Ladies’ Football
Mangan: Naomh Ciaran won’t take St Paul’s test for granted
BY DAIRE WALSH
HISTORY is set to be made at Kingspan Breffni Park on Saturday as Naomh Ciaran from Offaly and Antrim representatives Naomh Pol aim to become the first clubs from their respective counties to claim an All-Ireland Ladies’ Football Championship title.
It should prove to be a novel intermediate final affair in the Cavan venue, with both sides being relative novices at the business end of the national grade.
Despite approaching this unfamiliar territory, a narrow semi-final victory against St Nathy’s of Sligo tells Naomh Ciaran midfielder Amy Gavin Mangan all she needs to know about their Belfast counterparts.
“They’re not going to get this far if they’re not up to the same standards as ourselves. You don’t just walk to an All-Ireland final, but we haven’t really looked into them too much as players,” Mangan acknowledged at Croke Park yesterday.
“We kind of know who they are and where they’re from. They’re a team, we’re just going to have to beat them and that’s it.”
Indeed, this inward focus stood the Midlanders in good stead for their own extra-time triumph at the expense of Inch Rovers at the last-four stage. The Cork side had a wealth of experience within their ranks, with corner-back Jess O’Shea and midfielder Annie Walsh having featured at inter-county level in the recent past.
While Mangan admits to doing a background check on the Leesiders prior to their meeting last Sunday week, it didn’t have an adverse effect on her own performance or that of the team.
“Before in other games, we’ve just said to ourselves ‘look, don’t focus on the opposition’. We’re just told to play our game and just do what we can.
“Obviously you’re going to see things online, such and such has however many All-Ireland medals with Cork. I did myself actually see a few of the names. I was kind of fearing it then, but you’re going out and you know what number they are.
“You just realise ‘Jaysus, we’re up to that standard as well. We’re able to keep them quiet’. You just have confidence in the backs to be able to manage people like these. It was grand.”
If St Paul’s have designs on bringing an All-Ireland crown back to the Saffron county, they will need to curtail the influence of Naomh Ciaran full-forward Kate Kenny.
The talented dual star amassed a personal haul of 1-10 in that eye-catching success over Inch Rovers and is once again expected to be the go-to option in the Ciaran’s attack.
That said, Mangan is confident there are others who are capable of stepping up to the mark on Saturday.
“She [Kenny] is just a superstar really. We’re very lucky to have her. She’s just so talented,” said Mangan.
”There’s girls around her that can play just as good as well. Kate does get the scores, but we do rely on an awful lot of other girls. We’re very lucky to have very strong forwards.”