27 September 2006 Sligo Ladies have to stand up and be counted Share this Article 0 0 0 Shares! 0 Shares! Sligo Ladies have to stand up and be counted Darragh Cox Sligo Weekender THEY SAY a week is a long time in sport. If this is true then two months must be an eternity. Certainly Sligo’s surprise Connacht final defeat to a committed Leitrim side at McHale Park in Castlebar on August 1 has been banished to memory by Sligo’s Ladies Football followers as subsequent wins over Wexford and, impressively, a strong Clare team, ensured a third consecutive All-Ireland final appearance. Manager Kathleen Kane moved aside at the end of last year after Sligo had tasted their second successive defeat at the final hurdle against Armagh last October Ð their first coming a year previously to a strong Kildare team. A management team of Padraig Mannion and Fiona Golden stepped in and brought with them a strict regime with the focus exclusively on getting Sligo over that hurdle. The Connacht final defeat threw a spanner in the works, and Mannion and Golden was left with no alternative but to resign their positions after the players expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation. Tourlestrane’s Paddy Henry was quickly drafted in but it was up to the players to set things right after their decision. The results against Wexford and Clare re-ignited interest in what was fast looking like a lost cause and the players now find themselves exactly where they had aimed for at the start of the year, albeit by a different route. Of course if Sligo cannot swing the balance of power against their neighbours and great rivals, Leitrim, back in their direction in Sunday’s final then the season may yet be seen as one of failure. Before their departure Mannion and Golden had brought a number of the county’s Minor panel into the Senior squad, so it was a logical decision to get Henry, the county’s Minor manager, involved given his familiarity with many of the players. The talent was already there in abundance and it was too late in the season for dramatic changes in playing personnel. Instead what the team needed was a little stability, which Henry provided. One player who never lacked stability, however, and has kept her displays consistently high is speedy corner-forward Therese Marren. Not only had she played with Henry for the county Minors, she is also one of the first names on the team-sheet for every Senior match, despite being in her teenage years. Sligo’s top scorer so far in this years campaign, Marren has racked up an incredible 5-17 in the six matches so far this year, giving her an overall total of 32 points. Despite her staggering scoring record, Marren admits that Henry and his selectors, Gerry Mullaney and Rose Cawley, will have a lot of decisions to make on Sunday, given the quality of players in the panel. Training with Paddy [Henry] and his team has been going great and there are a lot of players pushing for places. So the selectors will have some deciding to do. But hopefully the team will come out on top. Marren came on as a substitute in the 2004 final against Kildare and claimed a goal to help spur her side to a commendable comeback that ultimately fell short. The following year she started against Armagh and again got on the score-sheet but couldn’t prevent the disappointing defeat. This year Marren is determined to come out on the winning side, especially having watched her brothers, Adrian, Stephen and Jason, brilliantly capture a county title with Curry on Sunday. She said: Ive really enjoyed the season so far and hopefully I will be bringing another medal back home this weekend. Share this Article 0 0