LADIES FOOTBALL
User:marywhiteDate:24/09/2009Time:09:51:08Edition:25/09/2009StartStart250909Page:26Color:
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LADIES FOOTBALL
SPORT
EVENING ECHO, Friday, September 25, 2009
SUNDAY: TG4 ALL-IRELAND FINAL, CORK V DUBLIN, CROKE PARK, 4PM, LIVE ON TG4
Dublin 12 know the score for sure IF you didn’t know any better you’d think Dublin were easy pickings for Cork. But dig deep enough and you know this side aren’t an ‘up-and-coming’ team. In fact, 12 of their present side were on the 2004 squad for the All-Ireland final against Galway, including six starters. And 11 of those are now regular starters, so there’ll be no such thing as underestimating the ‘new guns’. They’ve been off the radar in recent years — since Cork started their five-year dominance to be exact — and they’ve been quietly waiting in the wings. Since losing that final in 2004 — having lost the final the previous year to Mayo — they found themselves relegated to division 3 football, before winning the division 2 league title in 2007. But it seems a little siesta from premiere football has done them the world of good. The six with the experience of starting in Croker that day include goalkeeper Cliodhna O’Connor, defenders Noelle Comyn, Maria Kavanagh and Niamh McEvoy, and forwards Lyndsay Davey — then aged just 15 — and Mary Nevin. While on the bench were present starters Niamh Hurley, Siobhán McGrath, Sinéad Aherne, Avril Cluxton — sister of men’s goalkeeper Stephen — captain Denise Masterson and Orla Colreavy. Interestingly, of the Dublin
Cliodhna O’Connor.
Noelle Comyn.
senior county champions for the last nine years, Ballyboden St Enda’s, only one player opted to play intercounty football this year — 35-year-old, former Clare footballer and All-Star Noelle Comyn. And had Gerry McGill had the cream of the crop, then Dublin would surely have been making strides sooner rather than later. The likes of Fiona Corcoran, Martina Farrell, Gemma Fay, Sorcha Farrelly, Louise Kelly and Karen Hopkins are all household names, but fair deuce to McGill for doing brilliantly with the younger players he’s brought onto the squad. Remarkably, the Dubs have never won a senior All-Ireland title — despite appearances in 2004 and 2003 — but they’ve worked diligently on copying Cork’s framework for underage development, and they’ve seen results creep in, in recent years. In 2008 they won the minor title against Tyrone, in 2007 they won the U14 title against Galway, and in 2006 they took the U16 title. This year they won the U16A shield final against Mayo, and their senior B side also contested the Aisling McGing Memorial Cup final against the Rebels — only to lose to them for the third year in a row. So you can be sure to be seeing a lot of the girls in Blue in the
Maria Kavanagh.
Niamh McEvoy.
Mary Nevin.
Dublin line out in the 2004 final against Galway. Picture: Sportsfile
coming years. In fact, they’ll probably be the side to take over the reigns from Cork when their huge input into the underage set-up in the capital begins to fully pay off. But back to Sunday’s final. It’s the experienced batch of 12 who will be the ones running the show, just as they did against Monaghan in their semi-final — when they defeated last year’s finalists in the shock win of the season, 2-14 to 1-15. They could very well be compared to their men’s side — all huff and no puff when it comes to big-game showdowns — but there’s something different about this year’s squad. There’s no air of arrogance about them this time round. Perhaps in the past they had too many star names in the mix and winning was an expected pre-requisite. Unfortunately for them they were built up in the past, and lost two finals which they should have won against newcomers Galway, and on-the-way-out Mayo. They should have won, and in their newly engineered psyche they know opportunities to win the Brendan Martin cup don’t, and won’t, come easy. They’re the only side to have beaten the Rebels in the last two years — each by a solitary point in a league game — once at home, and once in the capital. But they didn’t allow any rumblings fly off the Richter Scale that they were the ones who should rightly take hold of the Brendan Martin Cup having beaten the champions.
Lyndsey Davey.
Avril Cluxton.
