End of the road for Birr as five goal Sinnott inspires Oulart to comprehensive win

IT was a bridge too far for Birr as a very strong, impressively fit Oulart the Ballagh side ended their Leinster Club Camogie Senior Championship ambitions with a very comprehensive win in St Brendan's Park on Sunday afternoon.

AIB Leinster Club Camogie Senior Championship semi-final

Oulart the Ballagh 5-16
Birr 1-7

Birr's year will be defined by their Offaly championship success and the end of St Rynagh's five year run as champions but this step up proved too much for them.

They tried hard, in the first half in particular, and to their credit, they kept plugging away in the second half when the game was well and truly out of reach for them. However, they came up against very experienced, very good opposition and were always swimming against the tide here.

From the start, it was clear that Birr would not be adding a Leinster final appearance to a memorable year and, significantly, the Wexford women looked like getting in for goals every time they went forward. They ended up scoring five, all from the stick of the brilliant Shauna Sinnott, and they could have got another couple.

There was, however, no shame in defeat for Birr and they can be proud of the heart they showed on a very difficult day for camogie with heavy rain making it very hard to play camogie – and it really got worse in the second half but Birr kept fighting to the very end.

Birr battled very hard from the throw in but were up against it at the break as they went in trailing by 2-8 to 0-6, having played with the wind.

They fought tenaciously and made life difficult for the Wexford opponents but in truth, the writing was on the wall from an early stage. They conceded 1-2 without reply in the first five minutes, with the goal a super strike by Shauna Sinnott in the fourth minute.

Birr played their best camogie after this, scoring five points, including three in a row from Ellen Regan, Mairead Jennings (free) and Sarah Harding. Unfortunately, it unravelled a bit for them before the break as Shauna Sinnott got a second goal, another lovely strike and they also added three points for that imposing half time lead.

Birr's supporters knew that they wouldn't be coming back from that half time deficit but Oulart quickly ended any slim illusions that may have been harboured in the second half. They made a lightening restart to the second half with 2-3 in the first five minutes. Both goals were excellent finishes by Shauna Sinnott and there was not even a remote chance of Birr hauling in a 4-11 to 0-6 deficit.

It all petered out very tamely from here as both sides ran in subs. Birr really knucked down but scores were very hard to get. Sarah Harding did get a 37th minute goal while Mairead Jennings was wide with a penalty deep in injury time. In between that, Oulart were content to go through the motions with Sinnott getting her fifth goal in the 55th minute.

MATCH ANALYSIS

PLAYER OF THE MATCH

Shauna Sinnott (Oulart the Ballagh): An easy choice here as Shauna Sinnott netted five goals. Her finishing was superb and her exploits ensured there was no fairytale for Birr.

THE SCORERS

Oulart the Ballagh: Shauna Sinnott 5-0, Anais Curran 0-5 (3f), Shelly Kehoe 0-4, Stacey Kehoe, Louise Sinnott and Siobhan Sinnott 0-2 each, Katie Gallagher 0-1.

Birr: Sarah Harding 1-3, Mairead Jennings 0-3 (3), Hannah Feenane 0-1 (f).

THE TEAMS

OULART THE BALLAGH: Lauren Sinnott; Katie Roche, Ciara Storey, Karen Atkinson; Aoife Dunne, Aideen Brennan, Mary Leacy; Stacey Kehoe, Anais Curran; Katie Gallagher, Shelly Kehoe, Louise Sinnott; Shauna Sinnott, Siobhan Sinnott, Miriam O'Dowd. Subs – Katie Murphy for Atkinson (HT), Leanne Nolan for Louise Sinnott (40m), Bronagh Kenny for Siobhan Sinnott (52m), Michaela Hawkins for Roche (55m).

BIRR: Caoimhe Kinsella; Ciara Ryan, Deirdre Cashen, Mairead Dooley; Sheila Sullivan, Alana Roddy, Brooke Whelahan; Arlene Watkins, Hannah Feenane; Sarah Harding, Mairead Jennings, Dawn Whelahan; Roisin Kinsella, Faye Mulrooney, Ellen Regan. Subs – Rebecca Ryan for Brooke Whelahan (HT), Makalah Amaika for Roisin Kinsella (45m), Denise Connors for Watkins (53m), Aoife Carey for Sullivan (57m).

Referee – Gavin Donegan.

REFEREE WATCH

Gavin Donegan had a good solid game and was not a factor in the result.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Birr gave it everything but the writing was on the wall for them as early as the fourth minute when Shauna Sinnott got in for the first of her five goals.

VENUE WATCH

Heavy rain before hand did not help the Birr pitch but it held up reasonably well. There were basic housekeeping chores that the Camogie Association could improve on – late changes to the teams were not announced, despite a plea over the public address system for that information and simple things such as this need to be got right. On the other side of the coin, a genuine welcome was offered to the decent crowd and the free tea and biscuits was a very nice gesture.

TALKING POINT

Like Shinrone in senior hurling the previous day, it was a great experience for Birr to compete at this level. It was a bridge too far but it will serve a young team well.

WHAT'S NEXT

Oulart the Ballagh march into the final while Birr's year is over.

STATISTICS

Wides: Oulart the Ballagh – 3 (1 in the first half); Birr – 6 (2 in first half).

Yellow cards: Oulart the Ballagh – 1 (Karen Atkinson); Birr – 5 (Faye Mulrooney, Brooke Whelahan, Deirdre Cashen, Mairead Jennings Sarah Harding).