TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship semi-final: Antrim v Wicklow (Sunday, Donaghmore/Ashbourne, 1pm live on LGFA Facebook)
ANTRIM have the unenviable task of taking on All-Ireland junior title favourites Wicklow on Sunday as they go after a place in this year’s final.
Wicklow were relegated from intermediate level last season after a seven year stint and have been favourites from the off to make an immediate return.
Antrim reached the semi-final stage last year but lost out to eventual winners Louth while it was 2016 when they last appeared in a final.
The Saffrons know they are massive underdogs but as manager Damien McConville says if his players do the simple things right and belief in themselves then they will deliver a performance to match.
They have been boosted by the return of a number of key experienced players since activity resumed after lockdown that includes the injured trio of Saoirse Tennyson, Ciara Brown and Meabh McCurdy as well as Cathy Carey.
“At the start of the year when we came in our aim was to bring some stability and continuity to the set-up. There had been a lot of changing of managers in recent years and we wanted to come in and settle things and work on a plan that was not just about this year,” explained McConville.
“We had a lot of players unavailable through injury and other things for the league and we found that going tough. Along with Derry and Limerick we were in the bottom three of Division Four and having those two teams in the championship meant there was a lot to fight for.
“The lockdown and the break has given us the chance to get players back from injury and other players to come back in and along with the new players we brought in at the start of the year we have gone from struggling for numbers to having a panel of 30 plus players.”
It hasn’t been without its struggles though as St Paul’s and Moneyglass’s participation in the Ulster Club Championship, before it was postponed, meant McConville did not have his full quota of players available to him.
They also lost their first round robin group game 2-8 to 1-5 to Limerick, their first game since mid-March, but they bounced back against Derry, despite a slow start, to defeat their neighbours 2-11 to 1-7 in a crucial crunch game and book their place in this weekend’s semi-final.
“We hadn’t had any game time before the Limerick game, it was always going to be tough against them and they had the game against Derry the week before too so they were well up-and-running. I thought we should have had a better performance than what we did but there were positives to take from it.
“We didn’t start well against Derry but I was confident in our ability that we would be able to get back and we did. Credit to Derry they fought back too and came right back into it but I thought our defence were outstanding in the second half and they just couldn’t get past us,” he said.
The calibre of opponents has risen – probably to its highest level – now for Antrim and McConville knows the extent of the challenge that lies ahead.
These two last met in the Division Four league semi-final in 2018 with Wicklow enjoying a very one-sided victory.
“We need to be realistic. Wicklow won the junior All-Ireland in 2011 and so they have been an intermediate championship side since 2012 and they only came back down this year to junior. They played in Division Three this year and lost just one of their five games, winning one and drawing the other three. They have shown they can hold their own up there.
“The girls know they don’t face an easy task against Wicklow but it’s important they have the belief to know they are good enough to put it up to them. We have taken our football back to its fundamentals, the basics of football like keeping possession, not being lazy, working for one another, and if we can get that right then who knows what will happen,” he added.
TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship semi-final: Fermanagh v Limerick (Sunday, Kinnegad, 1pm live on LGFA Facebook)
FERMANAGH are just 60 minutes away from back-to-back All-Ireland finals but standing in their way are seasoned campaigners Limerick in Sunday’s junior semi-final in Kinnegad.
For the last three years one of these two counties have been in the decider with Fermanagh looking for a third final appearance in four years and Limerick a second final in three years.
Limerick, like the other semi-finalists, Wicklow, were intermediate championship teams last year but lost a relegation play-off to Laois, and so made their return to the junior grade for 2020.
That might make them slight favourites over the Ulster side but games between these too having always been close and this one is too close to call once again.
They are no strangers to one another either having been together in Division Four. Last year they met in the league semi-final, with Fermanagh, winning by two points in an epic battle before going on to claim the league title, while in the earlier rounds of the league, Limerick won by two points.
Limerick reached the semi-finals topping their three team group with wins over Derry and Antrim while Fermanagh had to put a round one defeat to Wicklow behind them before taking on Carlow in their other group game, which essentially was an All-Ireland quarter-final with the winner booking their place in the last four.
They had to do it without captain Courteney Murphy, who was ruled out through injury, and once again it looks like the Kinawley player will be absent for this one.
However, manager Jonny Garrity was able to call on Sara Jane Jones to step in, and making her senior county debut, she certainly did not look out of place.
The strength in depth of the Fermanagh team is something that has taken on added importance this year in particular as they have had to deal with players unavailable due to being identified as close contacts and it’s no difference for this weekend either.
“Over all our games we have had players missing because they have had to self-isolate after being identified as a close contact, but we have a strong panel and we have faith in all our players and those coming in we know they will come in and do the job,” said Garrity.
It has been a strange year but any time you get to an All-Ireland semi-final is great, it’s a good position to be in. We simply try to be as positive as possible – there is no reason why we should not think we are good enough and capable enough to reach an All-Ireland final.
“We are not looking past Limerick, we are certainly not taking them for granted, they are a very good team. They have been in semi-finals and finals before, they have won this junior title too, most recently in 2018.
“We showed real character against Carlow to come from four points down at half-time to win. They are a team who know how to grind out the wins.
It was played at a high pace and tempo and that will stand to us going into this semi-final against Limerick. We know what we have to bring to the table and there will be nothing given easy, for both sides.”
