MONEYGLASS captain Cathy Carey is looking forward taking on Ulster champions Donaghmoyne as they embark on their provincial campaign after winning their third consecutive county title with a 3-8 to 0-7 victory over St Paul’s on Sunday. 

It might be just under three weeks until that Ulster quarter-final, a repeat of last year’s final, in which first time senior finalists Moneyglass pushed the champions all the way, but after enjoying the celebrations that resulted in Charlie O’Kane’s side retaining their Antrim crown, they will knuckle down and turn their attentions to Ulster and in particular Donaghmoyne. 

After reaching the final last year, to bow out at the quarter-final stages would undoubtedly be a disappointment as Moneyglass will have serious ambitions to go one step further this time around but against Donaghmoyne in their own backyard they know they will face the ultimate test,.  

“Donaghmoyne are excellent, excellent footballers and that will be up to us to try, in the next three weeks, come up with something,” said Carey, who hit two points in Sunday’s win.   

“Ulster is a serious competition and we saw that last year after getting our first real taste of it getting three games under our belt. After you win the county title, you want to target the next trophy.

"I think if you didn’t, you would be lacking in ambition, and these girls are full of ambition and full of drive. Nobody in the group likes to lose, so we go out in the next game just to try and win the next one and if that brings us a wee bit further into Ulster then we keep going.” 

Moneyglass were huge favourites to retain their title, which they wrestled off St Paul’s in 2021, especially after two relatively one-side previous finals and a comfortable opening round-robin game victory but the Shaw’s Road outfit really tested their opposition, but it was nothing less than Carey expected.  

The champions were four points ahead at half-time, leading 1-4 to 0-3, but St Paul’s still very much in the game, but goals in the 35th and 45th minutes ended St Paul’s hopes although they battled right to the end.

 Laura McCann got the first half goal while Bronagh Devlin and player-of-the-final Maria O’Neill got the second half goals. 

“We would have been naïve to listen to anything that was going on outside the four walls of our own team. We knew the game was going to be a battle end and we were very aware of the threat that St Paul’s were going to pose.  

“We are just delighted to get out on the right end of it. In terms of retaining or winning or three in-a-row, it was just about winning on the day,” she added.