Football

Antrim have enough to beat Longford - Eleanor Mallon

Eleanor Mallon (right) and Shannon Graham following Antrim's Division Four final defeat to Roscommon in 2014  
Eleanor Mallon (right) and Shannon Graham following Antrim's Division Four final defeat to Roscommon in 2014   Eleanor Mallon (right) and Shannon Graham following Antrim's Division Four final defeat to Roscommon in 2014  

ANTRIM'S record in Croke Park on All-Ireland finals day reads played two, won two. A bit like reigning senior champions Cork, the Saffrons have yet to lose an All-Ireland final.

Three players - Mairéad Cooper, Clare Timoney and Cathy Carey - have been part of those two All-Ireland junior-winning teams in 2009 and '12. However, there is one player whose record is not quite the same, but she is hoping that will all change on Sunday against Longford in Croke Park (11.45am).

Eleanor Mallon was part of the Antrim senior camogie panel that reached the 2010 All-Ireland junior final against Waterford in Croke Park. The game ended in 1-9 to 1-9 draw, with the replay taking place in Ashbourne and the Saffrons going on to win 2-11 to 0-12. However, Mallon, who is from Cargin but at the time was playing camogie for Creggan, was injured and did not feature. A year later, she was back with Antrim in Croke Park, this time in the All-Ireland intermediate final against Wexford, but the Saffrons were on the wrong end of the 2-12 to 1-5 scoreline and, unfortunately again for Mallon, she was unable to play due to injury.

If anyone deserves things to work out for them at the third attempt, it's Mallon. The dual-player, who now plays camogie for home club Cargin, had been playing her club football for Creggan, but she is now with Moneyglass: "I'm hoping things go better for me this time around," said the corner-forward.

"It would be nice to experience that winning feeling in Croke Park and to get the chance to play too."

Mallon feels that, with the county being regraded from intermediate to junior this year, there is some added pressure to win on Sunday: "It will be a relief to get over the final hurdle on Sunday," she said.

"We came back down to junior and some players probably felt that we had the potential to stay up in intermediate but, when we were told we had gone down, it was like 'right, we have to prove ourselves and get back out of junior again'."

The chance for silverware too is also a chance to put right their Division Four final defeat to Limerick back in May and a stepping stone to developing football in the county: "It hasn't been easy," Mallon added. 

"Division Four again proved to be so difficult to get out of. That's the second final now that we have lost and it is not getting much easier. We have played Longford three times already this year and they have beaten us twice, so we owe them one. We could easily have won that game against Longford at the start of the All-Ireland Championship, but we took our foot off the pedal.

"The second-half, we thought we would come out all guns blazing, but it was a complete flop and just showed us that we had so much more work to do and we had to get our attitudes right. The task in Liverpool [against Lancashire] the following weekend was do or die, but that was a good win and it brought everyone together.

"London, we were led to believe they were an excellent side and people doubted that we could beat them, but I think we have more than enough capable players of going out again and doing it on the 25th."