Liberty Insurance Senior Camogie Championship Group 2: Clare v Derry (Sunday, Ennis, 2.30pm)
ALTHOUGH Derry can no longer advance in the Senior Championship having suffered a four-point defeat to Dublin last weekend, the Oak Leafers may yet play a major role in who progresses.
As the Group 2 table stands, Dublin, who are sitting in third place, are in the hotseat for qualification. Should Derry see off Clare, the Dubs would face-off against Wexford in the quarter-final on Saturday,
August 1. If the Banner girls were to beat Derry, they would draw level with Dublin on three points. When Dublin and Clare played each other earlier in the campaign, the game ended in a draw with a final score of 1-8 apiece.
Under the 2015 National Fixtures Management plan, if two teams have an equal ranking (i.e. if a head-to-head game ended in a draw), the final rankings will be decided by A) goal difference – higher number of goals scored in the group match(es) between the teams in question; B) points difference – higher number of points scored in the group match(es) between the teams in question. If, after this, the teams are still equal then the final scenario C) applies – draw lots (this will arise in the event that Clare beat Derry), with the draw taking place after the match ends and with the team drawn proceeding to the quarter-finals.
In a statement, the Camogie Association said: “These predetermined procedures were agreed by the Ard Chomhairle in November 2014. The procedure was raised in initial discussion with counties in October 2014 and a full draft of the fixtures plan was issued on October 31.
“The procedure was introduced in an effort to free up dates during the inter-county season to provide for club game schedules by avoiding play-off dates at inter-county level. This predetermined procedure has been known to counties since the National Fixtures Plan was disseminated to all counties on December 3 2014.
“As part of the usual annual review of fixtures in October 2015, the new procedure will be considered in the context of fixtures planning for the 2016 season. Furthermore, the Clare v Derry fixture on July 26, which is the final round of the group stages of the Liberty Insurance Senior Camogie Championship, takes place on this date and not in parallel with other senior Championship group games for the following reasons:
1) On Saturday, June 20 the opening round of the Liberty Insurance Senior Championship took place. As Ulster were hosting the National Féile na nGael competition, Derry’s request to keep that weekend free of inter-county games was facilitated. This decision is the norm in regard to counties involved in hosting Féile every year.
2) Following a meeting at national level with the Ladies’ Gaelic Football Association (LGFA), it was highlighted that a potential fixture issue could arise on Saturday, July 25 affecting dual players with Clare if they were to play in a TG4 Intermediate LGFA Championship qualifying round. To avoid this national fixture clash, the Camogie Association agreed to reschedule the game to the next available date, Sunday, July 26.”
Derry manager Joe Baldwin said his side would be going to Ennis with the hope of ending their campaign on a high and that his players would not be distracted by the “farcical situation” they find themselves in.
“We are going down with the hope of ending the season with a win,” Baldwin said.
“We have shown that we can compete at this level and the reality is that we could be sitting with four points but for the puck of the ball. Against Tipperary, the girls showed great character to fight back to within one point and we were 10 players down from our Ulster-winning team.
“Kilkenny delivered a master-class that we tried to learn from and, last week against Dublin, a couple of decisions went against us, but the effort of the girls couldn’t be faulted.
“This weekend, all eyes are once again on us. It really is a farcical situation. We are down a few players, the three Slaughtneil girls are away at a Gaeltacht in Scotland, but it is a chance for some of the younger players to show what they can do and a great opportunity for the girls to get to play on a fantastic pitch like Cusack Park.
“We won’t be distracted by the circus surrounding the game, we are going down to play a match and will hopefully come away with a win to restore pride.”
The other senior quarter-final will see Cork and Tipperary battle it out on Saturday, August 1 for a semi-final spot.
This weekend also sees a crucial round of fixtures in the Intermediate Championship. In Group One, Cork face Down, the Rebels knowing a win will ensure their place in the semi-finals, while Down will also be looking to reach the knock-out rounds, but must win this game to have any chance.
Fionnuala Carr said the Mourne girls would be concentrating on getting a win at Ballyholland on Saturday (throw-in 2.30pm): “We will be looking to end the group stages on a high.
"We know we need people to do us a favour. Cork are leading the group and we know we have a big task, but we are looking forward to the challenge of playing against the best and hopefully other outcomes go our way. We know we have the players, but it’s small mistakes that are costing us and sometimes a lack of concentration.”
The Premier Junior Championship has also heated up, with sides battling it out for semi-final places. Table-toppers Laois will be looking to secure top spot against third-placed Roscommon, who will be looking to take a big step towards a semi-final spot.
Second-placed Dublin will also be looking to secure a semi-final spot against an Armagh side who are currently residing in the final qualification place. The Orchard girls know a win in Granemore on Sunday (throw-in 2.30pm) would keep their qualification hopes alive.
