Camogie: Treacy’s treble the difference as Cats see off Westmeath

Littlewoods Ireland National Camogie League Division 2 Group 2: Kilkenny 3-7, Westmeath 0-8

The old adage “goals win games” may be a cliché, but it rang true in TEG Cusack Park, Mullingar this afternoon, when Kilkenny’s second string ran out winners against battling Westmeath in this Division 2 clash.

The Black and Ambers’ full forward Shauna Treacy was the difference between the sides, firing 3-3 from play – including a couple of soft goals – to make it three defeats on the trot for Albert Kelly’s Lake County charges.

Westmeath welcomed back all of their Raharney contingent after the Deelsiders’ Leinster and All-Ireland club campaigns, but sorely missed the presence of injured forward Sheila McGrath.

Kilkenny took the lead within the first minute with a point from Asha McHardy, and after nine minutes they were awarded a controversial penalty. Goalkeeper Fiona Keating was booked after she was adjudged to have fouled a Kilkenny forward, though the Cats could have equally been sanctioned for charging. Áine Phelan took the resultant puck, but Keating was equal to it.

It was brief respite for Westmeath, as the visitors found the net two minutes later. A tame clearance from Keating was seized upon by Kilkenny’s Danielle Quigley, and she teed up Treacy to net from close range.

Westmeath responded with a point from Emma Broughan, after some superb long-range passing from Raharney sisters Laura and Aoife Doherty. But within seconds, Kilkenny had the ball in the net again, when Quigley got in behind the Westmeath defence and crossed for Treacy to slot home.

The hosts had the best of the second quarter, outscoring the Cats 0-4 to 0-1, with Megan Dowdall (two long range efforts, one from play) and Louise O’Connor (two frees) finding their range, after Treacy added to her tally with a point for Kilkenny.

Westmeath brought Holly Dowdall into the fray on the restart to freshen up the attack, but policing Quigley and particularly Treacy was the key.

However, some sustained pressure from the hosts in the opening minutes failed to generate any scores, and at the other end, Treacy pointed again to extend Kilkenny’s lead to four.

In the 39th minute, the key moment arrived when, once again, Quigley combined with Treacy for the latter to finish to the net from close range.

By the 50th minute, the Black and Ambers led by nine (3-6 to 0-6) after a superb long-range score from Treacy, at that stage the obvious player of the match.

Before that, a ‘45’ and a free from Asha McHardy had cancelled out a dead ball effort from Louise O’Connor, while a shot from Carlise Comerford drew a superb save out of Westmeath ‘keeper Fiona Keating.

O’Connor reduced the arrears with a pair of frees in the final ten minutes, but the Maroons urgently needed a goal. Their best chance came in the form of a close-range free in the 58th minute, but Megan Dowdall’s shot at goal was tamely struck, and the chance fizzled out.

Kilkenny had the last say with a fine stoppage-time point from Aisling Curtis.

Despite the defeat, Westmeath look to have avoided the relegation scrap, with that draw against Tipperary in Rathdowney weeks ago proving crucial.

Scorers – Kilkenny: S Treacy 3-3, A McHardy 0-3 (1 ‘45’, 1f), A Curtis 0-1. Westmeath: L O’Connor 0-5f, M Dowdall 0-2 (1f), E Broughan 0-1.

Kilkenny: Sinéad Farrell; Jane Cass, Róisín Phelan, Aideen O’Connor; Sinéad O’Keeffe, Ciara Murphy, Claire Nolan; Jenny Leahy, Aisling Curtis; Áine Phelan, Hannah Scott, Carlise Comerford; Danielle Quigley, Shauna Treacy, Asha McHardy. Subs used: Afton Grace for Á Phelan (49), Niamh Phelan for O’Keeffe (57).

Westmeath: Fiona Keating; Dearbhail McLoughlin, Fiona Leavy, Aisling Egerton; Caitríona O’Brien, Megan Dowdall, Laura Doherty; Aoife O’Malley, Muireann Scally; Louise O’Connor, Maria Kelly, Áine Newman; Emma Broughan, Denise McGrath, Aoife Doherty. Subs used: Holly Dowdall for Broughan (h-t), Olivia Glynn for Newman (50), Sandra McGrath for McLoughlin (54).

Ref: Conor Quinlan (Galway).