THE GARDEN GIRLS
Wicklow hoping to build on good league campaign
THE Wicklow ladies kick off their Leinster Intermediate Championship campaign this Saturday at 2.30pm in Enniscorthy against neighbours Wexford.
Both teams come into the clash on the back of good league campaigns where they lost out narrowly in their division 3 and 4 finals respectively.
We got the thoughts of Wicklow manager Mick O’Rourke and captain Sarah Hogan on the upcoming battle with Wexford as well as how the year so far has panned out and their views on the current health of ladies football in Wicklow.
The match is the first of 2 round robin group matches for the Leinster championship as the ladies will play Meath, who were relegated from the senior championship last year, the following week in the penultimate group game.
Wicklow will go into the match as underdogs having narrowly lost to the yellow bellies in last year’s championship and played at a slightly lower level during the league.
Manager O’Rourke, who is in his first year as manager, is well aware Wexford are a good side but is confident the ladies can get the job done and collect the 2 points in Enniscorthy on Saturday.
“We’re quietly confident that we can go and get the win on Saturday but we’re under no illusions that the challenge that Wexford pose is a big one. We’ve had a really good year so far and the league run has gotten confidence levels up but I suppose on the flip side Wexford had a similarly good run in Division 3 so the game really is there for whoever wants it most”.
“Regardless of the result if the girls go out and perform as well as they can that’s all we can ask for. There’s a lot of younger players who have come in this year and are new to the panel so it will be great experience against high level opponents for them to bring their own games on”.
The Wicklow manager says that he has thoroughly enjoyed the campaign so far and although he has met challenges along the way he credits the girls saying that they have met everything with a positive mind-set and full commitment.
“I really can’t give the girls enough credit on their approach this year. There is 32 on the panel, which is bigger than it has been in recent years, and a lot of those would have been new players. But from the start they seemed to get on and gelled really well together and I think that the good run we had in the league really came off the back of that”.
“The commitment really has been brilliant. We even have a few girls doing college exams or the leaving cert who have done their best to get to as many sessions as possible. Obviously we understand the importance of their education but I just hope the football offered them a nice down time from the books but overall the enthusiasm shown by everyone has been fantastic.”
Mick says that they are not looking past Saturday’s encounter with Wexford but certainly has ambitions for Wicklow to climb up the pecking order.
“All our focus is on the match this Saturday and then that will turn to Meath the following week but we’re certainly not here to make up the numbers and although we are at early doors in our development there is a huge amount of potential here.
“Whether it’s this year, next year or the following year I certainly hope we can get to a stage where we can compete for the intermediate championship but there’s a lot of work to do to get to there.”
“One thing that is for certain is that the girls won’t be found wanting for heart, hunger or commitment whatever the result. That’s one thing that’s struck me, since coming in, is the desire of the group to just go out and play football matches and win for each other.”
“Sarah Hogan is a good example of that commitment. Between training, the match and different award ceremonies and launches I think she is doing something football related every day this week bar one and that commitment really is the case across the board with the girls”.
Tinahely women Hogan will lead her county out in Wexford in what she hope will be reverse of last year’s championship defeat to the same opponents. She says that she has thoroughly enjoyed this year and that the competition for places within the panel has really driven on everyone’s performances during the campaign thus far.
“Yeah the year so far has been great and although we were disappointed to lose the league final I think the run we went on to get there has given us confidence for the year ahead.”
“The panel is bigger than it has been in the last couple of years and there seems to be a real want for girls around the county to try get onto the team.
“This year is probably the first year since we won the Junior All Ireland that we’ve been able to play full 15 on 15 matches in training and I think that extra level of intensity has really helped us come on as a team and the competition for places is pushing everyone on.”
“No one is taking anything for granted and no one is guaranteed a starting place so your always trying to improve yourself but we’ve gotten on really well as a team as a whole.”
Like her manager Hogan says that all eyes are on Wexford and she is determined to get the win on Saturday and she’s not looking too far ahead. Wicklow may feel that they’ve been hard done by as they are the only team in the group not to have a home match but Hogan says that no one will be feeling sorry for themselves and that it isn’t an issue.
“To be honest whether it’s in Wicklow, Meath, Wexford or Timbuktu it doesn’t matter so the ven- ue isn’t an issue for us at all. The Wicklow support has been terrific all year travelling to our games, making away games feel like home ones, so hopefully a good crowd will travel down to Enniscorthy as we really appreciate all the support we get.”
Finally Hogan says that the upturn in numbers playing ladies football, both within Wicklow and across Ireland, has been great and that ladies football looks to be in rude health for the future.
“There really has been huge progress made in promoting the game in recent years. More games are being televised and I think that it is generally getting more exposure throughout the media.
“You can see the benefits of that certainly in Wicklow as more and more young players are coming through, new clubs are being formed and from the counties point of view I don’t think we’ve ever had so much depth in our panel. It’s a great sport to play both from a social and competitive aspect so hopefully that progress will continue which can only be beneficial for the health of woman’s football in Wicklow.”
Only the top team from each group of 3 will go on to the Leinster final so the game on Saturday does bear huge significance and a win would put Wicklow in a great position going into the Meath match.
Hopefully they can carry their spring form with them when they travel south on Saturday and get one over on their neighbours. It promises to be a cracker.