Cork intermediate camogie team hope to get All-Ireland final Sunday off to a great start with a win over Kilkenny

All-Ireland intermediate final: Cork v Kilkenny, Sunday, August 11th, Croke Park, 3pm.

Cork and Kilkenny are last two camogie teams standing in the hunt for the Glen Dimplex Intermediate All-Ireland championship crown as they meet in the second game of a triple header on All-Ireland Sunday in Croke Park.

Both sides have earned their place in the final with impressive campaigns.

This will be the last year that second adult teams from counties are allowed participate at intermediate level, and from 2025 onwards, the second teams will be consigned to a special competition in a format that will be the same as for the national league where all second tier counties are placed together. 

This is a huge pity that the Association have decided to do this and one gets the impression it’s a bid to stop counties such as Cork, Tipperary, Kilkenny and Galway, who are the strongest from winning against counties with one team, whilst a lot may agree with this decision, surely a player is entitled to participate at the highest level of their ability.

Cork last took the title back in 2018 when they overcame Down, and having lost out to Galway in 2022, they are determined to get it right this time round.

Survivors from that defeat at the hands of Galway are captain Lauren Homan and Niamh O’Leary.

Last season was a disappointing one for Cork.

They failed to make it through to the final but 2024 has so far gone very well.

Donie Daly took over as manager in January and by taking it one day at a time he and his management have built up a strong panel and with the Division 2B league title safely tucked away, their focus is now on getting it right on Sunday and getting over last hurdle as winners.

Kilkenny were last in the intermediate final in 2021 where they lost out to Antrim.

Hannah Scott and Cliona Murphy are two of the survivors from that Kilkenny side.

These sides are no strangers to each other, having met in the National league earlier in the season.

The sides met back in February in Castle Road where Cork ran out 2-14 to 1-12 winners ,but that will count for little as they do battle for the big prize on Sunday. 

On that day, just five of the Kilkenny starting fifteen against Kerry in their semi-final in Semple Stadium lined out against Cork.

Jane Cass and Shauna Treacy lined out in defence in both games with Cliona Murphy taking over the goalkeeping role from Tara Murphy.

Coming into the championship panel from the league panel have been Lauren Ronan, Carlise Comeford, Niamh Crowley and Danielle Morrissey. This year Kilkenny have continued to show their strength.

They are unbeaten in the All-Ireland series with five wins from six, where a draw with Dublin was the only time they failed to record a victory.

They left everything on the pitch as they battled with Kerry for over 80 minutes to secure their place in the final. 

It was nip and tuck all thoughtout and again in extra time as both sides went for it and it was Caroline Kennedy’s goal in the second half of extra time that proved decisive in securing a win for Seamus Kelly’s side and a place in the final.

The experienced Danielle Morrissey is a huge player for them, and she has been notching up the scores from play and placed balls on a consistent level all through the campaign.

She is a strong midfielder, who likes to attack and Cork will need to do a marking job on her. 

In their semi-final outing versus Offaly, it was the Cork defence that stood strong in the closing stages as the pressure came on.

Aoife Barrett and Emma Flanagan in particular were superb, but as a unit, the Cork rear-guard was strong.

Niamh O’Leary was absent due to a hamstring injury and if she is fit to start it will mean a reshuffle of the defence, where one option could be to have Barrett or Flanagan move out to pick up Morrissey, who will most likely line out at eight.

Up front, Donie Daly will need more from his forwards.

In the semi-final win just two of the starting six forwards got on the scoresheet.

Lauren Homan and Cliona Dooley contributing 2-9 between them.

Defenders Laura Doyle and Olivia McAllen mirroring the Downey brothers from the Cork senior hurling side, came from defence to fire over a point each with substitute Eimear Duignan adding two points after her introduction to the game.

These sides are evenly matched, both have had impressive campaigns in the run up to the final.

Kilkenny as a county have been starved of success at all levels recently.

Cork are aiming to get the day off to a good start and hopefully make it a Rebel double.

They have the ability they now need to go out and get the job done.