AN UNBEATEN MAYO side face experts Cork in the Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 1 Final this evening (Parnell Park, 7.15pm).
Mayo’s semi-final victory over Kerry was their eighth successive win of the year. The Westerners will be hoping to maintain this form and win their first league title since 2007.
Meanwhile the Leesiders are in search of their fourth league title in a row, and a first under new manager Ephie Fitzgerald.
Here are six players who should have a huge impact on the game:
Despite lining out for her 22nd consecutive season, Staunton is still as sharp as she was when she first joined the senior panel at the tender age of 13.
The veteran is the focal point of the Mayo forward line, and is guaranteed to feature heavily on the scoresheet every time she dons the green and red.
The Carnacon star scored the semi-final winner in the seventh minute of additional time, taking her personal tally that day to 11 points.
https://twitter.com/KCsixtyseven/status/704031713404567552
O’Sullivan captained Cork to an All-Ireland five-in-a-row and their 10th title in 11 years last September.
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The Mourneabbey club woman was named captain again this year and has been consistent throughout the current All-Ireland champions’ league campaign to date, scoring the all-important goal in their semi-final victory over Dublin.
The skilful centre-forward is sure to cause problems for the Mayo defence in Parnell Park.
Finn is also a nominee for April’s WGPA Player of the Month. This comes as no surprise as the pacy corner-forward has been in remarkable form over the past few weeks.
Finn, who plays her club football with Kinsale, was pivotal for Cork in the semi-final and her seven-point tally contributed heavily to their success.
Her intelligence and work ethic will have a huge influence on Cork’s game.
At the age of just 20, Sarah Rowe is already a household name when it comes to Ladies GAA. Rowe, who is one of the faces of Lidl’s sponsorship campaign, spoke out about gender inequality in sport earlier in the year which caused huge discussion.
As well as being a well-known advocate for Ladies GAA and a talented footballer, Rowe is also a gifted soccer player. Thankfully for Mayo this year, she chose to pursue GAA and put her international soccer career on hold.
The nifty forward converted the equaliser in the semi-final and also scored two late goals as Mayo overcame Monaghan earlier in the year.
Established dual star Corkery has featured in each of Cork’s 10 championship victories in the past 11 years. Within the same time, she’s also won six All-Ireland camogie titles.
Cork’s performance will depend on the midfield partnership of Corkery alongside Rena Buckley. Their combined experience and work ethic is sure to torment Mayo and put their opposing midfielders under immense pressure.
Other notable mentions: Niamh Kelly (Mayo), Orlagh Farmer (Cork)
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6 players to watch in today's Division 1 Ladies Football final
AN UNBEATEN MAYO side face experts Cork in the Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 1 Final this evening (Parnell Park, 7.15pm).
Mayo’s semi-final victory over Kerry was their eighth successive win of the year. The Westerners will be hoping to maintain this form and win their first league title since 2007.
Meanwhile the Leesiders are in search of their fourth league title in a row, and a first under new manager Ephie Fitzgerald.
Here are six players who should have a huge impact on the game:
1) Cora Staunton (Mayo)
[image alt="Cora Staunton" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2016/05/cora-staunton-13.jpg" width="100%" height="" title="" class="alignnone" /end]
Despite lining out for her 22nd consecutive season, Staunton is still as sharp as she was when she first joined the senior panel at the tender age of 13.
The veteran is the focal point of the Mayo forward line, and is guaranteed to feature heavily on the scoresheet every time she dons the green and red.
The Carnacon star scored the semi-final winner in the seventh minute of additional time, taking her personal tally that day to 11 points.
https://twitter.com/KCsixtyseven/status/704031713404567552
2) Ciara O’Sullivan (Cork)
[image alt="Ciara O’Sullivan" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2016/05/ciara-osullivan-4.jpg" width="100%" height="" title="" class="alignnone" /end]
O’Sullivan captained Cork to an All-Ireland five-in-a-row and their 10th title in 11 years last September.
The Mourneabbey club woman was named captain again this year and has been consistent throughout the current All-Ireland champions’ league campaign to date, scoring the all-important goal in their semi-final victory over Dublin.
The skilful centre-forward is sure to cause problems for the Mayo defence in Parnell Park.
3) Martha Carter (Mayo)
[image alt="Linda Barrett with Martha Carter" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2016/05/linda-barrett-with-martha-carter.jpg" width="100%" height="" title="" class="alignnone" /end]
The experienced Carnacon player was nominated for the WGPA Player of the Month in April for her impressive league performances.
The centre-back is in search of her third national league medal and is currently in her 10th year playing senior inter-county football.
A leader in defence, Carter’s experience will definitely stand to her as she faces the challenging task of marking Ciara O’Sullivan.
4) Orla Finn (Cork)
[image alt="Orla Finn" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2016/05/orla-finn-4.jpg" width="100%" height="" title="" class="alignnone" /end]
Finn is also a nominee for April’s WGPA Player of the Month. This comes as no surprise as the pacy corner-forward has been in remarkable form over the past few weeks.
Finn, who plays her club football with Kinsale, was pivotal for Cork in the semi-final and her seven-point tally contributed heavily to their success.
Her intelligence and work ethic will have a huge influence on Cork’s game.
5) Sarah Rowe (Mayo)
[image alt="Sarah Rowe" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2016/05/sarah-rowe-2.jpg" width="100%" height="" title="" class="alignnone" /end]
At the age of just 20, Sarah Rowe is already a household name when it comes to Ladies GAA. Rowe, who is one of the faces of Lidl’s sponsorship campaign, spoke out about gender inequality in sport earlier in the year which caused huge discussion.
As well as being a well-known advocate for Ladies GAA and a talented footballer, Rowe is also a gifted soccer player. Thankfully for Mayo this year, she chose to pursue GAA and put her international soccer career on hold.
The nifty forward converted the equaliser in the semi-final and also scored two late goals as Mayo overcame Monaghan earlier in the year.
6) Briege Corkery (Cork)
[image alt="Briege Corkery" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2016/05/briege-corkery-8.jpg" width="100%" height="" title="" class="alignnone" /end]
Established dual star Corkery has featured in each of Cork’s 10 championship victories in the past 11 years. Within the same time, she’s also won six All-Ireland camogie titles.
Cork’s performance will depend on the midfield partnership of Corkery alongside Rena Buckley. Their combined experience and work ethic is sure to torment Mayo and put their opposing midfielders under immense pressure.
Other notable mentions: Niamh Kelly (Mayo), Orlagh Farmer (Cork)
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5-time All-Ireland winner turned down athletics scholarship in Kentucky to play for Cork
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Cork GAA green and red Lidl Ladies National Football League Mayo GAA Ones to watch