Clare suffered a comprehensive twenty four point hammering at the hands of Kilkenny in their third outing of this year’s Liberty Insurance All-Ireland senior camogie championship.
Kilkenny 4-13
Clare 0-01
Venue: Ballyragget
Put simply this was a rout and one of the darkest hours in the recent history of Clare camogie. Twelve months ago, Patricia O’Grady’s side earned a well earned draw with Nowlan Park and for the margin to extend by twenty four points is frightening.
Clare came into this game after a month’s break from championship while Kilkenny were in action two weeks ago beating Waterford by six points.
Kilkenny had four scores on the board before Clare opened their account. Michelle Quilty could have scored a goal early on only for Lauran Solon to push her effort over the bar. Quilty did manage to raise a green flag as the contest progressed with Miriam Walsh and Denise Gaule also beating the Whitegate netminder.
Waterford claimed a surprise win over Limerick in the same group meaning next weekend’s outing against the Déise is a winner take all clash with a place in the knockout stages on the line. The Banner have home advantage for the tie and getting a victory has to be their absolute focus, it would also be the ideal response to this loss and it is definitely within their capability, though the Waterford challenge cannot be underestimated and off the back of their two point win they pose a difficult threat.
