Camogs book a place in Ulster final

Cavan to take on Antrim B in provincial decider

Cavan Camogs edged a thrilling one point win away to Armagh last weekend to seal a place in the Ulster Intermediate Championship final.

Gunner’s women were up for the semi-final challenge at the Ballymacnabb venue, however it was Armagh who were superior in the first half. Indeed it was the Orchard County’s Rachel Merry who opened the scoring in what turned out to be a genuine thriller. Denn’s Shanise Fitzsimons made no mistake when she found herself in the scoring zone and levelled minutes later.

Armagh’s early dominance in the opening exchanges saw them make life difficult for Cavan’s defence and they squeezed an early goal past Cavan keeper Emma Mulvaney.

A heavy tackle on Rebecca Fitzsimons seen the introduction of Laragh’s Lorraine O’Rourke in the 13th minute. Armagh continued to exert heavy hands, giving the ref reasons to blow and leaving scores easy for dead ball specialist Clodagh Keenaghan. The Laragh freetaker hit a trio of points before the break.

With good work rate coming from the Cavan backs the launched balls upfield found Roisin O’Keeffe and Sinead McKenna resulting in scores for the talented bunch. Armagh persisted however and their forays into the scoring range saw them chip away at the scoreboard.

Youngster Hannah Fitzsimons gave Cavan the perfect break just before the half time whistle as she fired a shot past Armagh keeper Ciarraí Delvin leaving Cavan two points to the good 1-08 to 1-06 at the interval.

Armagh enjoyed a lucky break at the commencement of the second half and found themselves with their second goal on the score sheet.

Resilient Cavan were undeterred by the setback and continued to battle hard as a team. A long range point from Keeper Mulvaney gave Cavan a confidence boost going into the last 15 minutes. Clodagh Keenaghan was yet again on target with her fine free taking skills.

In the dying minutes of the clash, just when Cavan needed a vital score Shanise Fitzsimons found herself in a scoring position and with the goal at her mercy. It would be Armagh who would get the final score of the game but Cavan held on to claim the spoils.

Cavan will now face Antrim B in Saturday’s May 20 at 2pm in Moy Tír ná nÓg.