Last gasp goal scuppers battling Limerick in National Camogie League clash with Clare

“WE WEREN'T happy with the first half, not enough return from the wind and we were caught twice for goals. But we were way better after the break, turning a deficit of five points into a lead of two before we were caught by the last puck of the game.”

After two wins from two in their opening Division 1B National Camogie League fixtures, manager Dave Deady was expressing his frustrations after a spirited second half rally by his Limerick senior camogie team was overcome at the death in a 3-8 to 2-8 defeat by Clare in Cappamore on Saturday afternoon.

Having failed to make the most of the noticeable wind at their backs, a goal conceded on the stroke of half-time left Limerick facing an uphill battle after the break but, after a storming final quarter shot them within sight of victory, the home side were overcome by a last gasp goal.

Despite this setback, however, Deady's charges in his first year of senior intercounty management, are still within sight of promotion and victories at home to Wexford and away to Dublin in their final two outings would see them making the step up to Division 1A.

With little separating the six teams in the group, the Limerick side will be hoping to build on the continuing improvement shown by the team in each of their three outings.

Both sides tore into a frantic opening that gave no time for establishing composure before Laura Southern got Limerick off the mark.

However, despite attempts to follow up, the hosts were then caught by a breakaway Banner attack when Lorna McNamara was first out to a long delivery and turned to get past two challenges before slotting to the net.

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Coming up to the break, Limerick's efforts to get a return from the breeze at their backs stumbled with final dropped passes before Laura Southern eventually found the target. However, straight from the resulting puckout, Jennifer Daly connected to restore Clare's lead to two by the quarter mark.

The home team's next score, a Donna Kenny's free, was cancelled out by Abby Walsh's reply directly off the puckout and, as the Banner girls were holding out with increasing authority in the run-up to the break, the visitors edged further ahead when Caoimhe Cahill and struck from distance.

To their credit, Limerick responded with their first sustained period of attacking on the scoreboard which yielded points from Kenny, Lizzy Boylan and Kenny's equalising free.

Howewver, right at the end of the two added minutes, Ziyan Spillane pounced on a breaking ball, brushed off a number of challenges before firing her a goal that left her side leading 2-3 to 0-6 at half-time.

Fired up by the sudden change on the scoreboard, Clare flew out of the traps for the restart and, despite riding their luck when Dearbhla Egan's double on a long delivery went just outside the upright, pressed the opposing defence to draw two fouls for McNamara to punish.

However, just as the visitors lead of five points looked like establishing a stranglehold on play, Limerick grabbed a lifeline when Southern collected off Rebecca Delee's solo from halfway and drilled to the net beyond the tip of Doireann Murphy's outstretched hurley.

That response could have been wiped out minutes later when Spillane was fouled on a raid in from the right. However, McNamara's penalty attempt sailed past Sarah Gillane's left upright.

The ball was still in the visitors' court when McNamara coverted a free on the three-quarter mark but, as their intensity began to level off, Limerick responded with renewed vigour and catapulted themselves back level when Boylan, on a surge down the right, scythed past the challenges to drill to the far corner of the Banner goals.

When Kenny's pointed free and Boylan, from play, splitting the posts off Delee's pass, had the Limerick side leading by two points coming up to the end of regulation time, it looked as if the hosts were on the verge of a spectaculr comeback.

However, their Munster rivals gave it one last shot in the three added minutes, grabbing an equalising score when Daly followed McNamara's free with a point from out right.

Then, in the final passage of play, she collected a long clearance from a line ball on her own corner flag, found the space between a number of challenges to get her shot in and watch it dip under the Limerick crossbar for a dramatic victory.

SCORERS: CLARE: Lorna McNamara 2-5 (0-4 frees), Ziyane Spillane 1-0, Jennifer Daly, Abby Walsh, Caoimhe Cahill 0-1 each; LIMERICK: Donna Kenny 0-5 (3 frees), Lizzy Boylan, Laura Southern 1-2 each.

CLARE: Doireann Murphy; Muireann Scanlon, Sinéad O'Keeffe, Daniellem Griffin; Lynda Daly, Abby Walsh, Clare Hehir; Niamh Mulqueen, Róisín McMahon; Andrea O'Keeffe, Caoimhe Cahill, Jennifer Daly; Ziyan Spillane, Lorna McNamara, Maeve Millea. SUBS: Susan Daly for Danielle Griffin (injured, 17 minutes), Áine O'Loughlin for Maeve Millea (injured, 35 minutes), Caoimhe Carmody for Niamh Mulqueen (43 minutes).

LIMERICK: Sarah Gillane; Teresa Dore, Shauna Cunningham, Emily O'Halloran; Sophie O'Callaghan, Stephanie Woulfe, Eimear O'Donovan; Ailbhe Larkin, Orlaith Kelleher; Donna Kenny, Rebecca Delee, Lizzie Boylan; Laura Southern, Dearbhla Egan, Sarah O'Brien. SUBS: Ciara O'Riordan for Emily O'Halloran (46 minutes), Ciara Curtin for Laura Southern (46 minutes), Maeve Geary for Dearbhla Egan (53 minutes), Ellie Woulfe for Teresa Dore (54 minutes).

REFEREE: Gavin Donegan (Dublin).