Oh no, they know they’re going to have to earn it. And there in lies the difference, if not the scary thing about facing this Dublin side. More so than Monaghan. They would have wanted revenge and redemption. But Dublin’s want to win their first ever senior title is more overriding, and with it more powerful. Apart from flash-in-the-pan Armagh in 2006, all the other teams Cork played in the previous finals have experienced the satisfaction that comes with winning the Brendan Martin cup — Mayo, four times; Monaghan, twice and Galway once. Dublin, never. Most are relieved Monaghan were cast out of the way for us. But think again. The pressure is on Cork — even though they won’t feel it — but Dublin just have to turn up. They’ll have mammoth support on the day, and we all know Dublin GAA fans want any excuse to party given that they don’t get too very often. But the key to them winning is to have the confidence to stick to their own game plan. And that’s hard when you have the quality of players like Cork have staring you in the face. There’s no doubting the fact they don’t fear Cork — they’ve proven that twice already. The biggest fear the Dubs have is not turning up themselves, and Cork simply can’t give the underdogs a sniff of self-belief. If they do, they could be in trouble.
Siobháin McGrath.
Denise Masterson.
DUBLIN’S MERITS Senior ● Dublin have never won a senior All-Ireland title, despite reaching the final in 2003 and 2004, losing to Galway and Mayo respectively. ● They have never reached a division 1 league final. Junior ● They won a junior All-Ireland against Clare in 1989. League ● In 2007 Dublin beat Wexford in the division two league final. ● In 1999 they lost to Tyrone in the same final, having previously won it against Louth in 1998 and Galway in 1989. ● They lost to Cork in 1988 and Wexford in 1987. ● In 2005 they lost the division three showdown against Tipperary. Minor ● They claimed honours last year against Tyrone in this grade, having lost in 1990 to Clare. U16 ● They defeated Cork in 2006, having lost to them the previous year. U14 ● In 2007 they denied Galway, having lost to Cork in 2006. ALL-STARS Gemma Fay and Lyndsey Davey were honoured in 2005. Cliodhna O’Connor, Louise Keegan, Bernie Finlay and Mary Nevin in 2004. Maria Kavanagh, Martina Farrell and Angie McNally in 2003. And Noelle Comyn won an All-Star while playing for her home county Clare in 2001.
Niamh Hurley.
Sinéad Aherne.
Orla Colreavy.
SO1 - V2
26
LADIES FOOTBALL
SPORT
EVENING ECHO, Friday, September 25, 2009
SUNDAY: TG4 ALL-IRELAND FINAL, CORK V DUBLIN, CROKE PARK, 4PM, LIVE ON TG4
Dublin 12 know the score for sure IF you didn’t know any better you’d think Dublin were easy pickings for Cork. But dig deep enough and you know this side aren’t an ‘up-and-coming’ team. In fact, 12 of their present side were on the 2004 squad for the All-Ireland final against Galway, including six starters. And 11 of those are now regular starters, so there’ll be no such thing as underestimating the ‘new guns’. They’ve been off the radar in recent years — since Cork started their five-year dominance to be exact — and they’ve been quietly waiting in the wings. Since losing that final in 2004 — having lost the final the previous year to Mayo — they found themselves relegated to division 3 football, before winning the division 2 league title in 2007. But it seems a little siesta from premiere football has done them the world of good. The six with the experience of starting in Croker that day include goalkeeper Cliodhna O’Connor, defenders Noelle Comyn, Maria Kavanagh and Niamh McEvoy, and forwards Lyndsay Davey — then aged just 15 — and Mary Nevin. While on the bench were present starters Niamh Hurley, Siobhán McGrath, Sinéad Aherne, Avril Cluxton — sister of men’s goalkeeper Stephen — captain Denise Masterson and Orla Colreavy. Interestingly, of the Dublin
Cliodhna O’Connor.
