Athenry 0-14

St Finbarr’s 0-12

IN the history of fabled achievements by Galway teams, what unfolded at a bitterly cold Semple Stadium on Saturday evening stands up with the best of them.

A thrilling All-Ireland Club senior camogie final replay saw a defiant Athenry team end a near 50-year championship title famine by exhibiting the mettle and will to win which are the hallmarks of great champions.

Similar to the drawn final before Christmas, Athenry looked a beaten docket heading down the home stretch. Having conceded eight unanswered points, they were in all kinds of trouble, and it was difficult to see how they could turn things around.

But we should have known that Joe Rabbitte’s team were never going to throw in the towel. Summoning all their reserves of energy and displaying that never-say-die spirit which had characterised their campaign, Athenry produced another storming finish to pull off an improbable triumph.

When St Finbarr’s Sorcha McCartan turned and saluted their supporters after firing the Cork team into a 0-11 to 0-7 lead in the 46th minute all bets were off. They had all the momentum, were mopping up most of the breaks while Athenry appeared out on their feet.

Only one outcome was on the cards but somehow Athenry regrouped, wrestled back their earlier control of the match and in a pulsating finale saw Clodagh Burke and veteran Jessica Gill (free) loft over the winning points.

No wonder their supporters in the crowd of over 2600 joyously invaded the pitch – half of which was covered in frost – at the final whistle, emotions at odds over their earlier frustration with the officiating of Brian Kearney.

The Kildare referee penalised the Galway champions on three occasions for foul handpasses and controversially pulled team captain Dervla Higgins for overcarrying when she was being blatantly fouled in the 28th minute. There were other contentious decisions against the women in maroon too.

And still Athenry found a way to overcome that unexpected adversity by reeling in St Finbarr’s with seven of the final’s last eight points. That took some doing in the circumstances, but there was no end to the team’s grit or spirit.

This replay only went ahead after surviving two pitch inspections and though the ground in the shadow of the Kinane Stand look more suitable for skiers rather than camogie players, it didn’t appear to cause individuals to lose their footing.

Athenry were significantly the better team in the opening half, but an interval lead of 0-7 to 0-5 did not reflect their superiority. Five wides – two of which were only confirmed after the intervention of Hawkeye – did them no favours, nor was referee Kearney.

All over the field, battles for possession were ferociously contested, with the commitment of both teams a standout feature of the exchanges. Athenry, in particular, were not holding back and soon had St Finbarr’s under sustained bouts of pressure.

Eva McGlynn got them off the mark in the fourth minute after the dangerous Orlaith Cahalane had opened St Finbarr’s account, and Athenry came close to finding the net soon afterwards only for Kerri O’Driscoll’s effort from a tight angle being denied by opposition keeper Ciara Hurley.

Pictured: Athenry’s Lisa Casserly driving out of defence against Sofia Daly of St Finbarr’s during Saturday’s All-Ireland Club Senior Camogie Final replay at Semple Stadium. Photo: INPHO/Ryan Byrne.