Ladies Football Weekly Round Up

Ladies Football Weekly Round Up Ballyboden Chase Three-in-a-row Dream Donoughmore wait on fitness of captain Juliet Murphy

The Vhi Healthcare All-Ireland Ladies Club
Championship hots up this weekend, with the semi-finals at junior,
intermediate and senior level. There are two games taking place in
Britain, with Inch Rovers of Cork taking on Parnells in Ruislip in
the Intermediate Championship and Emyvale of Monaghan travelling to
Birmingham to face John Mitchells at junior level. 

The focus will be on the senior semi-finals, with Dublin side Ballyboden
St Endas taking on Donaghmoyne of Monaghan and Mayo’s Carnacon facing
2001 and 2003 champions Donoughmore of Cork.

‘Boden are looking to become the first team since Waterford’s Ballymacabry
in the 1990s to claim three All-Ireland Club titles in succession
but they will have to overcome Monaghan side Donaghmoyne at home
to reach the final. This is a repeat of last year’s All-Ireland
final and it is expected to be a very tight game as ‘Boden struggled
past Senchalstown of Meath in the Leinster final while Donaghmoyne
are in fine form.

The second semi-final is equally as mouth watering, with Cora Staunton’s
Carnacon hosting a star studded Donoughmore from Cork. Carnacon
last won an All-Ireland in 2002, but with Ireland’s most prolific
forward Cora Staunton in fine form, they have a perfect opportunity
to reach the final with the advantage of a home venue.

Donoughmore captain Juliet Murphy is going for a remarkable feat
of captaining both club and county to All-Ireland success in the
same year. The inspirational midfielder has struggled with injury
since the Vhi Healthcare Munster club final and had to sit and watch
as Ireland hammered Australia in the first international rules series.
Murphy remains an injury doubt but will be undergoing treatment
all week to ensure she lines out for her club.

The 25 year old Murphy is under no illusion about the task facing
Donoughmore this weekend. “It is going to be extremely hard
for us to travel to Mayo and beat Carnacon in their backyard. They
have fine players in Claire Egan and obviously Cora Staunton and
we have to travel up the night before so we are up against it. We
have tried to put our disappointment of last year behind us and
I think we are a better side this season.”

Donoughmore will line out with no less than five players who picked
up All-Ireland senior medals in October, including Aisling O’Connor,
Emer Walsh, Sarah O’Connell and dual star Rena Buckley. Buckley
will be given the onerous task of marking Staunton and this duel
may well decide the game.

Donoughmore will be spurred on by the pain of last year’s semi-final
defeat to Ballyboden and the chance to create history and claim
yet another Ladies All-Ireland title for Cork. A titanic struggle
is in prospect out West.