Clare made it three wins from three in the Connacht Championship with victory over Sligo on Friday night. Although they were the only county unbeaten in the province they can’t partake in the final.
In Leinster Kildare and Wexford will meet in the Intermediate Final. The Lilywhites got the better of Offaly in their semi-final while Wexford came from 11 points down to defeat Laois, after extra-time.
Connacht Intermediate Championship
Clare 3-13 Sligo 1-10
Clare made it three wins from three in the Connacht Championship when they defeated Sligo by nine points on Friday night.
Amy Sexton scored two goals while Lauren Conway also raised the green flag. The lead was 10 points at the break as the Banner County started the game very well. After 20 minutes they held a four point lead and were 2-10 to 0-06 in front at the break.
Sligo tried to stage a comeback and grabbed a goal in the second half but Clare added 1-07 to their tally after the break. Lizzy Roach scored 0-5 while Aisling Reidy chipped in with four in a fine win for the Banner County.
Leinster Intermediate Championship semi-finals
Kildare 5-14 Offaly 3-06
Kildare advanced to the Leinster Final with a comprehensive win over Offaly in Hawkfield. The Lilywhites took the game to Offaly straight from the throw-in and scored four of their five goals in the opening half as they held a 12 point lead going in at the break.
Nessa Dooley scored a brace of goals while Orlaith Sullivan and Grace Clifford scored a goal each in the first half. Kildare were ahead by five in the early exchanges but a goal from Maria Byrne brought Offaly right into the game and minutes later it was a one point game but Dooley’s second goal extended Kildare’s lead soon after and killed off the Offaly challenge.
Dooley completed her hat-trick after the break while Sarah Kehoe and Byrne scored late goals for the Faithful County.
Laois 4-14 Wexford 4-16
The game of the weekend took place in Portlaoise where Wexford advanced after an extra-time win over .
Wexford forced the game to extra-time when they came from 11 points down. Orlagh Kehoe hit a stunning goal near the end of normal time to draw her side level. Wexford held a three point lead at half-time in extra-time. Mo Nerney cut that gap to one but a Bernie Breen point gave Wexford a two point win.
Breen had given Wexford an early lead, scoring the game’s opening point but Laois replied with a goal from Laura Marie Maher. Nerney got Laois’ second goal but it was cancelled out by Aisling Murphy’s effort. Ellen Healy and Eva Galvin added goals as Laois extended their lead to 11 points but Tara Doyle raised the green flag for Wexford as they trailed at half-time 4-07 to 2-05.
Nerney hit over two fine points in the second half to keep Laois ahead but her second point was their last score of that half as Wexford produced a stunning comeback. Doyle got her second goal of the game to leave it a three point game before Kehoe made sure there was extra-time.
Deniese O'Flaherty
Deniese is a freelance sports journalist/broadcaster. She has worked for several local and national media outlets. GAA and soccer are her great loves and she also follows rugby league and snooker. She's a big supporter of her local clubs St. Mary's GAA Granard and Longford Town. She also follows Celtic, Liverpool and Leeds Rhinos. She presented and produced a popular sports podcast last year where she interviewed Ray Houghton, Chris Kamara and John Hartson. Deniese is currently Head of Communications for Boccia Ireland