A historic day for the current Smith O’Brien’s Camogie Club who fielded their first adult team in the Junior Club League against St Joseph’s Doora Barefield in a rain soaked Gurteen.
When the referee threw in the sliotar to start the game, it was evident that the Killaloe girls were not over-awed by the occasion and quickly settled to the task at hand, with the midfield duo of Fiona Byrne and Sarah McNamara dominating the middle of the pitch. It was not long before top scorer Karen O'Mahony split the posts to raise the white flag. With Lily Power and Caoimhe Naughton creating trouble with every driving run forward and Emma O'Mahony’s industrious work, it was her sister Karen who popped up to score her second point of the match, leaving the score St Joseph 0-00 Smith O’Brien’s 0-02. With the wind and rain ever present, St Joseph’s fought valiantly to get themselves into the match but the half back line of Angela Seymour, Eibhlis Coleman and Captain Shannon McNamara quelled the threat, backed up by the ever-impressive Róisín Murnane at full back. Midway through the first half, a high challenge on Fiona Byrne meant the young player had to go off for treatment but her replacement Jennifer Rogers held the line.
On the restart of the second half the Killaloe girls continued to press the opposition, winning a 45-metre free, which Karen O'Mahony stood over and calmly slotted between the posts. From the puckout St Joseph’s broke up the field and despite the best efforts of Leanne Rodgers in goals to thwart the attack, the opposition goaled for their opening score of the game. The young goalie kept St Joseph’s at bay for the rest of the match, her laser-like puckouts continuously finding their target. Sarah McNamara was to be the beneficiary of the next puckout quickly breaking through the opposition lines to pass to Lilly Power, who in turn found Caoimhe Naughton to score arguably the most outrageous point with her back to goal. But again. St Joseph’s replied with two points of their own, with the game now in the melting pot Smith O’Brien’s sprung Laura Donoghue for Emma O'Mahony into the full forward line, and with the opposition now on the backfoot it was cometh the hour cometh the woman, Karen O'Mahony to score the crucial point, to draw the teams level. It looked like the Killaloe girls had won the game at the death with a late goal, however it wasn’t to be as the referee signalled for a square ball.
An exciting finale to a wonderful game in testing conditions. 

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