Cork ladies football captain Sarah Leahy looking forward to Dublin showdown

If anyone ever wondered why Sarah Leahy was named Cork ladies football senior captain this season then last Saturday showed it.

As well as being a top-class player and one who leads by example game after game, she showed some of the other attributes needed to wear the armband in their win over Mayo at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park.

Their 3-8 to 1-10 win ensured Cork advanced to the quarter-finals of the TG4 senior championship, where they will be away to Dublin on July 5 or 6.

But it was a clash of players about five minutes before half-time that showed why Leahy is captain of this side. A mix-up in the Cork defence led to a potential goal chance for Mayo, but keeper Sarah Murphy, along with Shauna Cronin and Shauna Kelly combined to deny them.

During that Shauna Kelly received a serious injury to the face, that 10-12 minutes later after receiving treatment on the pitch she had to be stretchered off and taken to hospital with a facial injury.

Players from both teams were called away from the incident and no doubt it was upsetting for all involved, as nobody wants to see a player having to leave the field in that way.

But Leahy never left Kelly’s side, and along with the medical people made sure her player was ok, before the game recommenced. It was not easy for her and the Cork players but Leahy showed her leadership skills and one of the reasons she is captain of the Rebels.

After the game, she didn’t know at that point how Kelly was but did say that she was in good hands with the medical people and hoped that she would make a speedy recovery and be back training with them as soon as possible.

GOALS WERE KEY

On their win, Leahy added: “We knew this was going to be a difficult game so we’re delighted with the result.

“The goals were big scores and as a defender you are always happy when you see them going in at the other end. Maire O’Callaghan's one gave us a great start and we managed to build from there in the first half.

“We knew that Mayo were going to come back at us, as any good side will do, and we have to be strong defensively as well and we were conscious of doing that for the 60 minutes as we were disappointed with our second half showing against Kerry.

“But we managed to get there and now have a quarter-final to look forward to in a few weeks. 

That will be another tough game, especially away to them and we have had some great battles over the years.

“It will be a really tough game but we are looking forward to the challenge, but more importantly is that Shauna is ok.”