Lidl National Ladies' Football League Division Two final:
Donegal v Westmeath (Saturday, Parnell Park, 5.30pm, live on TG4)
DONEGAL could be without star forward Geraldine McLaughlin for Saturday’s Division Two final against Westmeath at Parnell Park.
She was stretchered off with a back injury during her club Termon’s Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta senior final against Glenties on Monday evening and subsequently spent two days in hospital at Letterkenny General. And while manager Michéal Naughton would not rule McLaughlin’s participation in Saturday’s final out entirely, the fate of her sister Nicole was not so good, with the midfielder definitely ruled out with concussion sustained during the same game, forcing her to also spend time in hospital.
Naughton is also hoping another of his key players, Eilish Ward, will be able to play some part after she suffered a broken nose while playing for St Naul’s in the same competition’s intermediate final win over Ardara.
Despite all this, however, Naughton says his players are ready to launch their attack on the Division Two title in their bid for promotion to Division One for next season.
“The game should not have gone ahead when the county was looking at a league final five days later,” said Naughton, “but we have to play the cards we have been dealt.
“But the girls on the bench can do the job for us and we are all up for a great game and looking forward to it. You can win all the games that you want to, but they will count for nothing if we do not win this final game. With only one team going up, everything is at stake and we must put in the performance if we want to be playing Division One football next year.”
Twelve months ago, Donegal were, at this stage, unbeaten all year and facing Armagh in the decider. However, it did not go Tir Chonaill’s way on the day and they were outclassed, losing 4-18 to 4-6 as they missed out on their bid for silverware, but more importantly a return to the top flight.
Although Naughton was not involved with the side last year, he and the players will have learned a great deal from that heartache and will be keen not to let the past repeat itself on Saturday. Donegal have blazed a trail so far in this league campaign, but whatever has gone on in the previous eight games, they will be only too aware this is a one chance saloon and they must make the occasion count.
If they must do so without McLaughlin, it will give the team confidence to know they have not been overly-dependant on the sharpshooter this year, with a host of other players, including Yvonne McMonagle, Karen Guthrie and Amber Barrett, getting the scores.
The sides met back in the first league game of the season, a game Donegal won, but not without Westmeath giving them a serious challenge: “They, along with Cavan, gave us our most difficult games this year and we expect nothing different for the final," said Naughton.
"That day, we were lucky to come away with the win, but we got the goals and that counted - Westmeath were all over us otherwise. It was the first game of the season and it was a long time ago, but it was a big win for us down there and I think we have improved greatly since then too.
“What has happened this week has been a setback, but we are confident going into the game and, as I have said all along, if we can put in the performance I know we are capable of then we will be good enough to win.”
Lidl National Ladies' Football League Division One final: Cork v Mayo (Saturday, Parnell Park, 7.15pm, live on TG4)
DEFENDING champions Cork and unbeaten Mayo come together in this eagerly anticipated Division One final.
Mayo are the form team and have been since round one of the league, when they travelled to Cork and came away with their first away win against the Rebellettes in nine years. Cork, on the other hand, had been struggling for form in the early rounds, losing three of their first four fixtures. However, they then hit their stride and won their way through to the final after a string of impressive performances.
Mayo must be favourites based on their form, but they were given a huge scare by Kerry in their semi-final, needing a last minute Cora Staunton winner to send them through.
Cork were impressive when defeating a talented Dublin team in their semi-final and are a far better team than that defeated in round one by their final opposition. Mayo must be at their best against Cork and they will need Cora Staunton to be on top of her game against the great Bríd Stack. However, this is Cork and this is a final and, even when they are underdogs, they rarely lose these matches.
The Division Three final replay between Tipperary and Waterford also takes place on Saturday in Semple Stadium, Thurles at 1.15pm.
