Drom & Inch get quest for fifth county title in a row off to winning start

FBD Insurance Senior Camogie Hurling Championship - Round 1

Drom & Inch 4-11

Burgess Duharra 2-12

Drom & Inch survived a very tough test against an impressive Burgess Duharra side to win 4-11 to 2-12 at home on Sunday morning in Round 1 of the FBD Insurance Senior Championship.

A well taken goal by Michelle Woodlock after three minutes put Drom into the driving seat. In the 14th minute, Aoife McGrath made a great run from midfield to pick up a perfectly timed pass from first cousin Miriam Campion and score Drom’s third point to make it 1-3 to 0-2.

However, this was to be Drom’s final score for 17 minutes as Burgess Duharra showed a huge work rate and determination to cut out any Drom attack. An Amy Kennedy point from play was followed by two Jenny Grace points and a point from Ciardha Maher to leave the game tied 1-3 to 0-6 after 24 minutes.

The home side then suddenly hit 1-2 without reply in the space of 3 minutes to go in at half time 2-5 to 6 points. First Eimear McGrath pointed to a free she had won herself before adding another from play.

A minute later Drom & Inch stalwart Joanne Ryan gathered possession way out in the corner before making a beeline for the goals evading the Burgess challenge to fire home a key score.

So despite having played second fiddle to Duharra for large parts of the opening half and against the wind the county champions went in at the break five points in front 2-5 to 0-6.

The opening five minutes of the restart was end-to-end action with Eimear McGrath pointing for Drom before Jenny Grace executed two frees for Burgess Duharra.

Aoife McGrath who was by now starting to have a big influence on the game shot for a point in the 34th minute but the ball dipped into the top corner to make it 3-6 to 0-8. Ciardha Maher who had picked up a shoulder injury early in the first half and had to be substituted to get it strapped before returning to the fold was now operating at full forward and proving to be a handful.

She pointed before finishing a goal in the 40th minute to put three between the sides again. Drom & Inch were guilty of hitting a lot of wides throughout the hour but to Burgess Duharra’s credit, they were placing huge pressure on the shooter with Ciara McKeogh, Aisling Cremin, and Gemma Grace all putting in a big shift in the half-backline.

But Drom’s persistence and fitness paid off as just like the first half they finished the half very strong with Eimear McGrath again to the fore. A pointed free was followed by a superb goal and two points from play to make it 4-11 to 1-12 with time running out.

One final attack down the middle yielded a late goal by Ciardha Maher but it wasn’t enough as Drom recorded their first win.

Drom & Inch: Kristina Kenneally; Maria Connolly, Christina Brennan, Eimear Cahill; Aine Greed, Anne Eviston, Mairead Eviston; Aoife McGrath (1-1), Mary Burke; Niamh Treacy, Miriam Campion, Caroline Shanahan; Joanne Ryan (1-1), Michelle Woodlock (1-0), Eimear McGrath (1-9, 0-4f).

Subs used: Maureen Ryan for Aine Greed; Siobhan McGrath for Niamh Treacy; Niamh Long for Caroline Shanahan.

Burgess Duharra: Ciara Holohan; Iris Grace, Fiona Kirwan, Katie O’Flaherty; Gemma Grace, Aisling Cremin, Ciara McKeogh; Ciardha Maher (2-3), Caoimhe Maher (0-1); Jenny Grace (0-7, 0-6f), Amy Kennedy (0-1), Roisin Duffy; Caoilfhionn Maher, Kaitlin O’Halloran, Laura Reid.

Subs used: Laura Kennedy for Laura Reid.