Courcey Rovers 5-14

St Catherine’s 0-16

NOEL HORGAN REPORTS

FLATTERED to lead by five points at the interval, Courcey Rovers turned on the style in the second half to run out convincing winners over St Catherine’s in the SE Systems county senior camogie championship quarter-final at Castle Road on Saturday.

Achieved at the expense of the 2025 defeated finalists, the result makes it abundantly clear Courceys’ bid for a title they last won six years ago is worthy of the utmost respect.

Selector Joey Gallagher was clearly delighted and encouraged by the manner in which they got the job done against St Catherine’s.

‘To come here today and do what we did is a massive achievement for us,’ he said.

‘All the players performed well, Linda (Collins) was back to her best of course, and I’ll be surprised if Cork don’t come looking for her again.

‘We’re in a semi-final now, there are no easy games ahead, but with the scores we’ve been putting up, I don’t think any team will fancy taking us on at this stage,’ Gallagher concluded.

It isn’t hard to understand why Linda Collins was singled out for special mention by the Courceys mentor.

She was simply unstoppable at full-forward, as her personal tally of 4-5 from play amply illustrates. Her efforts were primarily the reason why Courceys led at the end of a first half in which St Catherines enjoyed the better of matters territorially.

Ably assisted by Jacinta Crowley and Fiona Keating in the full-forward line, Collins had what was required to dish out the punishment whenever Courceys managed to progress beyond the St Catherine’s half-back line in the first half.

She was very quick to make her mark after being fed by Saoirse McCarthy, racing in from the right to finish to the net from close range within a minute of the throw-in.

Fiona Keating bagged Courceys’ second goal to make it 2-1 to 0-2 in the 11th minute. They were 3-5 to 0-9 up after Collins struck again following good work by wing-back Gráinne Hannon in the 29th minute.

If Collins was in sparkling form up front, that Courceys went in at half-time leading by 3-6 to 0-10 owed much as well to the deeds of ultra-dependable goalkeeper Katie Crowley at the other end.

Crowley proved equal to shots at goal by St Catherine’s Meabh Fitzgerald and Niamh O’Regan, moving smartly off her line to foil another promising raid by the losers before the break.

To compound St Catherine’s frustration, they clocked up nine wides – eight more than Courceys – during the opening 30 minutes.

It didn’t take Courceys long to consolidate their advantage on the turnover, with Collins raising another green flag after latching on to a well-delivered cross by substitute Caoimhe Foley in the 35th minute. It left them leading by 4-7 to 0-11.

As they moved up the gears in all sectors, they were never in the slightest danger of being overhauled subsequently.

Gráinne Hannon, Grace O’Reilly and Aisling Moloney were particularly unyielding in defence, Edel Moloney, very consistent throughout, got through an amount of effective work at midfield where the classy Saoirse McCarthy thundered into the picture to become increasingly influential as the second half progressed.

It was McCarthy’s measured delivery from distance that led to a fourth goal from the rampant Linda Collins, pushing Courcey’s 5-12 to 0-14 ahead approaching the last ten minutes.

The teams shared four points on the run-in, with Collins, fittingly, having the last word for the winners.

In what was a compelling team display, Jacinta Crowley was another Courceys forward to emerge from the fray with flying colours.

For St Catherine’s, Cork senior Laura Hayes stood out at centre-back, Eimear O’Regan was regularly seen to good effect at midfield, while Meabh Fitzgerald, even if she promised more than she achieved, was a constant threat at full-forward.

Niamh O’Regan also did well in attack for the East Cork side.

Next up is a county semi-final against Blackrock, who beat Aghabullogue 1-12 to 1-10. Three-in-a-row chasing St Finbarr’s meet Sarsfields in the other semi-final.

OUR STAR: Oozing class and confidence, Linda Collins wreaked havoc in the No. 14 shirt for Courceys.

Scorers

Courcey Rovers: L Collins 4-5; J Crowley 0-5 (2f); F Keating 1-0; S McCarthy 0-3 (1f); A O’Donoghue 0-1.

St Catherine’s: O Cotter 0-5 (1 45, 4f); N O’Regan, M Fitzgerald 0-4 each; A Mulkerrins 0-2; L Hayes 0-1.

Courcey Rovers: K Crowley; J Helbrow, A O’Reilly, G O’Reilly; G Hannon, A Moloney, O O’Mahony; S McCarthy; E Moloney; E Maguire, D O’Reilly, A O’Donoghue; J Crowley, L Collins, F Keating.

Subs: C Foley for D O’Reilly (ht), L Nield for O’Donoghue (54).

St Catherine’s: Y O’Neill; L Kenneally, C Hayes, S Mai-Clancy; T Murphy, L Hayes, C Draper; E O’Brien, M O’Keeffe; A Hurley, O Cotter, F Neville; N O’Regan, M Fitzgerald, A Mulkerrins.

Subs: S Fitzgerald for O’Keeffe (51), C Dunning for Mai-Clancy (52).

Referee: Cathal McAlister.