Doire are 2007 All-Ireland Junior Champions

In a nail-biting finish to a pulsating game, in front of a crowd of over 30,000 enthralled spectators, Derry’s senior camogs staged a storming injury-time comeback in Croke Park last Sunday to overcome a fancied Clare side and win the New Ireland Cup by the slimmest of margins, 3-12 to 2-14. This result consolidates Derry’s place among the top eight teams in the country, and earns the Oak Leaf girls the opportunity to pitch themselves against the senior counties next year.

Derry came into this game as underdogs, with Clare having contested the final in 2003 and 2005, losing both in replays, and Clare had also beaten Derry in their two recent meetings. Both times, however, there was only a point between the sides, and Derry were confident going into Sunday’s final that a good performance from them would give them a fighting chance, and they rose to the occasion in style.

Clare settled better at the start but couldn’t open up any significant advantage on the scoreboard. Derry’s opening score came from free by Paula McAtamney after she had been pulled back, and this was followed by a rousing long-range point on the run by Aisling Diamond. Derry’s determination was encapsulated soon afterwards when Sinead Cassidy blocked down a clearance, gained possession and in a flash had the ball over the bar. Both teams then settled into a point swapping pattern, with the lead changing hands a number of times. Grainne McGoldrick got another another excellent long-range point on the run after carrying the ball from her own half-back line, and Aisling Diamond blasted narrowly over from twenty metres. Derry’s other scores in the half were two frees, one from McAtamney after she had been dragged down again, and a monster point from McGoldrick from the midfield mark that left the scores tied 0-7 each at the break.

Parity at the halfway mark was a huge boost to the Derry girls, as their opening quarter had been quite nervous, and in their previous games Clare had established a significant lead by half-time which had left Derry chasing the game. The Derry girls re-emerged after the break with renewed vigour, and started off in great style. Two spectacular points, one from 60 metres by Diamond and another confident strike by Cassidy, followed by a 45 metre free by McGoldrick, saw Derry take a two point lead. With Clare refusing to yield, a third McAtamney free restored Derry’s advantage leading into a frantic last quarter which saw the fortunes of both sides see-saw in dramatic fashion.

First, Derry made the break-through when a long ball over the top by Cassidy was coolly flicked past the advancing keeper by Aileen Laverty to give Derry the lead 1-10 to 0-9 with ten minutes remaining. This lead was to last but two minutes, however, as the tide swung Clare’s way. First, after what seemed a clear foul on McGoldrick in midfield, a long ball was played over the Derry defence and Clare’s player of the match, Claire Commane, won the race to divert the ball to the net. She soon followed with a free, and the match was level with seven minutes to go. Then Derry suffered another bodyblow, when a long free from midfield found its way through a packed defence to bounce past the unsighted Claire O’Kane in goals. With Derry reeling, Clare tagged on another point, and the match had seen an eight point swing within three minutes.

Things looked ominous for Derry, but they kept their composure and kept applying the pressure on the Clare defence. With the clock running down, the match took another turn. McGoldrick lofted a free from 50 metres that dropped on the edge of the small square, McAtamney pulled overhead, and similar to Clare’s goal previously, the ball evaded the bodies on the line and nestled in the net. Derry’s tails were up, and a minute later Cassidy equalised with a sublime point, grabbing a long sideline from McGoldrick and charging towards the goal before nonchalantly stroking the ball over from thirty metres.

All square with normal time virtually up, and the large crowd gripped by the drama on the field. Clare produced another late surge, and two consecutive points by Commane gave them a precious two point lead. Still Derry stubbornly refused to yield and kept their discipline and composure. The announcement that there would be six minutes of additional time drew the ire of the Clare contingent, though a review of the video would seem to justify the decision. Derry were confident of taking any chances that would come their way in the final minutes, even though a lot of the additional time was taken up with treatment for players.

The tension was palpable as the second half entered its 35th minute, and the final twist in the tale happened in what seemed like slow motion. McGoldrick was waiting patiently to take a sideline in midfield as another Clare player was receiving treatment. The referee indicated two remaining minutes, McGoldrick didn’t get a good connection on the sideline cut but the ball broke back to her. She collected, broke two tackles and launched a high delivery from midfield towards the Clare square. Cometh the hour, cometh the woman, and McAtamney spectacularly pulled the ball out of the clouds on the edge of the square. She was immediately wrapped up by defenders in what seemed a clear foul in the penalty area. The outcome of the ensuing scrum was a throw-in on the 21 metre line, and it looked as though Derry’s luck was not in. Fortune favours the brave, however, and from the throw-in, Laverty kicked the ball forward where it broke to Diamond on the edge of the large square. Again, as destiny would have it, the right woman in the right place at the right time. She whipped the ball off the turf at chest height, it hit the Clare keeper and dropped towards the line. The stadium held its breath. In the eyes of the Derry contingent, never in the history of camogie has a sliotar travelled so excruciatingly slow, but travel it did, evading the desperate lunge of the keeper and rolling into the corner of the net. 37 minutes gone, Derry one point up, but the game is not over yet as the referee allows one more play. With Derry distracted by celebrations, Clare take a quick puck-out to their half-back line, but once again the tackling of the Derry girls results in dispossession and turnover, and the ball is hit high to Laverty, whose measured strike from the left is adjudged to have gone wide. No matter now, as the referee blows the final whistle on the ensuing puck-out to trigger wild celebrations among the Derry players and mentors.

It was a cruel blow for the Clare girls, who were understandably distraught at the end but who were gracious in defeat. They played their part in an excellent game of intensely competitive but fair camogie, and many would feel that neither team deserved to lose in the end. For Derry, though, this was about banishing the ghosts of last year’s narrow defeats in their two national finals and proving to themselves that they could go the extra mile. Given the occasion and the quality of opposition, they had to play to their absolute limits physically and mentally, and their resolve and hunger never abated until the final whistle. It has been a long and often arduous road to Croke Park for this team, but the pain was all forgotten when Claire Doherty, Derry’s inspirational captain, climbed the famous steps of the Hogan Stand and held the New Ireland Cup aloft.