PREVIEW: Naomh Abán and Salthill-Knocknacarra set their sights on currentaccount.ie All-Ireland Junior Club glory

THE final national Ladies Football champions of 2022 will be confirmed on Saturday when Naomh Abán from Cork and Galway’s Salthill-Knocknacarra contest the currentaccount.ie All-Ireland Junior Club decider.   

The original fixture, scheduled for last Sunday, December 11, was postponed due to adverse weather conditions and will go ahead at Cahir GAA Club in Tipperary at 1pm.  

Tickets are on sale at https://bit.ly/3V2fH9x and for spectators that can’t make it to the game in person, it’s available to purchase via the LGFA’s live-streaming service: bit.ly/3uSXX5H 

Saturday December 17 

Currentaccount.ie All-Ireland Ladies Junior Club Football Championship Final – Naomh Abán (Cork) v Salthill-Knocknacarra (Galway); 2.15pm, Fethard, Co. Tipperary – Live on LGFA InPlayer  

BACK in 2003, Cork’s Naomh Abán were crowned All-Ireland Ladies Intermediate club football champions.  

After a tough encounter against London opponents Parnells in Portarlington, the silverware went to Naomh Abán, with Lisa McSweeney, Anita Thompson and Ailbhe Lynch scoring the goals in a 3-6 to 1-7 win.  

Siobhan Ní Bhuachalla was captain of Naomh Abán on that occasion and now, 19 years on, could Una Twohig follow in her footsteps and accept national silverware on behalf of the club? 

Salthill-Knocknacarra will fly the flag for Galway and Connacht, in what will be a first All-Ireland Ladies Football Final appearance for the club.  

Caltra Cuans (2010) are the only previous club from Galway to win this competition but Salthill-Knocknacarra will make the trip to Tipperary with confidence.  

In contrast, Cork clubs can boast a very impressive recent record in the All-Ireland Junior Club Championship.  

Donoughmore (2019), Glanmire (2018) and Aghada (2018) are all recent champions, while Kinsale (2016) and Bantry Blues (2015) were finalists.  

For five successive seasons, then, Cork supplied All-Ireland Junior club finalists ‘pre Covid’ – and Naomh Abán will represent the Rebel County on Sunday.  

In a low-scoring and tight Munster Final, Naomh Abán did enough against Limerick opponents Oola to secure the silverware.  

Defensively strong, Naomh Abán mined seven points at the other end of the pitch to land a two-point victory. 

That win put Naomh Abán on a collision course with Monaghan’s Castleblayney Faughs in the All-Ireland semi-final – and it was a hurdle that Naomh Abán jumped.  

Again, enough points on the board proved sufficient, as Naomh Abán claimed a 0-12 to 0-7 win, with Alannah Hoare and Grace Murphy contributing half of that tally between them.  

Monaghan’s Jodie McQuillan, a really dangerous attacker, scored three pointed frees but Naomh Abán, crucially, managed to nullify her overall influence.  

On the other side of the draw, Kate Thompson stepped up to the mark with a winning late score as Salthill-Knocknacarra edged past O’Dwyers from Dublin on home soil at The Prairie.  

In their Connacht Final victory over Drumcliffe Rosses point, Lauren O’Donnell and Laura Kelly combined for 1-12 and they were to the fore again this time.  

In a 1-7 to 1-6 win over O’Dwyers, O’Donnell (1-1) and Kelly (0-3) landed 1-4 of the winning total. 

These are two players that Naomh Abán will need to keep a close eye on but a number of Salthill-Knocknacarra chances went begging against O’Dwyers, admittedly in difficult conditions, and this is an area they’ll be hoping to address.  

Fans of both Naomh Abán and Salthill-Knockncarra will travel in their droves– and hoping to put on a show befitting of the occasion.  

Both teams are unchanged from their respective semi-final victories and the extra week will have provided valuable extra recovery time for players suffering with knocks.  

Naomh Abán (v Salthill-Knocknacarra): L Hughes; U Twohig (capt.), M Dineen, A Creedon; E Kelly, R Corkery, M.E. Kelliher; A McDonagh, G Lucey; A Hoare, E Murphy, C Phelan; A Maher, L McDonagh, G Murphy.  

Salthill-Knocknacarra (v Naomh Abán): L Carroll; O de Bairead, A Mullen, S Donnellan; E Madden, S Divilly, R Reddington; Z Rather, A Finnerty (capt.); L Kelly, L O’Donnell, K Thompson; D O’Connell, A Manley, A Nash.  

Full squad listings

Naomh Abán

Salthill-Knocknacarra