THE LADIES OF Cavan will hope to draw on the experience of two years ago when they meet Tipperary in the TG4 All-Ireland intermediate final at Croke Park on Sunday (2pm).
Then, the Breffni County lost to Westmeath in the decider but captain Donna English is looking to use it to her side’s advantage now.
“We played twice in 2011, the drawn match and then the replay, so we’ll be a little bit calmer come Sunday, it’ll not be a new experience for us,” she says.
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“The first day that we were up here, you come out and there’s the parade and everything, you are a bit in awe, there’s a massive attendance, which you’re not used to. In that regard, it’s great to have that experience but we lost the last time, so we’ll be looking to fix that now come Sunday.”
Returning to a decider was not a foregone conclusion, either.
“We lost a few players last year with travelling and a few things, and a new management came in so we were rebuilding again,” English says. “It’s not set in stone that we’ll get to the latter stages but it is the goal at the end of the day.
“We haven’t had a perfect year. We stayed in Division 2 but we lost in the Ulster semi-final whereas in other years we’d probably have got to the final, but it was good in a way to get knocked out.
“We settled down and looked at what we had to work with, so Croke Park was the ultimate goal.”
Cavan will line out in white on Sunday as both counties wear predominantly blue shirts, but it’s not a concern for English.
“We lost the toss, but that’ll not faze us,” she says. “We have been training in the white jerseys, so we’ll be used to them now by Sunday.”
Cavan have not been senior since 1977, while their opponents only re-graded in the past few years. Tipp’s captain Ann O’Dwyer admits that dropping to intermediate was a help and hopes that the Premier County can now earn their spot at the top table again.
“That has helped a lot of players in the panel,” she says. “We did well in the league, we got to the semi-finals, so that gave us a lot of confidence coming into the championship.
“The senior standard in Munster is very high with Cork and Kerry there, and Clare have done well since they won the intermediate a few years ago too. We can’t be looking at that, though. Cavan beat us last year and they have beaten some good teams to get to the final and beaten them well.”
Cavan skipper English hoping experience proves the key against Premier
THE LADIES OF Cavan will hope to draw on the experience of two years ago when they meet Tipperary in the TG4 All-Ireland intermediate final at Croke Park on Sunday (2pm).
Then, the Breffni County lost to Westmeath in the decider but captain Donna English is looking to use it to her side’s advantage now.
“We played twice in 2011, the drawn match and then the replay, so we’ll be a little bit calmer come Sunday, it’ll not be a new experience for us,” she says.
“The first day that we were up here, you come out and there’s the parade and everything, you are a bit in awe, there’s a massive attendance, which you’re not used to. In that regard, it’s great to have that experience but we lost the last time, so we’ll be looking to fix that now come Sunday.”
Returning to a decider was not a foregone conclusion, either.
“We lost a few players last year with travelling and a few things, and a new management came in so we were rebuilding again,” English says. “It’s not set in stone that we’ll get to the latter stages but it is the goal at the end of the day.
“We haven’t had a perfect year. We stayed in Division 2 but we lost in the Ulster semi-final whereas in other years we’d probably have got to the final, but it was good in a way to get knocked out.
“We settled down and looked at what we had to work with, so Croke Park was the ultimate goal.”
Cavan will line out in white on Sunday as both counties wear predominantly blue shirts, but it’s not a concern for English.
Cavan have not been senior since 1977, while their opponents only re-graded in the past few years. Tipp’s captain Ann O’Dwyer admits that dropping to intermediate was a help and hopes that the Premier County can now earn their spot at the top table again.
“That has helped a lot of players in the panel,” she says. “We did well in the league, we got to the semi-finals, so that gave us a lot of confidence coming into the championship.
“The senior standard in Munster is very high with Cork and Kerry there, and Clare have done well since they won the intermediate a few years ago too. We can’t be looking at that, though. Cavan beat us last year and they have beaten some good teams to get to the final and beaten them well.”
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