Mayo Under 16 girls all set for All-Ireland quest

A CAVALCADE of Mayo supporters are expected to make the trip to MacDonagh Park in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, tomorrow (Wednesday) for the eagerly awaited LGFA All-Ireland Under 16 Platinum showdown against Kerry.

Mayo lost last year’s All-Ireland Under 16 A final against Cavan on a scoreline of 3-11 to 2-5 but bounced back this year this year to defeat a doughty Roscommon on a 1-13 to 1-12 scoreline in what was a dramatic Connaught final last May.

Incidentally, it was the Green and Red’s third successive provincial title at this grade.

Since defeating Kildare by 5-10 to 0-14 in this season’s All-Ireland semi-final in the Longford Slashers GAA grounds on June 26 last, momentum and team spirit has been building nicely for Mayo ahead of the prestigious final.

Manager Francis Regan said that his troops are looking forward to the game. “There is a good mood in the camp and everything is building nicely towards the game,” he explained. “The players are looking forward to the game. The three-week break since our semi-final against Kildare has been ideal build-up and I know some of our players played club football in the intervening weeks.”

Regan and his backroom team have also been doing their homework on their opponents, Kerry.

“We have a lot of homework done on Kerry and have gathered some information, and we know what to expect. Kerry have some excellent players, such as Jessie Lynch at wing-forward and Annie Brosnan at full-back,” said Francis.

Regan is hopeful of a large Mayo turnout at the Tipperary venue for the All-Ireland final, with the Green and Red supporters helping to spur this talented side to victories against Roscommon and Kildare.

“I know that a Wednesday evening game is not ideal, but we would be hopeful of a large Mayo attendance at the venue. I know it is an old cliché but supporters do play a big part in the game, and the Mayo supporters really made a big difference in the semi-final against Kildare and inspired their team to victory.”

On the injury front, Emma Stagg is a long-term absentee for Mayo, but Regan is hopeful that the rest of the panel will have a clean bill of health for the game.

“Emma Stagg has a long-term injury and this game is perhaps a few weeks too soon for her, but I am hopeful that the rest of of our panel will be fully fit and that we have a clean bill of health for the match,” Regan concluded.

EPIC

Kerry won an epic Munster final 2-14 to 2-13 against Cork after extra time, and they defeated many people’s favourites for the silverware, Cavan, in their All-Ireland semi-final, so Mayo will no doubt face a rejuvenated Green and Gold outfit.

In the Kerry v Cavan All-Ireland semi-final, which was played at Banagher, Co. Offaly, Cavan led 0-10 to 1-5 at the interval, but a barnstorming second-half display by Kerry resulted in the Munster girls recording a 4-11 to 0-18 victory.

Cordal’s Tom O’Connor is the manager of Kerry, and there is a lot of quality sprinkled across their starting 15. Castleisland’s Leah Griffin is the team captain and one of their main midfielders, whilst her Castleisland team-mate Julie O’Connor plays a starring role at centre-forward.

Evie O’Connor plays for the Churchill club and is a steadying influence in the midfield sector for the Kingdom, whilst Eimear Dillane is a brilliant centre-back and is excellent at winning breaking ball and primary possession for her team.

In the forward division, Kerry have the likes of the aforementioned Julie O’Connor, Norma Murphy, Lily Riordan and Kelsey Cummins, and overall the entire forward division is impressive, with each player as good as the other.

This week's All-Ireland final could well be an epic and enthralling contest, and extra time may be needed to determine a winner.

Mayo have shown enough character and resilience in their previous games to suggest that this team is well capable of claiming an All-Ireland title.

Verdict: Mayo to win by two to three points.