*Clare joint captain, Abby Walsh. Photograph: Ruth Griffin.
CLARE’s senior camogie side are on the road this weekend facing off with Kilkenny where the reward for the winner is a guaranteed place in the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland quarter-finals.
Throwing in at 14:30 at UMPC Nowlan Park, the clash will also be streamed live on the Camogie Association’s YouTube channel.
So far it’s three wins from as many championship ties for Eugene Foudy’s Clare side. They’ve overcome Dublin (2-16 3-10), Wexford (3-9 1-11) and Limerick (1-13 0-11) to leave themselves on the cusp of back to back quarter-final appearances.
Speaking to The Clare Echo following the Limerick victory, Foudy outlined, “We’re delighted with that result. We knew coming into today’s match that Limerick’s championship lives were on the line as they couldn’t afford a second loss and therefore we expected them to throw the kitchen sink at us. But as I’ve said all year that if we could win our home games, it would go a long way to getting us to where we want to be and so it has proved”.
An emphasis has been placed on winning at home this year, he explained. “That was our fifth home game this year between league and championship and a fifth win as well so if you can keep winning your home games and make Ennis a fortress, then you always have a great shot at qualifying if you can pick up a win or two on the road. So we’re delighted to keep that run going now. Going in leading at half-time, having played into a stiff breeze laid the foundation for this win. We had been a little shaky in the first five or ten minutes but you’d expect that with a young team and the added pressure of a home crowd. But the girls settled well, Roisin [Begley]’s goal really got us motoring and I don’t think we led the lead slip from there on in”.
Foudy said Clare have made the most of their two break before facing off with the Kittens in Nowlan Park.
