KATE O’Donovan wouldn’t want anyone else by her side in O’Donovan Rossa’s quest for more glory.
The Skibbereen side takes on Connacht champions Annaghadown away in the Galway team’s home ground in an All-Ireland club intermediate semi-final on Sunday (1pm).
These trailblazers have enjoyed a remarkable two seasons that have seen them lift five trophies so far, and there is a real sense of togetherness in the group.
‘We’re a very positive team. If something doesn’t go right, there’s never any negative comments or anything. It’s always just “next one, head up, we’ll keep going”. We are a really tight knit bunch of players. I wouldn’t want anyone else by my side to be honest, they are a great bunch of girls,’ Skibb centre forward O’Donovan told the Star Sport Podcast recently.
Their Munster intermediate final win against St Ailbe’s, 0-10 to 0-7, highlights how this Skibbereen group come together in the challenging moments. They trailed 0-5 to 0-3 at half time, yet there was no panic in the dressing-room.
‘I think our experience definitely helped,’ O’Donovan explained.
‘We’ve been in those situations before. Even in the Munster final last year, we were in a similar situation. In the changing room, we actually were quite calm and composed. I think that as players we knew that we had a little bit extra more to give.
‘Basic hand passing and things, they were some going astray. I think that gave us reassurance that “right, if we get those right, then we can push on.” The main thing said to us by the management was that in these kinds of games, it is going to come down to the last ten or 15 minutes.’
Manager James O’Donovan has given the team not just the belief but the knowhow in dealing with tricky situations. That could be called on away to Annaghadown this Sunday, too.
‘The practical input they had was to stay in the game until that ten or 15 minutes and then just absolutely give it everything for the last quarter. I think our fitness really stood to us but it comes from a mental standpoint as well. You have to show really good character and strength and determination to push over the line,’ O’Donovan added, and the hope is it will be more of the same in Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final.
