The 19 points that separated them was the biggest winning margin since Dublin hockeyed Mayo by 33 points back in 1959.
Cork’s fifth and final goal was finished by Fiona Keating on 54 minutes, the centre-forward the sixth and final member of the starting attack to write her name on a packed scoresheet.
For Waterford, a chastening afternoon that will take a while to recover from. Only three scorers and only four points from play told the story of how difficult a final experience it was for them.
Eight members of the Waterford management team gathered in front of the Hogan Stand when referee John Dermody blew for half-time. There they stayed for several minutes of the interval.
A penny for their thoughts, their surely deeply concerned thoughts.
It was quite an assembled brains trust, among them Seán Power, Paul Flynn, and Wayne Power. But it was impossible to see how they could conjure a second half plan that would turn around a nine-point deficit. It was impossible to see where they could find solutions to all the many problems and clogged channels their players were running into.
Waterford’s outstanding difficulty was their inability to conjure scores. Outside of Beth Carton, no Waterford forward sparked trouble or menace on the rare occasion they enjoyed clean possession within range of Amy Lee’s posts.
They finished the opening half with just one scorer - Carton - and just one score from play. Mind you, they had their chances. In first half stoppages, they were presented with a ticket to revive their own cause and this final, Annie Fitzgerald fouled by Libby Coppinger for a penalty.
Had Carton goaled, the interval scoreline would have read 1-9 to 1-3, a not insurmountable target for the Déise to chase. As it was, though, Carton drilled wide. And with it died Waterford’s dream.
Down the other end of Croke Park, the passing was sharper, the lines ran smarter, and the finishing a different level of clinical.
Captain fantastic O’Connor opened their account on five minutes. As she did for most of the afternoon, O’Connor charged out to an incoming delivery, snapped up possession, and split the posts.
Three frees followed from the sticks of O’Connor (0-2) and Chloe Sigerson, Cork four in front when Waterford eventually got on the board 15 minutes in.
O’Connor’s subsequent free to reestablish their four-point lead was won by the busy and ball-winning Sorcha McCartan. It was the third free of the game she had won.
On 25 minutes, McCartan went from making scores to finishing them, the corner-forward batting a Katrina Mackey pass to the net.
At 1-7 to 0-2 in front, Cork were well down the road to victory. The destination was reached long before the full-time whistle sounded.
All-Ireland title number 29 for Cork. Their hurt locker overflowed at GAA HQ, sweeping away both their opponents and the romanticism of a possible first ever Waterford success.
Old order restored, Cork camogie champions once again.
A O’Connor (3-7, 0-5 frees); S McCartan (1-1); F Keating (1-0); K Mackey (0-2); C Sigerson (0-1 free), H Looney, O Cahalane (0-1 each).
B Carton (0-7, 0-5 frees); N Rockett, L Forrest (0-1 each).
A Lee; P Mackey, L Coppinger, M Cahalane; A Healy, L Treacy, I O’Regan; L Hayes, H Looney; C Sigerson, F Keating, S McCarthy; A O’Connor, K Mackey, S McCartan.
C Healy for Hayes (44); O Cronin for McCartan (46); A Thompson for McCarthy (51); O Cahalane for Sigerson (52); M Murphy for Mackey (53).
B O’Regan; L Forrest, K Lynch, K Corbett Barry; V Falconer, O Hickey, C Carroll; A Flynn, L Bray; M O’Brien, M Power, B Carton; N Rockett, R Walsh, A Fitzgerald.
I Heffernan for Falconer (5 mins, inj); B Bowdren for Power (HT); T Power for O’Brien (40); C Griffin for Carroll (42); S Fitzgerald for Lynch (54).
J Dermody (Westmeath).
