|
Wolfe injury won’t deter London ladies
By Larry Cooney
London ladies footballers are preparing for the most important match
in a decade when they face Carlow in the All-Ireland juniors semi-final
on Sunday.
An epic performance against Antrim in Belfast at the end of July set-up
this clash and Johnny Wilson’s charges have been firmly focused
on their All-Ireland semi-final with Leinster champions Carlow at Fingallian’s
GAA ground, Swords this Saturday. The throw-in is scheduled for 5pm.
Apart from a serious knee injury to Anne Wolfe which has ruled her out
of action for the remainder of the season London are expected to have
an almost clean bill of health for the remainder of the squad.
Although forward Sharon Lynch, Lizzy Grey and Nicola O’Neill did
not take part in a recent training session all three are expected to be
fit to face the Barrowsiders.
Carlow, who secured a deserved 2-12 to 3-6 victory over Wicklow in the
previous round, will be determined to improve the county’s fortunes
which are currently at an all-time low in both football and hurling.
However despite an im-pressive performance from top-scorer Eilish Meaney
with a personal tally of 1-6 Carlow still had to battle hard against the
girls from the Garden County having earlier needed a late goal to defeat
a strong Kilkenny team in the Leinster final.
Laura Corrigan, who commonly lines out at either centre-back or midfield
will be a major player for Carlow. Sinead Doyle is their best forward
from play and Eilish Meaney is a superb player from dead balls.
The Carlow ladies success this year is due in large part to the fact that
the St. Brigids school in Carlow town won an All-Ireland colleges title
this year with several of the Carlow county team in their ranks.
London’s remarkable re-covery after conceding three early goals
against Antrim will have done much to bond the side.
Despite the obvious loss of Anne Wolfe Johnny Wilson’s team still
have plenty of quality and experience in players like Shauna Keogh, Karen
Togher, Sharon Lynch, Hannah Noonan, Susan Byrne and Sinead Daly.
The Exiles are also likely to have a new goalkeeper with Queensland native
Beth Cusack recently having joined the panel and likely to play in the
match.
Early midfield domination will be crucial for London’s hopes but
adapting to the conditions will also be just as important.
One advantage they have is that the Fingallions ground is the nearest
GAA ground to Dublin airport so the team will not have to face a long
commute before they take to the field.
Should the girls in green prevail they can then look forward to an All-Ireland
final date in Croke Park on September 23 against the winners of the earlier
semi-final clash in Swords be-tween Kilkenny and Derry. The throw-in for
that match is 2.30pm. |
