LADIES FOOTBALL
Meaney is buzzing before final
By Daire Walsh
AFTER finally reaching the holy grail of an All-Ireland senior title last December, Mourneabbey defender Eimear Meaney acknowledges it was easier for the squad to knuckle down for another shot at the Dolores Tyrrell Memorial Cup in 2019.
In stark contrast to painful defeats suffered in 2014, ’15 and ’17 – which led to prolonged post mortems within the Leeside club – Meaney and her team-mates couldn’t wait to get back in the saddle as defending national champions.
“It is different coming back, you’re kind of buzzing to get back and re-group. Other years it was a bit more difficult to come back. I think coming into 2018 was probably very hard because we had lost some really tough matches and it had happened a couple of years in a row.
“I think it was difficult to re-group, whereas this year that winning feeling is contagious,” Meaney remarked at the Captain’s Day for the final on Monday.
“You come back and you’re absolutely buzzing to get back. We’re back in a position we wanted to be at the start of the year. It was different, but it’s the same training. It’s the same hard work, it’s the same dedication as all the other years. It’s just a different year.”
Shane Ronayne’s side emphatically dispatched the challenge of Foxrock/Cabinteely in that decider at Parnell Park – the scoring prowess of Doireann O’Sullivan and Laura Fitzgerald inspiring a deserved 1-13 to 1-7 triumph.
This arrived on the heels of a convincing last-four victory at the expense of Kilkerrin/Clonberne, their opponents in Saturday’s showpiece at the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick.
They also got the better of the Galway outfit in a 2015 semi-final, but their demolition of Foxrock on November 10 suggests they are ready to right a few wrongs of their own.
“They’ve come through very strong. In the last game they played against Foxrock/Cabinteely, there was five goals. We’ve definitely been watching that and I suppose it would worry you a small bit when they’re playing the likes of those teams coming through. They’re very strong as well,” Meaney said.
“They’ve been knocking on the door a long time. They’ve been in a couple of semi-finals in the last few years. They’re obviously extremely hungry and delighted to have made a final. They don’t want to leave any stone unturned either. They’re really going to bring it to us on Saturday.”
If they are to reclaim their title this weekend, Meaney insists Mourneabbey can’t allow Kilkerrin to dictate the terms of engagement.
They trailed Monaghan’s Donaghmoyne for large spells of their last-four meeting, before a late scoring blitz ultimately booked an All-Ireland final appearance for the fifth time in six seasons.
“I think we struggled massively in the first half with Donaghmoyne. We’ve played them in previous years, I think it was in 2015 and 2016. They defeated both times. Coming into the game, we just tried to park those losses and move onto it. The first half I think we struggled to find our feet, but the second half we really started to play our own football.
“What we should learn from the last day is we were very lucky to get out of jail with Donaghmoyne in the first half. If we let Kilkerrin/Clonberne get a run on us, we won’t be able to catch them. We have to be able to turn it on from the very minute go.”
Eimear Meaney capped another fine inter-county campaign with an All Star nomination – eventually losing out to Sinead Burke (Galway) in last Saturday’s awards ceremony at the Citywest Hotel.
Having initially announced his resignation in the wake of the disappointing All-Ireland semi-final reversal to Dublin in Croke Park, Cork manager Ephie Fitzgerald has subsequently been reappointed to the role on a two-year term.
Meaney is delighted the Nemo Rangers club man has agreed to stay on, ensuring continuity for what promises to be an exciting 2020.
“Sometimes it’s nice to have the same management that you’re familiar with. Ephie has been there for four years.
“I’ve worked with him over the past four years and he’s a brilliant manager. We’ll be ready to go all guns blazing again in January. It’s really nice to have him back,” Meaney added.