Camogie League: Tipp dominance continues as Galway get off to a good start

Tipperary have flown from the traps at the beginning of the Littlewoods Ireland Camogie League, defeating Offaly 4-21 to 1-5 at the Shamrock GAA grounds in Mucklagh.

Last year’s Division 1 semi-finalists brought their tally to 7-37 from two games, meaning Bill Mullaney’s charges have only conceded 1-8 in the 130-plus minutes or so of action.

If they know that there are tougher challenges to come than an understrength Down and Offaly, both without a substantial Portaferry and St Rynagh’s cohort, they are short a number of elite players themselves in Karen Kennedy, Orla O’Dwyer and Caoimhe Bourke.

They are clearly building real competition for places however, as they look to challenge for silverware in 2022 after a sustained period of progress in the last five years.

To put their dominance in perspective, they only scored six points in the second half, with Offaly adding three, and though the hosts certainly contributed the more even second half, there was a clear drop in intensity from women in blue and gold.

Up to then, they had been unstoppable, Róisín Howard so influential and Caoimhe Maher an industrious presence around the middle. That enabled the attack to make hay, with Caoimhe McCarthy and Clare Hogan among those to impress.

The duo had a goal each and Clodagh McIntyre rattled the onion sack too as Tipperary took on the role of enforcers inside the opening 13 minutes. Orla Gorman did breach the visitors’ defence before the break and Offaly did show plenty of character in the second half that gives them something to work with but Tipperary look like a team that mean business.

Also in Group 1, All-Ireland champions Galway got their campaign under way with a 1-15 to 0-6 defeat of a Dublin side that showed plenty