Cork Camogie: Rebels face Kilkenny as they bid to pick up first points of season

It doesn’t get any easier for Cork as they head to Kilkenny to take on the Cats in round three of the Centra Camogie League Division 1A.

Kilkenny come into the game in confident form after two big wins in the league so far as they are joint top of the table with Waterford, the only two undefeated sides.

They will be looking to build on those wins again on Saturday at St Lachtain’s GAA Club, throw-in 2pm, as they take on a Cork side who have yet to put any points on the table.

The Cats have gotten the better of Galway and Tipperary in their opening games, two sides that are never easy to beat and they will be confident of adding another scalp as they take on a Cork side that have yet to get going.

Asha McHardy picked up the Player of the Match accolade for her display in the half-forward line, scoring six points from play to power her side to an 0-15 to 0-10 victory.

“This year there’s just such a new energy within the group, it’s so positive and so enjoyable. We really wanted to come and back up last week’s win here today, and we’re delighted to have done that,” she said afterwards.

“There was a strong wind in the first half, we did well to have a lead of nine at half-time but we knew Tipp were going to come back at us, we probably had a bit of a rough patch but we stuck with them and dogged it out.

“We’ll put the heads down now and get ready for Cork. We’re in a good place and we’re looking forward to it.”

As good a place as Kilkenny are in, the opposite could be said about Cork, but there are mitigating factors.

For their opening two games they had four first day out and then three, the second day of the side that lost the All-Ireland final on the pitch.

That is down to a combination of retirements and injuries, but there is some good news on the injury front.

Players like Meabh Cahalane, Laura Hayes and Saoirse McCarthy are back in training and manager Ger Manley hopes to have them available shortly for selection. They are unlikely to start tomorrow as Manley said that it’s too early in their recovery for them to do so.

He also has Izzy O’Regan back in training along with Ciara O’Sullivan, with the former the more likely to feature. O’Sullivan is still well away from featuring and has yet to take part in any contact training, but Manley hopes she will be fit for the championship.

He also confirmed that Clodagh Finn and Amy O’Connor are on the way back but said that they too are out for the league.

“I expect the team that starts won’t be too far from the one that started against Antrim,” said Manley.

“We still have a lot of players only on the way back and we can’t afford to risk some of them for fear of a reaction to their injuries.

“But we will be heading up to Kilkenny determined to put in a quality performance against a side that are in very good form. The players know the challenge that lies ahead and they will have to be up for it or else we will be facing down another defeat.”

BOUNCE

Cork will need to bounce back from their losses to Waterford and Antrim and need to get points on the board or else the defending champions could be staring down the relegation road.

The Rebels will need big games from the likes of Libby Coppinger, Emma Murphy, Niamh McNabola, and Ashling Thompson to have any chance of winning as they hope to get their first win of the season.

It won’t be easy and they will be going in as underdogs but this side have bounced back before and there is a determination in the squad to start turning things around and to be one of their arch enemies would be a huge confidence boost for them.