LGFA – TG4 ALL-IRELAND SENIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
CURRAN RELISHING CLASH AGAINST THE DUBS
By DAIRE WALSH
Donegal ladies manager Maxi Curran is relishing prospect of another mouthwatering duel with Dublin after his team claimed top spot in Group 2 of the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship on Saturday night.
Thanks to a 1-10 to 0-12 triumph over reigning champions Meath at Pairc Tailteann, Navan, Donegal found themselves in Pot One for the Brendan Martin Cup quarter-final draw that took place in the direct aftermath of their tense battle against the Royals. Whereas neutral venues were selected for last-eight clashes in previous seasons, this year sees the All-Ireland group winners being afforded home advantage.
This means that Dublin will be paying a visit down to Donegal on the weekend after next for what will – remarkably – be the third season in succession that the teams have faced each other at the quarter-final stage of the All-Ireland SFC.
“They caught us in Carrick-on-Shannon two years ago, we managed to catch them last year. You can rest assured [Dublin manager] Mick Bohan is sitting licking his lips at the thought of playing Donegal again because we’ve had such good battles,” Curran acknowledged on the Pairc Tailteann pitch after Saturday’s game.
“They will be gunning for it, but the one thing about Dublin is, we don’t fear them either. We’re able to get toe-to-toe with them most times and it will be a real testy one. Going in as group winners and Ulster champions, it’s some testament to the girls.”
On level terms against a wind-assisted Meath with just five minutes remaining on the clock, a dogged Donegal gave themselves some much-needed breathing space courtesy of consecutive frees from Susanne White and Karen Guthrie that preceded a late points for the Royals from Emma Duggan.
Interestingly, having being introduced off the bench on 20 minutes before being withdrawn at half-time, Guthrie re-entered the fray in the 58th-minute for White and struck a superb place-ball effort off her left boot.
Curran explained afterwards that the Donegal management had a plan in place for how the veteran attack was going to be used – albeit a couple of tweaks were made as the action unfolded.
“The plan was for her to play the last 5, ten minutes if we were still in the game going down the stretch. The way the first half panned out with the big wind we thought ‘Jesus, now is the time, we may as well go now’ because there was a chance she’d definitely swing the left at one or two of those opportunities. She nearly created a goal,” Curran added.
“The free developed on the far side and there was a wee bit of a delay. We got a chance to get her on the field. Lo and behold, she managed to swing it between the posts.”