Galway secured a Littlewoods National Camogie League semi-final place on Sunday after coming through Wexford in their final Group One match.
Two Ailish O’Reilly goals and 11 Rebecca Hennelly points saw the Tribeswomen’s put up an impressive score in their 2-16 to 4-8 victory in Wexford Park.
GALWAY CAMOGIE: (Match Report) – GALWAY 2-16 WEXFORD 4-8 https://t.co/e1pEH5cnWU
— Galway Daily (@GalwayDaily) February 25, 2018
The four conceded goals will occupy Tony O’Donovan’s mind ahead of a semi-final meeting with Kilkenny on March 11th. But the manager will be happy how his team responded despite those setbacks.
Galway captain Sarah Dervan joined us for a chat after the final whistle and said it felt like a knock out game but they were delighted with the result.
“There was a bit of a bite to it now,” said Dervan. “I think both teams went hammer and thongs at it. And I suppose there was a semi-final in the league at stake. We needed to win that and thank God we held out just at the end by two points.
“Two of them (Wexford’s goals) were definitely my fault. I just got caught. But we responded well. Niamh Hanniffy up there is unbelievable. She’s getting ball and they’re coughing it and Ailish (O’Reilly) came into the game mighty.
“It was a do-or-die kind of a game for us and fair play to our forwards. They stood up and were counted for.
“More like nearly a rugby match at times. She still got two goals on me I suppose. I won’t forget that I think for a long time. But we got the win and hopefully that’s all that matters.
RESULT: @LittlewoodsIRL Division 1 Group 1 @GalwayCamogie96 2-16 @wexfordcamogie 4-8 #StyleOfPlay Galway edge a thriller to qualify for the Semi-Finals! pic.twitter.com/4utLtSj9BD
— Camogie Association (@OfficialCamogie) February 25, 2018
“Ailish got two savage goals and Becky (Rebecca Hennelly) was on fire up there. I think she scored every free that she put down bar one. It was just a dogged kind of a match. And in fairness, everybody worked well.
“We’ll be sore for a while tomorrow I think. But we’ve a semi-final now to look forward to and that’s the main thing.”
Hear the full interview BELOW
