Injured Currid in no mood to feel sorry for herself

Injured Currid in no mood to feel sorry for herself By Darragh Cox of the Sligo Weekender

By
Darragh Cox

As if the pain of last year’s defeat was not enough for Sligo
footballer Caroline Currid to have to bear, the talented half-back
will miss out on this year’s All-Ireland final due to injury.

But the irrepressible Currid is in no mood to feel sorry for herself,
instead focusing on ensuring, along with vice-captain Louise Harte,
that the Sligo’s Ladies Football team will face no further disappointment
at the weekend. She said: “The problem is with my cruciate ligament
and it’s just not going to hold up. At the start we thought it
was the cartilage and but in the Connacht final it just went completely.
After six months of training and preparing, it was devastating,
but Louise [Harte] is a great leader. While I still speak to the
team and attend training, she’s the leader on the pitch.”

“If I wasn’t the captain I probably would be lost by now but the
girls have been keeping me involved.”

Harte still believes Currid has a crucial role to play: “I will
try and lead the team on the pitch but it is very much a joint
effort. Caroline still makes the speeches before the matches and
encourages us from the sideline.”

“But with our team everyone is a leader. It is tough on Caroline
and she will be missed both as a player and a leader. She is a
very solid half-back and a real leader on the pitch but we have
a big panel.”

Currid agrees: “The great thing about the team is that there is
quality players that can come in. We haven’t had a settled 15
and the team for the final still hasn’t been picked. There is
a really great panel of players. Kathleen [Kane] and the management
team have the squad in great shape.”

The duo also believe that the experience gained against Kildare
last year will stand to the team. Harte, a Shamrock Gaels player,
said: “We have matured a lot. We have taken the responsibility
off players like Stephanie O’Reilly and Louise Brett and it is
spread around the team this year.”

Currid added: “We have the advantage that we played in Croke Park
last year but as far as I see it, that is our only advantage.
Armagh are physically big and are a strong team, but we will be
able to hold our ground.” “It took us a while to get going last
year. All you can hear is the crowd and it would shake any team
that was new to Croke Park.”

“We also have that feeling of finishing up with nothing last year.
That emptiness of coming home without the trophy. The only way
the girls can get rid of this feeling is to come home as champions
this time.”