Hurling & Camogie

Teacher Boden hopes Clonduff learn lessons from Ulster final performance

Clonduff captain Jenna Boden and Fionnuala Carr celebrate after beating Eglish in the the Ulster Intermediate Camogie Club Championship final at Pairc Esler Picture: Margaret McLaughlin.
Clonduff captain Jenna Boden and Fionnuala Carr celebrate after beating Eglish in the the Ulster Intermediate Camogie Club Championship final at Pairc Esler Picture: Margaret McLaughlin. Clonduff captain Jenna Boden and Fionnuala Carr celebrate after beating Eglish in the the Ulster Intermediate Camogie Club Championship final at Pairc Esler Picture: Margaret McLaughlin.

AIB All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie semi-final

“WE need to learn lessons from our performance in the Ulster final,” Jenna Boden the Clonduff camogie captain was still in school-teacher mode when the Irish News caught up with her just after her working day ended earlier this week.

The Shamrocks girls regained their Ulster intermediate title following a win win over Eglish at Páirc Esler last month, but Boden feels they need a marked improvement when they take on Clanmaurice in Saturday's All-Ireland semi-final.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with complacency at all. We went into that game well-prepared and there were just so many things that went wrong for us in the first half.

“We watched the game over again and it was only then that we realised that we had driven the sliotar straight at the goalie three times. Like, that never happens at training; we are tuned in to driving it low to make it difficult for the goalie.

“We had plenty of chances in that first half, but then conceded a goal and that seemed to put us under pressure. I am not taking anything away from Eglish’s performance in Páirc Esler. They played well and got their break for the goal. We didn’t get our break until just before half-time.”

That was when Orla Gribben played a pass cum shot across the face of the Eglish goal and Beth Fitzpatrick slammed the sliotar to the net. The teams went in at the break on equal terms 1-5 each.

“I think that goal meant a lot; instead of going in a goal down, we were level and didn’t have that pressure of trying to get back into the game,” said Boden, who returned from a teaching contract in Qatar just before Covid struck, and has since taken up a Business and ICT post in St John the Baptist College Portadown.

Clonduff struggled last year with three key players off on maternity leave at the same time, Paula O’Hagan, Sara Louise Graffin and Fionnuala Carr. Boden, the team’s full-back is full of praise for the three.

“Look, any team would miss those three players, they are such leaders on and off the pitch, real role-models for the rest of us growing up around Hilltown.

“We struggled without them of course. They are back now, they each have a child, but are still the first to arrive at training, set the tone and last to leave.

“But in their absence we have seen others, like Clare McGilligan, develop leadership roles because they had to. I think that we are in a much better place now as a team. If they hadn’t been away, the rest of us would have sat in our comfort zone and let them do what they have always done.”

Boden admits that neither the players nor anyone in the management team would know much about Clanmaurice other than that they are basically the Kerry county team.

“Absolutely nothing as yet. I think after the Ulster final we needed to focus on getting a few things right about our own way of playing, sharpen up a bit.

“We might be up against a county team, but we have a lot of county players ourselves, Down players and also Clare Kearney who won an All-Ireland junior with Antrim this year. We have a lot of experience in our team and we need to focus on bringing all that experience to Kinnegad on Saturday.

“The year we won the All-Ireland we beat the Galway champions, Craughwell, in Kinnegad before going on to Croke Park. I hope that is an omen.”