THE Down Ladies squad and management are delighted to be involved in the semi-finals of the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship reports Barry McConville.
He said: “Our season has been long and very eventful resulting in us winning the National League in May in that great final against Armagh and then reaching the ULster final only to be beaten by Fermanagh. We now find ourselves preparing for the biggest game of this group of players lives and come Saturday our only focus will be to try and beat Cavan and try and reach the All-Ireland final on the 29th Sept in Croke Park. Given that Cavan have had an extra week recovery which gave them rest but also the opportunity to watch our last game and indeed have been afforded home advantage they will obviously go in as favourites.
[caption id="attachment_41760" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Down Ladies Manager Benji Ward will ensure the Down Ladies are fully prepared for the semi-final against Cavan on their home ground at Breffni Park.[/caption]
“However, we have the utmost faith and belief in our team and they have been able to overcome adversity many times this season and so this is no different. We will prepare as we have all season, try to reduce our mistakes and improve on our positives therefore optimising our performance.
“We believe the ladies will respond as before and play the game of their lives to try and reach the final. We have already played and beaten Cavan in the Ulster semis and Gerry Sheridan will no doubt be trying his best to get his charges to overturn the previous results and that makes for a very interesting match up.
“Most comments coming from Cavan have indicated that defeat by ourselves with them actually turned their season around and their victories over London and a fantastic victory over last years finalist Waterford makes them the favourites and so it’s really a credit to this Down squad that they have become the bench mark for other teams but we know its down to who wants it most, who can capitalise on any mistakes made of the opposition and when on top who can convert their scoring opportunities.
“If we are honest it seems things have transpired to go against us eg the one week turn around from the quarter final win over Sligo hasn’t been ideal given the club league and county finals were played the week before that followed quickly by the Wicklow game. However. all we can do is play the hand you are dealt, over come the plethora of injuries, try and rest and recover as best we can and hope that we have enough in the tank to get past a very strong Cavan team.
“Can I again thank all the supporters and well wishers for their continued support and also our sponsors for the generous way they have provided for this group of girls. We do need and would appreciate if they can come along and support us in Breffni Park as we need all the help we can get to overcome Cavan’s home advantage.”
Down v Cavan All-Ireland Intermediate Semi Final
Venue Breffni Park Cavan
Time: 2.15pm: Saturday 31 August
]]>
