Naomh Abán ladies footballers face tough test against Salthill Knockacarra to land All-Ireland
Naomh Abán's Eimear Murphy is tackled by Castleblayney Faughs' Shana Brady. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
CORK ladies football side Naomh Abán are 60 minutes away from All-Ireland glory as they contest the currentaccount.ie junior final on Sunday.
The Ballyvourney side have played some outstanding football on their way to the decider at Kilmallock GAA Club in Limerick where they will take on Galway’s Salthill-Knocknacarra.
Throw-in is at 1pm and whether they win or lose they can look back on their season with pride at what they have achieved. First, they had to come through a very competitive Cork championship where they came through a stern test against O'Donovan Rossa in the final.
The atmosphere at MTU that day was electric as supporters of both sides turned out in large numbers to cheer them on.
It was the first game in a triple header that day and it easily had the best atmosphere of all three games.
It was on to the Munster championship and a late change of venue in one of their outings, due to an unplayable pitch, didn’t bother them in the slightest as they marched on to the final to face Oola.
This was never going to be an easy game as the Limerick side had easily defeated Kerry opponents in their semi-final and Naomh Aban knew it was going to be a tough test.
Add in atrocious weather conditions on the day and it made it difficult for both sides to play any sort of quality football.
In a tight game, it was the Cork side’s defence that were key and they were outstanding, led by the likes of Muireann Dineen, Rosie Corkery and captain Una Twohig.
All through their Cork, Munster and the All-Ireland semi-final, their defence has been in top form and they will need to be again on Sunday.
Already this season Una Twohig has raised two championship cups for her club and she will be hoping to round off the season on Sunday with another.
Speaking ahead of the game Una said: “No matter what happens on Sunday we can look back on the season with great pride. It’s a bit of a cliché to say but we consider every game and win after the county final a bonus.
“Getting out of Cork is so hard with all the good teams in the county and then getting to the All-Ireland final after doing so is all you could wish.
“Our supporters have been a huge part of this run and I don’t think any of us experience playing in front of such a huge crowd back in Ballyvourney in the All-Ireland semi-final a few weeks ago.
Looking at their opponents on Sunday Una added: “Every game has been difficult so far and hopefully that will stand to us against Salthill-Knocknacarra.
“Our defence has been great all year and has played a huge part in our run and we will need more of the same the next day and I am sure it’s going to be an extremely tight game.
“They are young and lively side like us and it’s going to be another battle and hopefully we will come out on top on the day,” concluded Una.
