Waterford and Tipperary contest the Electric Ireland All-Ireland Camogie Minor Final on Saturday.
By Paul Keane
They're a resilient bunch, these Waterford girls.
Beaten in last year's Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor A camogie final, they're back again within one win of clinching the county's first title.
Mark English and his crew encountered further final heartache along the way with a Munster final defeat in February.
That provincial loss was to Tipperary though the books were balanced somewhat by Waterford's 2-7 to 1-6 win over the same county in the All-Ireland round robin last Sunday week.
Both sides then navigated their All-Ireland semi-final ties last weekend to set up a mouthwatering rematch in Kilkenny city this Saturday.
For Waterford, it's another shot at winning that first ever All-Ireland at the grade.
"That's totally irrelevant this week, doesn't even come into it," insisted Waterford manager English of the historic element. "We have 15 new girls this year and 15 from last year. What you'd just be hoping is that the experience of last year's final will stand to us. That would be the hope."
Waterford players, from left, Maggie Gostl, Alex Healy and Aoife Connelly of Waterford celebrate after the Electric Ireland All-Ireland Camogie Minor A semi-final match between Cork and Waterford at Kilcommon in Tipperary. Photo by Tom Beary/Sportsfile.
Maggie Gostl, who made the 2023 Electric Ireland Camogie Minor Championships Team of the Year, has led the line again superbly.
The De La Salle talent fired 1-7 in last weekend's 3-9 to 1-10 semi-final defeat of holders Cork. Eimear O'Neill netted too and English is optimistic that whatever happens this Saturday, the future is bright.
"The seniors can look at this now and say, 'We have good girls coming through'," said English. "They can say, 'Waterford camogie is in good hands' with what's coming through."
It's a similar story in Tipp. Like Waterford, the county's seniors have made strong progress in recent seasons and have a talented group of minors behind them now with an appetite for destruction.
Caoimhe Stakelum is at the heart of Tipp's high functioning forward line. She scored 1-9 and was Player of the Match in February when Tipp overcame a slow start to eventually beat Waterford in that Munster final. Last weekend, when Tipp beat Kilkenny after extra-time in their marathon All-Ireland semi-final, she starred again with the exact same tally.
"Luckily enough for us, we've had a decent spread of scorers all through the championship," said Tipp manager John Ryan. "It's not a case that we're solely dependent on Caoimhe. She is very good at what she does and works hard at it but I think we had seven different scorers last weekend, maybe six or seven the day before that. We do have a good group of scoring forwards there."
The pristine surface at UPMC Nowlan Park should lend to a cracker between two teams who know eachother side out.
"It's no surprise to me that they're back in the final again this year," added Ryan of Waterford. "We've played them twice already, we won one, we lost one. There won't be a lot in this one either. They're a formidable side, they have very good players, a well balanced team."
That respect is reciprocated.
"I have great respect for Tipperary and for John," said Waterford manager English. "We learned a lot from the Munster final about where we had to go and what we had to do."
Saturday, April 27
Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor A camogie final
Tipperary v Waterford, UPMC Nowlan Park, Kilkenny, 4.30pm
Referee: Gavin Donegan