Fr Mathew's head to National Cup final hoping to offer whole club a lift

It will be a big day for Fr Mathew’s tomorrow when they clash with Liffey Celtics in the NICC Women’s National Cup final at the National basketball arena.

The Model Farm Road are going through a tough period at all levels and with their Women’s Super League team looking destined to be relegated coach Ger Gibbons believes a win would be a huge boost to all concerned.

“Look we started the season slow losing a couple of players so we had to rejig a little and after a good campaign last year that saw us win the Cork league and reaching the semi-final of this championship we needed to refocus,” said Gibbons.

This Mathew’s team have certainly upped the ante in the last couple of months and their semi- inal win over Killester was mighty impressive.

“We had played Killester last season but we knew that we had the weapons to meet them head-on but I felt after winning the Castleisland Christmas Tournament it would give us great confidence going into the semi-final,” added Gibbons.

Once again Liffey Celtics will be hot favourites to retain their title, but Gibbons believes his team will be ready.

“The bottom line is that Liffey Celtics have been in the last four finals and although they have a few new faces, they still have a lot of experience.” 

LEADERSHIP

Former Irish international Niamh Dwyer is a huge addition to the Mathew’s squad as coach Gibbons praised her role within the squad.

“Niamh has been a breath of fresh air who is solely there to help the team and to be honest has helped me as a coach which is testament to the great character she is.” 

Another addition this season is Amy Corkery, who dropped down from playing Super League and is a huge plus to the squad.

“Amy and Niamh have the experience of playing in the top tier and you can see the rest of the squad have become better players.” 

Fr Mathew’s have a big membership, but lack of volunteers is certainly not helping their cause in various grades.

“We have had no success in both boys and girls over the past few years and as a club we are struggling for volunteers and at the moment we are being run by four people.

“For a club with 25 teams, we are not producing any talent and we definitely need a reset as it is now 26 years since this club was set up and we need some outside-the-box thinking to help ensure our survival.” 

The competitive nature of various sports on Leeside is a hurdle for all basketball clubs to deal with in this city.

We are not getting the players, coaches or volunteers in the door.

"I think when you look at basketball as a whole it is a problem that’s not going away any time soon.” 

The move of the club from Douglas to the new arena on the Model Farm Road hasn’t increased the required numbers for Fr Mathew’s.

“It was a positive move but look we got to keep battling and winning this championship would give the membership a huge boost.

“The players in this squad are genuine and I know they will leave everything on court in their bid to win this championship.”