Cork 1-21
Waterford 1-11
Tomás McCarthy at UPMC Nowlan Park
A ten point win flattered Cork on a bright and breezy Saturday evening in Kilkenny city as Waterford asked questions of the team chasing three O’Duffy Cups in a row.
With Beth Carton and Niamh Rockett on fire up front and Kate Lynch on sweeper duty, the Déise twice led by four points in the first half. The underdogs tore into their opponents all over the field and forced Cork mistakes and turnovers.
The ladies in red came to terms with the Déise set-up approaching the break however and used their wheels to break through the lines. 0-7 from speed machine Saoirse McCarthy and 1-2 from super sub Orlaith Mullins turned the screw for Ger Manley’s side. The defending champions outscored their Munster rivals 1-12 to 0-4 in the second period.
Waterford left everything out there but couldn’t cope with Cork’s speed or strength in depth. Three Waterford defenders ended up on yellow cards (Bevin Bowdren, Keeley Corbett Barry and Vikki Falconer) for fouls on Rebel forwards that threatened to solo through on goal. Player of the Match McCarthy was unstoppable from start to finish while Emma Murphy and Amy O’Connor also ran hard at the Déise rearguard. Waterford didn’t have an impact player like Mullins to call on either.
The Déise are lucky to have Beth Carton however. On Saturday, she was at her breathtaking best. The 2023 Player of the Year brought four hurleys to Nowlan Park. Cork were glad she could only use one. The four-time All Star shot 1-4 from play off left and right (1-3 in the first half). The way she controlled a Brianna O’Regan free out of the sky was out of this world. Cian Lynchesque. This was one of Carton’s finest hours in white and blue.
Niamh Rockett continued her hot streak in front of goal with five points. The number fourteen troubled Pamela Mackey and Libby Coppinger in the first half. The St Anne’s attacker finished 2025 with 3-68 across league and championship. She will surely complete the year with her second All Star award.
Waterford needed more from the rest of the attack to cause an upset. Carton and Rockett accounted for 1-9 out of 1-11. They got outnumbered and outmuscled in the second half. Eimear O’Neill and Rachael Walsh kept working and fighting to the end.
Cork won the toss but chose to play against the wind at first. The starting line-up for the Leesiders contained 38 All Star awards as Katrina Mackey replaced the injured Clodagh Finn.
In front of 7,120 fans, the Déise ripped up the script. Niamh Rockett snapped the first high ball over Libby Coppinger and won a free which she converted. The 2020 All Star barely looked at the posts before firing over her second. A crossfield ball from Annie Fitzgerald then created a goal chance for Beth Carton. She scooped the sliotar over the advancing Amy Lee and it ended up over instead of under the crossbar. A superb sidestep and strike from Carton made it 4-2. Cork wing back Laura Hayes soloed forward to shoot a trademark point at the opposite end.
On the quarter hour mark, Rockett got out in front again and offloaded to Mairéad O’Brien. The Modeligo forward took off, drew the last Cork defender and passed to the unmarked Carton who fired low past Amy Lee (1-4 to 0-3). A shot in the arm for Mick Boland’s charges as ‘Waterford, Waterford’ rang around Nowlan Park.
Emma Murphy and Sorcha McCartan replied with Cork points. Another Carton single and a Rockett free, won by the unmarkable number eleven, restored the four point cushion. With Kate Lynch sweeping and the Waterford full back line of Alannah McNulty, Keeley Corbett Barry and Vikki Falconer on top, Cork chose to run the ball. The rapid Saoirse McCarthy led the comeback. She made a point for Katrina Mackey and scored three of her own to level the match. The number twelve had four to her name by half time (two from play and two from frees). She took over the dead balls from Amy O’Connor. An injury time effort by Abby Flynn edged the Déise 1-7 to 0-9 ahead at the break.
Waterford’s promising first half fizzled out as Cork continued to punch holes with their pace on the resumption. Mackey snuck the holders ahead with three points in the third quarter. Carton and Rockett hit back at the other end. Carton missed a scoreable chance to equalise. Emma Murphy then left the Déise defence for dust before she split the posts.
Brianna O’Regan and Kate Lynch thwarted a Cork goal after a Waterford puckout went askew. Whether the ball was struck short or long, the red shirts were winning it and white flags from Amy O’Connor (free) and Sorcha McCartan followed. Eimear O’Neill and Rachael Walsh stayed plugging away and a Rockett free cut the deficit to three (0-16 to 1-10). The Déise attack struggled to make the ball stick however and only managed four second half points.
O’Regan saved from Cork sub Cliona Healy in a one on one. O’Connor converted the 45. Lorraine Bray got a point back as Waterford went fifteen on fifteen. The Rebel replacements finished the job. Orlaith Mullins sidestepped O’Regan and finished to an empty net a minute into injury time. She scored 1-2 on her introduction as the ladies in red booked an All Ireland date with Galway on August 10.
Defeats in two semi finals, an All Ireland final and a quarter final for Waterford since 2022 as the search for O’Duffy goes on.
Scorers for Cork: Saoirse McCarthy 0-7 (4fs), Orlaith Mullins 1-2, Katrina Mackey 0-4, Amy O’Connor 0-3 (2fs, 1 45), Sorcha McCartan, Emma Murphy 0-2 each, Laura Hayes 0-1.
Scorers for Waterford: Beth Carton 1-4, Niamh Rockett 0-5 (3fs), Lorraine Bray, Abby Flynn 0-1 each.
Cork: Amy Lee; Pamela Mackey, Libby Coppinger, Meabh Cahalane; Aoife Healy, Laura Treacy, Laura Hayes; Hannah Looney, Ashling Thompson; Emma Murphy, Sorcha McCartan, Saoirse McCarthy; Orlaith Cahalane, Katrina Mackey, Amy O’Connor.
Subs: Cliona Healy for Murphy (53), Meabh Murphy for Thompson (56), Orlaith Mullins for McCartan (56), Ava Fitzgerald for Hayes (62).
Waterford: Brianna O’Regan; Alannah McNulty, Keeley Corbett Barry, Vikki Falconer; Orla Hickey, Rachael Walsh, Bevin Bowden; Lorraine Bray, Abby Flynn; Kate Lynch, Beth Carton, Eimear O’Neill; Mairéad O’Brien, Niamh Rockett, Annie Fitzgerald.
Subs: Tara Power for Bevin Bowdren (40), Maggie Gostl for O’Brien (47), Molly Comerford for Flynn (55), Niamh Ahearne for Fitzgerald (62).
Referee: Gavin Donegan (Dublin)
