DOWN sharp-shooter Natasha Ferris admits last year’s relegation from intermediate was a huge blow and they are determined to get back up there as soon as possible.
The Ulster junior champions have the opportunity this weekend to give themselves that chance of making an immediate return to the middle tier of championship football by qualifying for the All-Ireland final. They face Carlow in Sunday’s semi-final in Parnell Park.
“I suppose with how we were relegated last year, not getting the chance to play a relegation play-off didn’t sit well with us as a squad, so we are very determined to get back up to intermediate as soon as possible and build from there,” Ferris said.
“Our main goal at the start of the year was to win the All-Ireland and move back up to intermediate. However, there’s some very strong teams in junior at the minute and we’ll have to work incredibly hard to achieve our goal.
“We are really looking forward to the weekend. This is what you train for all year, for days like Sunday, playing in the knock-out stages of the championship.”
Carlow qualified as group runners-up in the other side of the draw while Down topped their group, coming through three games unbeaten, a victory over Limerick securing top spot in the group, and the ideal preparation for this semi-final.
“We had already qualified for the semi-final, however, it was massively important for us to put in a good performance against Limerick to top the group and maintain momentum for the next game,” said the Bryansford player.
- Down beat Limerick to set up JFC semi-final with Carlow
“Limerick are a very strong team, the game could have gone either way, we are just glad we came out on the right side of the result.
“We’ve obviously been keeping a close eye on the other group throughout the All-Ireland campaign and have watched some of the Carlow games.
“We know it won’t be an easy task and we’ll have to be at our best to beat them. They had a great win over London to qualify for the semi-final and will be full of confidence going into the weekend.”
Ferris is currently top scorer across all three championships and leads the way in the race for the Golden Boot award. She has 7-23 to her name, four points ahead of Clare’s Fidelma Marrinan, her 1-9 haul over Limerick moving her into first place.
On this form, Down supporters, and indeed Ferris’ team-mates, are certainly glad she is one of them, and hope the 33-year-old will continue to add to the scoreboard on Sunday.
“I am really enjoying my football this year,” she added.
“As a forward, it’s always nice to be getting on the scoresheet to build confidence and contribute to the team winning games. Hopefully, the good form can continue for the rest of the campaign.”
Ferris believes the management team of Peter Lynch and Caoibhe Sloan, who returned to the hotseat this season, former Down inter-county players Kevin McKernan and Mark Poland who joined the backroom team, have been instrumental in helping Down hopefully get back to where they want to be – playing intermediate championship football.
“We were delighted to have Caoibhe and Peter back on board, it was a massive boost after being relegated to hear they’d be back along with a brilliant backroom team which was exciting for us.”
“They brought in Kevin McKernan and Mark Poland, two great players for Down over the years who bring a wealth of knowledge and experience having played at the top level themselves. They’ve had a big influence on us this year and improved us individually and more importantly as a collective unit.”
