This afternoon, the Ladies Senior Football Finals take centre stage in Croke Park as Dublin take on Mayo.
It’s a repeat of the 2003 decider, a game in which Mayo claimed the silverware with the last kick of the game.
That was the last time the women from the West walked up the steps of the Hogan Stand, and for the girls in blue, there has been more hard luck stories than anything else.
After their loss in 2003, the same followed against Galway in ’04. Six years later they beat Tyrone in the final before three straight final losses to Cork in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Dublin boss Mick Bohan states:
“The last couple of years they’ve fallen short and they’ve been hugely disappointed with that and part of the learning curve for them was taking things from those experiences that they could improve on.”
“The players themselves identified areas of the game that we had to go after, we listened and that’s what we’ve tried to do.”
“This is very much an even game. I don’t think anybody is coming into this with any notions of themselves. This is going to be played on a knife edge and ultimately the better team will win.”
Match day is finally here! 32 players, 17 clubs, 1 dream lets do this girls #COYGIB #BackingEveryStep #Dublin 👕💙 pic.twitter.com/1hSFC6bGkp
— DublinLGFA (@dublinladiesg) September 24, 2017
Sinead Aherne is the captain of this Dublin outfit and she sees the heartache of previous years as something to motivate her side.
“To be so close for a few years and to not have got there, certainly it’s a motivating factor. It’s a different panel, it’s a different management team, and every season takes on a life of its own.”
“All year we’ve been trying to get back to an All-Ireland but not just to get there but to go and win it. Last year is done and gone at this stage and I suppose it’s just about focussing on Sunday as best we can.”
Fermanagh take on Derry in the Junior Final at 11:45. At 13:45, the Intermediate decider between Tipperary and Tyrone will be settled before Dublin take on Mayo in the senior final at 16:00.
