Sport

Orchard camogs lay down a marker with comprehensive opening day win

Armagh's Rachel Merry wins the sliothar ahead of Limerick's Ann Hayes during the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Premier Junior Championship Group One match in Bruff<br />Picture: John Merry&nbsp;
Armagh's Rachel Merry wins the sliothar ahead of Limerick's Ann Hayes during the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Premier Junior Championship Group One match in Bruff
Picture: John Merry 
Armagh's Rachel Merry wins the sliothar ahead of Limerick's Ann Hayes during the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Premier Junior Championship Group One match in Bruff
Picture: John Merry 

Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Premier Junior Championship

Group One: Limerick 0-6 Armagh 6-21; Roscommon 0-8 Antrim 3-11

ARMAGH delivered a statement of intent in Bruff in their opening Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Premier Junior group game against Limerick with an emphatic 6-21 to 0-6 victory.

From Eimear Smyth’s opening two points the visitors were in control and raced into a 0-11 to 0-1 lead after 20 minutes.

Limerick rallied with three frees from Aisling Ryan between then and half time, but a 29th minute goal from Jenny Curry insured that Armagh still held the upper hand with an interval lead of 1-13 to 0-4.

Although Ryan added another Limerick point on the resumption of play, two Armagh goals around the 40th minute from Ciara Donnelly and Rachel Merry put the result to bed.

Donnelly went on to complete her hat-trick with further goals in the 55th and 60th minutes with a second goal from Jenny Curry sandwiched in between.

In the same group Dervla Cosgrove hit a first half hat-trick of goals as Antrim posted an emphatic 3-11 to 0-8 victory in Ballyforan against Roscommon.

Her first strike came after just 40 seconds and her second in the 18th minute made it 2-1 to 0-1. Indeed she was the only Antrim scorer until Brogan Abram and Ellen Leech got in on the act ten minutes before half time.

Cosgrove finished the half in style bringing her first half total to 3-3 with a goal in injury time that had her team 3-5 to 0-3 to the good.

Cosgrove was then kept scoreless until the last three minutes of the second half when she added three points from frees.

Although all the five scorers were from the Cushendall club, they had good support from a solid defence built around Megan McGarry and captain Maria McLarnon

Armagh scorers: C Donnelly (3-7, 0-4 frees), J Curry (2-1), R Merry (1-3), E McKee (0-3), E Smyth (0-2), K Comiskey (0-1), E Hayes (0-1)

Limerick scorers: A Ryan (0-5, 0-4 frees), C Hall (0-1)

Antrim scorers: D Cosgrove (3-6, 0-5 frees), E Leech (0-2), B Abram (0-1), C Kearney (0-1), A McNeill (0-1)

Roscommon: T Naughton (0-6 frees), S Finneron (0-1), C Regan (0-1)

Group Two: Tipperary 1-11 Cavan 2-9; Clare 4-17 Mayo 0-7

Cavan failed to score in the last 20 minutes of their game in the Ragg against Tipperary, but still hung on for a single-point victory.

Earlier in the game, the visitors were in fine form and went into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead at the end of the first quarter. Ten minutes later however it was 0-6 to 0-5 and then Tipperary took the lead with a goal in the 27th minute.

Clodagh Keenaghan however responded for Cavan with a late free to leave them trailing by 0-7 to 1-5 at the change of ends.

Tina Reilly’s goal in the 36th minute put Cavan back in the lead and when Áine Corcoran also found the Tipperary net six minutes later, Cavan seemed to be coasting at 2-9 to 1-6.

However five Tipperary points in a row left them one point adrift in the 25th minute, but the home side couldn’t find the extra score to deprive the Ulster team of victory with a late free from Aoife McLoughney just dropping to the left of the post.

In the other game in the group Clare had a comfortable victory over last year’s Nancy Murray Cup champions Mayo, eventually winning by 4-17 to 0-7

Cavan scorers: Á Corcoran (1-2), T Reilly (1-0), C Keenaghan (0-5, 0-3 frees), E Fitzpatrick (0-1), S Fitzsimons (0-1)