TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship Group B round 3: Antrim v Derry (Tomorrow, Musgrave Park, 2pm)
NEIGHBOURS Antrim and Derry meet tomorrow in a winner-takes-all encounter for a place in the All-Ireland Junior Championship semi-final.
Both sides have already lost to Ulster champions Fermanagh in the round robin competition format and so this was alway going to be the make-or-break game for the two counties.
The last time the sides met was the Ulster semi-final that turned out to be a cracking game between the sides with Derry emerging victorious over their fierce rivals for the first time in quite a few years, after extra-time, and in doing so dumped out the defending champions.
Antrim will be keen to reverse that outcome tomorrow in what is an even bigger game for both sides not least the Saffrons who reached last year’s junior decider and why they would like to get back there again this year, nothing is guaranteed and the focus is solely on Derry.
Seamus McKenna has been boosted by the return of his captain, Emma Kelly after her winning exploits with the AFL Irish Banshees winning the 2017 International Cup in Melbourne. However, they are without Chloe Dahunsi, who was on the Division Four Team of the League, and half-forward Natasha O’Neill.
Kelly has a particular affiliation with Derry having pulled on the Oak Leaf jersey for 13 years before making the switch to the Saffrons colour after moving permanently to Belfast where she began playing for St Paul’s. It is always a big deal when the sides meet.
“I have mixed emotions playing against Derry,” said Kelly. “I will always try to up my game but I get extra nervous as I played for them for 13 years and the oak leaf jersey will always be a big part of me and the player I have became.”
“This is efinitely the biggest game for us. We can’t afford to leave no stone unturned on Sunday. The Ulster semi-final was a tough game, we threw it away in normal time and again in extra time but Derry fought to the end and fair play to them. We won’t expect anything less again this Sunday.”
Kelly is honest when she says that while getting back to the All-Ireland final would have been a target at the start of the year, a turnover in players has meant McKenna has had to call on a number of minor players, some who are just out of Under 16s.
“The underage in Antrim has been strong coming through so the future is definitely bright but could it be a step too far this year, I hope not,” said the Saffrons captain.
Their performance against Fermanagh the last day out was obviously not anywhere near as good as it should have been or as they would have hoped and Kelly hopes they can make amends.
“I was keeping tabs on the game in Melbourne and I was gutted for them. The girls came up against a very strong team who could easily be challenging in intermediate level. It was disappointing to get beaten by so much but the girls will hopefully put that to the back of their minds and go into this game fresh and with a bit of bite to get the win.”
For Derry, tomorrow’s game is a chance of redemption after back-to-back defeats to Fermanagh and to prove their Ulster semi-final win over Antrim wasn’t just a flash in the pan.
“You don't often get opportunities to reach an All-Ireland semi final,” said Glass. “We are very much viewing this as a chance to redeem ourselves and restore our belief in ourselves. The stakes are certainly higher than our last encounter with Antrim and we are sure they will be out to try prove a point also after the last game.
“We're no strangers so both sides will be well aware of whats to come and if the last game is anything to go by it should be a tough but thrilling game.”
Glass feels that the scoreline, while Fermanagh were deserved winners, wasn’t a true reflection of the possession they had.
“The scoreline definitely indicated it was our poorest performance against Fermanagh. There’s no denying that Fermanagh were a dominant force, however the possession we had didn’t reflect the deficit in the score. We just struggled to translate our possession into scores so it has been a key aspect of training since.
“We know Antrim have a few players back since their fermanagh game too so we should be well matched.”
The first of the All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-finals take place this evening with last year’s finalists Dublin facing Kerry in Thurles (6.30pm).
Both are their respective provincial champions and last met in the competition back in 2014 at the same stage, with Dublin prevailing by five points.
Of the starting 15 that lined out for Dublin back in 2014, Rachel Ruddy, Leah Caffrey, Martha Byrne, Sinead Goldrick, Noelle Healy, Niamh McEvoy, Carla Rowe, Lyndsey Davey, Molly Lamb and Sinead Aherne are all likely to feature in Mick Bohan’s team for Saturday’s crunch tie.
Kerry can still call upon the services of Ashlinn Desmond, Aisling Leonard, Caroline Kelly, Emma Sherwood, Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh, Sarah Houlihan, Lorraine Scanlon and Laura Rogers, all of whom played in the 2014 encounter.
The All-Ireland Intermediate Championship semi-final between Meath and Tipperary is the curtain-raiser to the senior clash (4.45pm) and is one
Tyrone will be keeping a close eye on this one, as should they beat Sligo next weekend, would face one of these two in the September 24 decider.
FIXTURES
Today
All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final: Dublin v Kerry (Semple Stadium, Thurles, 6.30pm live on TG4)
All-Ireland Intermediate Championship semi-final: Meath v Tipperary (Semple Stadium, Thurles, 4.45pm live on TG4)
All-Ireland Junior Championship Group A round 3: Kilkenny v Carlow (Clara, 6.30pm)
Tomorrow:
All-Ireland Intermediate Championship relegation round 2: Limerick v Longford (Banagher, 3pm)
All-Ireland Junior Championship Group B round 3: Antrim v Derry (Musgrave Park, 2pm)
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