Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie Championship Final
Galway v Westmeath, 2pm, Croke Park
Referee: Andrew Larkin (Cork)
There will be a lot of maroon on view in Croke Park on Sunday, with Galway involved in two Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Camogie Championships finals and Westmeath the opposition in the intermediate match.
Interestingly, it will be the westerners wearing the changed strip of white, due to a jersey clash which they warmly welcome after a run of positive results in the jersey since a previous enforced change.
It is Galway's first appearance in the intermediate final since 2013 and they will be hoping that the fact they appeared in the senior as well on that occasion will be a good omen, as they left headquarters with both the Jack McGrath and O’Duffy Cups.
Tony Ward was manager of both of those teams, joining JJ Doyle of Wexford in a rare group that was supplemented last season by Cork boss Paudie Murray.
Cathal Murray has the reins for both sides this year but the Ward link endures, with Tony’s daughter Laura the captain of the intermediates this season.
They were involved in a very competitive group, as evidenced by the fact that runners-up Westmeath have also emerged.
However, it was so tight that the table-toppers had to get a draw in their last tie against a Kilkenny team that had beaten them in the Division 2 semi-final to be assured of qualification.
As it transpired, had Kilkenny prevailed, three teams would have finished on 15 points on the top of the table and Westmeath would have missed out on score difference. Talk about tiny margins.
The teams met at the Coralstown/Kinnegad grounds in June and Galway needed three goals to edge the verdict by a point.
They accounted for Division 2 League champions Tipperary by four points in the semi-final and will go into the decider as marginal favourites despite Westmeath having made giant strides in recent years.
The Lake County have carried on the momentum from garnering junior honours in 2017, reaching the Division 2 final last year and making the last four again this term.
That experience has been crucial in building as a championship outfit in the second tier and their form in the group stages, where taking Kilkenny’s scalp in July proved the key result.
The manner of that victory was impressive too, as Johnny Greville’s troops emerged from enemy territory in the John Lockes’ facility in Callan with seven points in hand at the final whistle.
They were involved in a humdinger against last year’s finalists Down in the semi-final. They held the upper hand throughout but had to defend resolutely to hold off the Mourne women by a point.
Experience of Croke Park will stand to Westmeath, and in long-serving Pamela Greville – sister of the manager – Megan Dowdall, captain Mairéad McCormack, Sheila McGrath and Laura Doherty, they have a number of driving forces.
Galway are not short on experience or quality either, with Tara Ruttledge having played senior at the beginning of the decade and maintaining her commitment to the second string over the years despite being a Dublin-based teacher.
Ava Lynskey, Molly Mannion, Méabh Scally, Ward and former soccer international Lisa Casserley are others who have shone through the summer.
The form book suggests that this will be very close.
