Ladies aim to emulate senior footballers

THE Limerick ladies football side attempt to follow in the footsteps of their male counterparts and claim the National League Division Four title this Saturday evening.
Just like one week previous, the game will be televised live on TG4 at 5pm from Breffini Park in Cavan, where Leitrim are the opponents.
The game forms a double-header with the All-Ireland under-21 football championship championship final between Donegal and Dublin.
Last Sunday in the league semi-final Limerick gained revenge for last year’s All-Ireland junior championship final loss to Antrim.
In the semi-final Limerick were 2-9 to 2-8 winners over Antrim in O’Toole Park in Dublin.
Former Limerick senior football captain Tommy Stack replaced Maire Halvey in charge of the ladies side during the off-season.
The Dromcollogher-Broadford man is joined by selectors John English (Kilteely) and John Walsh (Gerald Griffins).
“I saw that we were in Division Four, but I don’t think we deserve to be that near the bottom of the pile - we definitely should be closer,” said Tommy Stack of Limerick’s standing in Ladies Football.
Stack previously managed the ladies side in 2006 and recalled that Saturday’s opposition ended their championship hopes on that occasion.
The sides have already met in the round robin series and while Limerick were victorious, Stack expects a different Leitrim on this occasion.
“We beat them by four points, but they had already qualified and I felt that they are better than they showed.”
He added: “They beat Antrim quite comprehensively and we can see that we only beat them last weekend”.
Limerick have edged closer and closer to a national title in recent seasons. Back in 2008 Limerick reached the Division Three league final, but lost to Cavan in Thurles and then last autumn they fell at the final hurdle against Antrim in the All-Ireland junior championship final.
“For a lot of girls who played last year it was a motivation, but not the biggest thing.
“They are a really focused group on just winning every game and progressing,” explained Stack.
While some players are unavailable from last season, two notable changes are Meadhbh Nash at centre-back and Marie Clare Curtin in the half-forward line. Nash is a former county captain while Curtin is a Irish senior soccer international.
“The entire team is very good to work with.
“We started slowly, but we have really blossomed in the last five or six years. I’d say we are a totally different team now from when we started,” explained the manager of his team which is captained by Athea’s Sandra Larkin.
“We wanted to see everyone and we had to experiment,” said Stack of an extended panel which numbers over 35 at present.
While the team stand on the brink of history on Saturday Tommy Stack also has an eye on the All-Ireland championship which doesn’t start until August.
“We have to learn to go out with a plan. Keeping possession is a big thing for us. We want to be more aware of how important is it to hold onto the ball until the correct option is available,” Tommy Stack said.

Jerome O’Connell