Camogie wrap: Wexford and Antrim set up final showdown

Wexford and Antrim will be readying themselves this week for the Littlewoods Ireland Camogie League Division 2 final at Croke Park on Saturday, after coming through their respective semi-finals against Waterford and Cork.

It will be a first appearance for the Wexford seniors at HQ since completing their All-Ireland three-in-a-row in 2012, and it was a scoring burst of a goal and five points without reply that got them over Waterford at Netwatch Dr Cullen Park on a 1-12 to 0-9 scoreline.

Bot these teams were All-Ireland senior championship quarter-finalists last year and so a return to the top tier in the National League was high on their agenda but Ciara O'Connor’s 52nd minute goal, allied with seven points from Anais Curran and outstanding defensive displays by Maeve Sinnott and Louise O’Leary put paid to Waterford’s aspirations in that regard for another year.

A cagey first half ended at 0-6 apiece, with the teams having been level five times but Wexford would have been marginally the happier having played into the wind.

Derek Lyons’ Waterford did open up a two-point lead at one juncture, 0-3 to 0-1, when Niamh Rockett, making her first start of the season, pointed after taking a measured stick pass from Beth Carton.

Brianna O’Regan has been among the top netminders in the game for three or four years and the De La Salle goalie made a stunning save from an O’Connor bullet in the 23rd minute. Her clubmate Carton finished the half with three points, while Mairéad O’Brien and Lorraine Bray were also on the mark for the Déise girls but with Curran raising four white flags and Leah Walsh and Aoife Guiney also on target, it was all to play for.

After good work from the brilliant Sarah O’Connor, Curran showed a clean pair of heels