AIB All-Ireland senior club final: Sarsfield's (Galway) v Loughgiel (Antrim) (today 6.30pm, Croke Park)
LAST weekend Loughgiel won their first ever All-Ireland camogie semi-final to reach Croke Park. Their performance against Drom and Inch was epic.
At the same time Sarsfield's from Galway reached their fourth final in a row and sixth out of the last seven with a less than impressive showing against Dublin champions St Vincent's.
Everyone knows however that performance counts for little in semi-finals, the only thing that really matters is the result. Both teams achieved what they set out to do.
Nevertheless Loughgiel's 3-6 to 2-6 win over the Tipperary champions meant a lot more to the north Antrim side's players. It was a psychological barrier similar to the one presented by Slaughtneil in the Ulster final.
Both the Ulster and All-Ireland semi-final victories represent breakthroughs for the Shamrocks. This is a different Loughgiel mentality. This is a team that believes in themselves; they work hard and they will back themselves to win.
The Ulster final conditions, a dry day and good surface, suited the pace and skill of Caitrín Dobbin and Róisín McCormick. They stretched Slaughtneil's defence and tagged on the scores to make the six in a row champions chase them to the finish line.
The semi-final was different, just as the county final performance had been different. Underfoot conditions and the tight marking Dunloy or Drom and Inch defenders meant that neither Dobbin nor McCormick would score heavily. They were closed out.
Into the breach stepped the unheralded Annie Lynn to pick up the Player of the Match award for both games, a real game-changer.
It wasn't that Dobbin and McCormick didn't produce the goods; both scored a goal and a point from open play against the Tipperary champions. They also attracted extra attention and that opened the way for Lynn.
Less focus is brought to bear on the Shamrocks' defence. Over the Antrim final, Ulster final and last week's All-Ireland semi-final, they have conceded just two goals and six points from open play. Slaughtneil accounted for half of that.
The message is clear. When the conditions are good, they concede little, but when the weather conditions deteriorate, it is much harder to break the Loughgiel defence down. They are compact, work hard for each other and Lucia McNaughton and Amy Boyle will filter back for support and still be available to take scores at the other end.
Think back to last September and Antrim taking Kilkenny apart in the All-Ireland final. How well did the open spaces of Croke Park suit Róisín McCormick and Caitrín Dobbin? Annie Lynn can also shine there with her natural pace.
Having assessed how well Loughgiel are playing, they still enter Croke Park as underdogs against Sarsfield's, who have learned from the heartache Slaughtneil doled out to them over two All-Ireland club finals.
The Galway champions may have been lucky to "steal" the 2020 All-Ireland final, but they won fairly comfortably last year after Oulart-the-Ballagh had downed them with goals at the right moment in the year between.
The four McGrath sisters are the heart-beat of their father's team. They have made the big plays in the finals they team has won.
Last Saturday Sarsfield's fielded without Sarah Spellman and Orlaith McGrath and, despite scoring the first four points inside four minutes and going 0-6 to 0-1 ahead, they struggled for the whole of the second half. Had it not been for the penalty and the point that quickly followed, St Vincent's were in with a great chance of causing an upset.
However great teams always find a way to get the result they need. Sarsfield's achieved that.
They have also played Loughgiel on several occasions over the past half dozen years. They will know where the danger is coming from, where the pressure points are in the Loughgiel team.
It isn't that we have doubted Loughgiel's abilities this year. They have been underdogs in Ulster because Slaughtneil had proven themselves over six finals. They were underdogs last weekend because this was virgin territory for them. They are underdogs today for the same reason.
I come back to the initial statement. This is a Loughgiel team with a different mentality. They have a winning mentality and they therefore have a great opportunity to make history.
