Mayo self belief the key to success

The current dominance of ladies football by Cork will be put
under the microscope this weekend as they face a revitalised Mayo
in the semi-final of the Suzuki Ladies National Football League.
Mayo have toiled for three years without a trophy and their considerable
successes forgotten due to the emergence of the Rebelettes.

Mayo won four All Ireland Championships between 1999 and 2003
and won the Division 1 league title in 2004, inflicting the last
defeat Cork have suffered in senior football, but since then they
have been eclipsed not only by Cork but by Galway, Meath and Armagh.
“We got hammered by Armagh at the start of the league and that
was a real wake-up call for us. The results against Laois and
Waterford helped with the team’s confidence and our new management
team has really made a massive difference to the team,” said Christina
Heffernan, the Mayo captain. “The win against Meath in the semi-finals
was a huge boost for us. The belief is back. Players, like Jackie
Moran, who were going to play in the States for the summer are
staying as there is a sense that we can achieve something special
this year,” said Heffernan. Mayo have added to their attacking
arsenal with the inclusion of Lisa Cafferkey, who has eased some
of the pressure placed on Mayo’s top scorer Cora Staunton. Cork,
however, have consistently gotten the better of Mayo in recent
years and Heffernan is under no illusions as to the task at hand.
“We have run them close in recent years but never been able to
put them away. We are not going to worry about what Cork will
do but will be concentrating on our own game. The girls really
believe in themselves and with the new young players added to
the team we will not have to rely just on Cora for scores.”

The winner of the Cork/Mayo semi-final will face the winner of
the clash between Galway and Kerry which also takes place this
weekend. The finals of the Pat The Baker Senior Post Primary Schools
competitions also this week. The All Ireland under 18 schools
competition finals will take place on today and tomorrow. The
Senior A and B competition finals will take place as a double
header in Cashel today with St Leo’s from Carlow taking on Loreto
Fermoy in the A final and St Joseph’s of Rochfortbridge face Sacred
Heart Clonakilty in the Senior B final. The Senior C final takes
place on Thursday in Cusack Park with St. Joseph’s Castlebar taking
on Dungarvan’s Ard Scoil na nDeise.