Irish Daily Mirror

Case for the defence not easy: Sinead

- BY DECLAN ROONEY

DUBLIN captain Sinéad Aherne says her side has no divine right to claim a second All-ireland title on the spin.

Aherne is her side’s longest serving player and this season’s top scorer, with 4-24 from five games.

She had seen plenty of disappoint­ing seasons before last year’s success, however, as the

2017 win came a decade three final defeats in a row to tomorrow’s opponents Cork before she won her first Celtic Cross in 2010.

Similarly this year, she knows a win does not automatica­lly kickstart an era of dominance like Cork tasted in the past.

“The fact we won last year brings no guarantee that it is going to happen for us this year. We just have to take each game as it comes, that is the approach we have to take on Sunday,” said Aherne (below, last year with the Brendan Martin cup).

“I think it (being champions) just gives you a confidence that is in there subconscio­usly. We had some tight games which we came through in the League which was good to see.”

The St Sylvester’s clubwoman had a different view for the 2015 All-ireland final though. She had taken some time away from the game to travel and only returned a week before the Cork decider,.

That fact that the door was immediatel­y opened for her to come back into the camp says a lot about the togetherne­ss of the squad.

“I was doing water on the line. Unfortunat­ely it just didn’t go our way on the day.

That is sport.

“We are looking forward to Sunday, to get our performanc­e right.”

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 ??  ?? CAPTAINS Sinead Aherne and Ciara O’sullivan outside Croke Park this week
CAPTAINS Sinead Aherne and Ciara O’sullivan outside Croke Park this week

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