BY GER McCARTHY
CLONAKILTY take on Waterford’s Ballymacarbry in Saturday’s AIB Munster LGFA senior B championship decider in Mallow (1pm throw-in). The West Cork club will be eager to put the seal on what’s been a terrific season when they face the 16-time Munster and ten-time All-Ireland LGFA champions.
Last Sunday, Clonakilty made the arduous six-hour round-trip to Kilmihil in Clare for a provincial semi-final against the hosts. A 2-15 to 3-4 victory was hard earned in a last-four encounter where Sinéad O’Donovan, Síofra Pattwell (1-3 each), Kiya O’Mahony, Laura Daly, Katie O’Driscoll (0-2 each), Aisling Moloney, Kate O’Donovan and Ruth Shanley (0-1 each) all scored.
Kicking ten first-half points, it was Sinéad O’Donovan and Síofra Pattwell goals in the second period that helped Clonakilty keep Kilmihil at arm’s length before securing their Munster final berth.
The commitment to the Clon cause was perhaps best exemplified by full-forward Sinéad O’Donovan according to head coach David Aherne.
‘Going on the road, we didn’t know what to expect as we knew little of Kilmihil,’ Aherne told The Southern Star.
‘Maybe sometimes it is better that way. We didn’t worry about the opposition and focussed on ourselves. That approach suits us.
‘Sinéad O’Donovan got off a plane at 7am on Sunday morning from Belgium and came straight to Kilmihil for our game. She kicked 1-2 in the opening five minutes of this year’s senior B county final and ended up scoring 0-3 in the first five minutes the last day against Kilmihil.
‘One of our minors, Laura Daly, got her first start in Clare and ended up being one of the best players out on the pitch. We are not reliant on one or two players for scores because we have a massive number of talented forwards to call upon.’
The Clonakilty head coach, in his first year in the role, also paid tribute to his defence.
‘As for our defence, to be honest, it is one of the main reasons we have been so successful this year,’ Aherne added.
‘We always say championships start with the defence. Also, our defence doesn’t start with just our backs but with our number 15 and back from there. That really showed in the win over Kilmihil.
‘The girls worked incredibly hard and in November, work-rate is what it all boils down to.’
Having annexed the Cork LGFA senior B title, after finishing runners-up in both the West Cork Division 1 and senior county league finals, Clonakilty are primed for their biggest challenge as a senior club.
Add in winning the Killarney 7s senior trophy and it has already been quite the 12 months for Aherne and his panel.
‘This Clonakilty senior panel has lost nine players over the past four months for various reasons including people going abroad,’ Aherne noted.
‘The thing is, the more players we have lost, the more united the panel has become. There is massive chemistry in the team at the moment. Many are best friends.’
It is fair to say that the West Cork club, having seen off Castlehaven and Kinsale to become Cork senior B county champions, and most recently Kilmihil in a provincial semi-final, are enjoying a rich vein of form.
They will need to maintain if not better that form to overcome a Ballymacarbry club still smarting from missing out on what would have been a 43rd consecutive Waterford senior A county title.
Comeragh Rangers put paid to that and Clonakilty know the challenge they are facing in Mallow on Saturday.
‘We have no fear of going up against Ballymacarbry,’ Aherne concluded.
‘We will put our best foot forward as we think we can rattle any team. It has been an unbelievable year so far and this will be our fifth final. The girls are not heading to Mallow to make up the numbers and we will be focussing on ourselves only.’
Clonakilty Munster LGFA senior B semi-final panel: Martina O’Brien, Niamh Kennedy, Siobhan Callanan, Niamh Desmond Collins, Ruth Shanley, Ashling Hutchings, Méabh O’Donovan (captain), Kate O’Donovan, Millie Condon, Aisling Moloney, Katie O’Driscoll, Laura Daly, Síofra Pattwell, Sinéad O’Donovan, Aoife O’Flynn Meade, Róisín Duggan, Máire Murphy, Anna Meade, Leah McAree, Kiya O’Mahony, Meabh Deasy, Ciara Ryan, Lorna Collins, Ciara White, Moira Barrett, Clodagh McCarthy.