Noelle Comyn.
senior county champions for the last nine years, Ballyboden St Enda’s, only one player opted to play intercounty football this year — 35-year-old, former Clare footballer and All-Star Noelle Comyn. And had Gerry McGill had the cream of the crop, then Dublin would surely have been making strides sooner rather than later. The likes of Fiona Corcoran, Martina Farrell, Gemma Fay, Sorcha Farrelly, Louise Kelly and Karen Hopkins are all household names, but fair deuce to McGill for doing brilliantly with the younger players he’s brought onto the squad. Remarkably, the Dubs have never won a senior All-Ireland title — despite appearances in 2004 and 2003 — but they’ve worked diligently on copying Cork’s framework for underage development, and they’ve seen results creep in, in recent years. In 2008 they won the minor title against Tyrone, in 2007 they won the U14 title against Galway, and in 2006 they took the U16 title. This year they won the U16A shield final against Mayo, and their senior B side also contested the Aisling McGing Memorial Cup final against the Rebels — only to lose to them for the third year in a row. So you can be sure to be seeing a lot of the girls in Blue in the
Maria Kavanagh.
Niamh McEvoy.
Mary Nevin.
Dublin line out in the 2004 final against Galway. Picture: Sportsfile
coming years. In fact, they’ll probably be the side to take over the reigns from Cork when their huge input into the underage set-up in the capital begins to fully pay off. But back to Sunday’s final. It’s the experienced batch of 12 who will be the ones running the show, just as they did against Monaghan in their semi-final — when they defeated last year’s finalists in the shock win of the season, 2-14 to 1-15. They could very well be compared to their men’s side — all huff and no puff when it comes to big-game showdowns — but there’s something different about this year’s squad. There’s no air of arrogance about them this time round. Perhaps in the past they had too many star names in the mix and winning was an expected pre-requisite. Unfortunately for them they were built up in the past, and lost two finals which they should have won against newcomers Galway, and on-the-way-out Mayo. They should have won, and in their newly engineered psyche they know opportunities to win the Brendan Martin cup don’t, and won’t, come easy. They’re the only side to have beaten the Rebels in the last two years — each by a solitary point in a league game — once at home, and once in the capital. But they didn’t allow any rumblings fly off the Richter Scale that they were the ones who should rightly take hold of the Brendan Martin Cup having beaten the champions.
Lyndsey Davey.
Avril Cluxton.
Oh no, they know they’re going to have to earn it. And there in lies the difference, if not the scary thing about facing this Dublin side. More so than Monaghan. They would have wanted revenge and redemption. But Dublin’s want to win their first ever senior title is more overriding, and with it more powerful. Apart from flash-in-the-pan Armagh in 2006, all the other teams Cork played in the previous finals have experienced the satisfaction that comes with winning the Brendan Martin cup — Mayo, four times; Monaghan, twice and Galway once. Dublin, never. Most are relieved Monaghan were cast out of the way for us. But think again. The pressure is on Cork — even though they won’t feel it — but Dublin just have to turn up. They’ll have mammoth support on the day, and we all know Dublin GAA fans want any excuse to party given that they don’t get too very often. But the key to them winning is to have the confidence to stick to their own game plan. And that’s hard when you have the quality of players like Cork have staring you in the face. There’s no doubting the fact they don’t fear Cork — they’ve proven that twice already. The biggest fear the Dubs have is not turning up themselves, and Cork simply can’t give the underdogs a sniff of self-belief. If they do, they could be in trouble.
Siobháin McGrath.
Denise Masterson.
DUBLIN’S MERITS Senior ● Dublin have never won a senior All-Ireland title, despite reaching the final in 2003 and 2004, losing to Galway and Mayo respectively. ● They have never reached a division 1 league final. Junior ● They won a junior All-Ireland against Clare in 1989. League ● In 2007 Dublin beat Wexford in the division two league final. ● In 1999 they lost to Tyrone in the same final, having previously won it against Louth in 1998 and Galway in 1989. ● They lost to Cork in 1988 and Wexford in 1987. ● In 2005 they lost the division three showdown against Tipperary. Minor ● They claimed honours last year against Tyrone in this grade, having lost in 1990 to Clare. U16 ● They defeated Cork in 2006, having lost to them the previous year. U14 ● In 2007 they denied Galway, having lost to Cork in 2006. ALL-STARS Gemma Fay and Lyndsey Davey were honoured in 2005. Cliodhna O’Connor, Louise Keegan, Bernie Finlay and Mary Nevin in 2004. Maria Kavanagh, Martina Farrell and Angie McNally in 2003. And Noelle Comyn won an All-Star while playing for her home county Clare in 2001.
Niamh Hurley.
Sinéad Aherne.
Orla Colreavy.
