Senior Championship V Fr. Murphy's

Saturday 23^rd June 2011, Tir Chonaill Park, Greenford

Croydon 3-5 V Father Murphy's 1-4

Croydon Camogie Club secured their place in the senior championship final after an epic victory over Fr Murphys at Greenford on Saturday 23rd of July. Both teams battled throughout but the South London team emerged victorious and will face Tara next Saturday in Ruislip.

In the first ten minutes both teams struggled to get scores on the board and saw their attempts go wide of the posts. Croydon's Angela Kerr made a few great attempts to run through to put Croydon on the scoreboard but Fr Murphys Bronagh McLernon was unyielding at centre half back and denied Kerr from capitalising on the opportunities she had created. The South London team were first to get the ball over the bar with a well taken 45m free from Sharon McNeela. Croydon looked like they were going to add to this tally very quickly as they exerted immense pressure on the Fr Murphys defence but the Murphys girls weren't going to give them an easy passage through in this competitive semi final. Another expertly taken free from Sharon McNeela took Croydon to 2 points after 15 minutes and Fr Murphy's responded with a Threasa O'Connell point to get them on the scoreboard and put the narrowest of margins between the teams.

The Croydon defenders put up a wall of defence from the outset with captain Elaine Dunphy leading the troops from centre half back. Dunphy made some very impressive clearances for the girls in black & white and Croydon defenders Sinead Allis and Marian Cottrell were both steadfast in clearing their lines. The determination and great teamwork from all the Croydon defenders throughout made scoring very difficult for the Fr. Murphy's attackers.

At centre field Nora Cositigan put in a great performance for the Murphys girls but the Croydon centre field duo Claire Lenihan and Sharon McNeela were in top form and McNeela consistently drove the ball into the talented Croydon forwards all eager to get their name on the scoreboard. Twenty five minutes into the first half, Aisling Tuohy made a convincing run at goal for Croydon but was stalled in her tracks by the Fr Murphys full back Sinead O'Neill. Determined to get the ball in the back of the net, Tuohy wasn't going let the missed opportunity prey on her mind and with two minutes to go in the first half she rattled the back of the Fr. Murphy's net past keeper Melanie Hogan to give Croydon a four point lead at the half time mark.

The second half opened with a Fr. Murphy's goal from Catherine Moran. The battle then ensued with only one point between the teams. This goal seemed to give the Croydon girls a wake up call and was almost immediately cancelled out by a Mary Dalton goal. Mary put in a sterling performance in the Croydon forward line and consistently attacked at pace and with conviction. Also continually driving forward for Croydon were Angela Kerr and Anne Browne with Browne making an inspired and determined run for Croydon which ended with a well measured and impressively taken point. The teams then exchanged points with Threasa O'Connell scoring for Fr Murphys followed by a Mary Dalton point for Croydon. Fr Murphys defenders, Sinead O'Neill, Zoe Power and Bronagh McLernon put in great performances but the slick play from the Croydon girls made it an arduous and almost impossible task for them to keep the Croydon forwards out. Croydon were playing with confidence and conviction making it difficult for the Murphys girls to alter the course of the game. Sharon McNeela and her mid field partner Claire Lenihan ensured the Croydon forward line were kept busy throughout the game and Fr. Murphy's Nora Costigan and Thresa O'Connell's efforts to get Fr Murphys ahead were scuppered by very solid Croydon defending. Eventually Costigan got through to score a point to which Aisling Tuohy replied at the other end with a point for Croydon. Threasa O'Connell got Fr Murphys last score of the game with a well taken point but Anne Dempsey put an end to any hopes of a Fr. Murphys comeback by scoring another Croydon goal in the 26th minute. The final score was 3-5 to 1-4.

This game was a pleasure to watch and was an exhibition of the high standard of camogie in London. Croydon face the reigning county champions, Tara Camogie Club in the final next Saturday in Ruislip. This will undoubtedly be another well contested game in the London 2011 camogie calender.

Croydon: Sarah Allen, Sinead Allis, Sinead O' Donoghue, Clare Curtin, Sarah Butler, Elaine Dunphy, Marian Cottrell, Claire Lenihan, Sharon McNeela, Mary Dalton, Angela Kerr, Anne Browne, Louise Molyneaux, Aisling Tuohy, Anne Dempsey, Claire McCarthy, Rita O' Mahoney, Jenni Mc Giveny, Alison Kelly.