Amy O'Connor gears up for another All-Ireland camogie final: Galway are our biggest rivals

Amy O’Connor admits there was a sense of relief as Cork powered into a sixth successive Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior camogie final with a hard-earned 2-16 to 0-17 victory over Tipperary at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles last Saturday.

Such was her concentration on ensuring Cork won she had no idea who they were facing as Galway played Kilkenny in the other semi-final ahead of the Rebels' tie with Tipp.

The Cork forward played a leading role in the Rebels’ semi-final success, scoring their crucial first-half goal before supplying the pass for Millie Condon to net a second major as Ger Manley’s side built a nine-point interval advantage.

That cushion proved vital as Tipperary, playing on home soil, mounted a determined second-half comeback with the aid of a strong breeze, but Cork held firm to set up an August 9 showdown with Galway at Croke Park.

“We were very good in the first half,” Amy said afterwards.

“There was a strong wind there and we played with it. We were delighted going in at half-time being nine points up, but we always knew they were going to come back at us.

Tipperary are a great team. They’re pure hurlers and I actually enjoy playing against them because it’s just hurling.

“There’s no dark arts or anything. It’s just the best hurlers coming out on the day and we’re delighted to get over the line.”

Goal threat

The goals proved the decisive scores of the contest, with O’Connor delighted to see Cork convert chances that have been a focus in recent weeks.

“Goals are massive and we haven’t scored a whole pile of goals,” she said. “I think coming in today Amy Lee [Cork’s goalkeeper] was the only one to score a goal for us, which obviously isn’t brilliant, so it’s definitely something that we went after. The goals are big scores.”

Despite their commanding first-half display, Amy felt Cork fell short of their own standards after the break as Tipperary piled on the pressure.

“At half-time it was probably more of the same,” she explained.

“We probably didn’t execute it as well as we were hoping in the second half. We had a couple of wides and they kind of got on top a good bit.

“It was a very slow half but it was just about getting over the line at this stage.”

The victory extends Cork’s remarkable consistency at the top level, with the county now reaching a sixth consecutive All-Ireland final.

For Amy, who has been part of the senior set-up for more than a decade, it is another significant milestone in an already distinguished career.

“I think I’m here 13 or 14 years and we’ve only not been in the final twice,” she said. “That’s massive for Cork camogie, especially with the way we started the year, so we’re delighted.”

She was so focused on Cork’s own challenge that she admitted she was unaware Galway had defeated Kilkenny in the earlier semi-final to book their place in the decider.

“Galway have been phenomenal over the last couple of years,” she said.

They’ve been our biggest rivals and they’re a brilliant team, but we’re looking forward to it.

“We’ll have loads to work on. I think it’s good not to go out and hammer a team in a semi-final because you do have things to work on. It opens your eyes to a couple of bits that we definitely have to go after in the next few weeks.

“There’s a relief now. Semi-finals are always just relief, to be honest. It’s about getting over the line, getting into that final and then putting our best foot forward to hopefully turn Galway over.”