Cork Ladies Football Round Up

LADIES FOOTBALL ROUND UP, By Mary White  

MEATH IN CORKS WAY OF FIRST SENIOR SEMI-FINAL SPOT

From here on in the going gets tough. Having succumbed to Mayo
last year in the quarter finals, the Cork senior ladies realized
their true potential. They should have won and that cloud hangs
over them on Saturday when they take one step closer to appearing
in their first ever senior championship semi-final. But Meath
will stand in the way of that come the throw in of the TG4 quarter
final in O’ Moore Park, Portlaoise.

In Munster, Cork easily brushed aside Waterford, Clare and the
Kingdom, twice, to be crowned provincial queens on a score-line
of 2-15 1-8, but beyond the boundary lie bigger threats. The first
of those is the green and gold jersey on Saturday. Many believe
Cork drew the longest straw but that isn’t the case. Meath marginally
lost the Leinster title last years to All-Ireland finalists Dublin
by a goal and they are quiet capable of causing a huge upset by
knocking the national league champions out.

Captain Elaine Duffy at wing-forward is likely to be an area of
concern. Equipped with great pace and accuracy, Duffy has huge
experience with Leinster medals at every level, plus two O’ Connor
cup medals with UCD. Geraldine Doherty and Gráinne Nulty however
will have their hands full with Norita Kelly and Juliet Murphy
continuing to improve with each game. It is not yet confirmed
if centre forward Deirdre O’ Reilly will make her awaited return
from injury for the Cork side but there should be some reshuffling
in the forward line with substitute Nollaig Cleary making her
stamp in the Munster final. The hunger of the Rebel ladies should
shade it but it won’t be without a hearty fight by Meath. Throw
in is at 2.30pm in O’ Moore Park, Portlaoise.

JUNIORS FACE FERMANAGH IN QUARTER FINAL

A heroic display from the Cork juniors in the Munster final against
Tipperary two weeks ago has undoubtedly boosted moral. Substitute
Emma Harrington struck two late goals to seal the win but against
Fermanagh on Saturday, those chances will be harder to come by.
Physically the Ulster side are stronger but upfront the pace of
Triona Lucey, Eleanor Twohig and Ciara O’ Sullivan should catch
them on the hop.

Last year Cork were found out against Sligo in the semi-final
and a lack of homework proved too costly. This time round management
have ensured they know the danger areas. Michelle McCreesh positioned
at full forward has been consistent throughout her sides campaign
as has the full back Nuala Curran. Cork captain Annie Walsh will
battle it out at midfield with Fermanagh captain Rose Connolly
but the intelligent play of Elaine Cotter by her side will work
to her advantage.

Defensively the Rebels‚ will have to take control having become
complacent against Tipperary in the Munster, allowing them to
notch three goals in quick succession. Beara’s Blathnaid Wiseman
is an injury doubt with torn ankle ligaments but Siobhán Buckley
is quiet capable of stepping into the wing backs shoes. Cork are
favourites and they will be hoping to go one further in O’ Moore
Park at 1.00pm.

LORD MAYOR HONOURS U16 ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONS

The Cork U16 ladies football team were honoured last week by Lord
Mayor Deirdre Clune for their victory in the All-Ireland final
against Dublin in July at Cork City Hall. Players, management
and parents were in attendance and manager Charlie McLoughlin
spoke of his delight that the teams achievements were so highly
recognised.

“It’s an honour for all involved to be recognised by the
first citizen of Cork and the evening was a great experience for
the girls. Having worked so hard all year, the players deserve
to be on show and they enjoyed every minute of it”.

With both the senior and junior teams in action this weekend in
the TG4 championship quarter finals this weekend, ladies football
in Cork is at an all time high.

GABRIELS DUMP NAOMH ABAN OUT OF SENIOR CSHIP

On Friday last Gabriel Rangers dumped Naomh Abán out of the Evening
Echo senior ladies football championship with a 5-8 tally in the
remaining 10minutes. Fitness told on the Gaeltacht side and despite
leading at the half had no answer to Gabriel‚s dramatic turn around
in the second half. Having falling out via the back door, Naomh
Abán will have to regroup for next season while their opponents
will continue in the senior championship whilst also competing
in the Intermediate finals against Inch Rovers in the coming weeks.
Tonight Inch play Avondhu in the third round of the Evening Echo
Senior Ladies football championship. Throw in is at 7.30pm in
Fermoy. Meanwhile Beara and St Valentines are scheduled to play
on Tuesday next in the fourth round, a game which promises to
be a cracker.

U14 BLITZ

The Cork U14 team competed in the national U14 blitz in Mullingar
last week but were unfortunate not to progress to the final when
they fell to Galway in the semi-final stages on penalties.

RESULTS
Evening Echo Senior Championship: Gabriel Rangers 6-17 Naomh Abán
3-6. Junior B Championship: Kilshannig 5-8 Midleton 2-9; Castlemagner
1-5 St Valentines 1-4; Boherbue 1-10 Valley Rovers 2-4; Dromina
3-7 Gabriel Rangers 1-6.

FIXTURES
Thursday 25 August GPC Meeting Saturday 27 August TG4 Senior Championship
quarter final: Cork V Meath, Port Laoise, 2.30pm. TG4 Junior Championship
semi-final: Cork V Fermanagh, Port Laoise, 1.00pm. Monday 29 August
County Board Meeting, Murray‚s, 8.30pm. Saturday 3 September U12
Divisional Blitz (North Cork)

Mary White (PRO, Cork Ladies Football)