Upward curve has taken Down ladies to Ulster title showdown

Down’s prize for edging out Tyrone is a crack at Cavan in Sunday’s Ulster Intermediate final. Clara Mulvenna is aware of the task but hopes it also inspires the next crop of county stars. She spoke with Michael McMullan

DOWN are preparing for an Ulster final, but their season can be divided in two – before Wexford and after Wexford.

The sides were locked at 1-7 each. Down had to win for any chance of promotion to Division Two.

A share of the spoils wasn’t enough but wins over Carlow and Offaly saw the Mourne side take some consistent form forward to the championship.

And they needed it. Their semi-final with Tyrone was expected to follow the same trend as last season’s All-Ireland semi-final the Red Hands prevailed in.

The result was different this time. It was Down’s time, on the same weekend Cavan dug deep to see off Monaghan.

“We obviously didn’t get to hear or see much of the other semi-final,” admitted Down skipper Clara Mulvenna.

“From the updates, it looked like some game. I think it was not far off ours in terms of back and forth and back and forth.”

It was Eimear Fitzpatrick’s fifth point that stamped Down’s passport to Sunday’s meeting with Cavan. Both semi-finals were billed as tight encounters, tough to call. A grain of rice tipped the scale.

After edging Limerick in the first game of the league, Down lost to Sunday’s opponents Cavan by 13 points. Despite four Down goals, Laois returned home with victory.

“We didn’t have a great start,” Mulvenna said of their season. The draw with Wexford was their “tipping point” of a year that now rests on the cutting edge.

“At the start of the league, it took us a while to gel and to get going, to be honest. Those (Cavan and Laois) games come back to bite you near the end.

“That seems to be the running theme at times with us at the start of the league.”

There was no definitive reason. Rather, a few variables. Some new players were brought in from the club scene. It took them time to integrate into county level. A new management team brought different systems of play.

“After a couple of competitive games, we really started to push on,” Mulvenna said of the tipping of the scales.

“We really started to work and gel as a team, compared to the start of the league, so, thankfully, we pushed on from there.”

Since they laid the foundations in November and December, the squad have stuck together.

“It’s a tight squad,” Mulvenna said. “There’s a lot of players who have been there six, seven or eight years.

“We’ve that nice combination of younger players coming in now, pushing everybody else on.

“The majority of the new girls who came in this year have been just playing club for the last couple of years.

“They’re like early 20s, late teens. We have a couple of minors that have come up as well. They’ve been fantastic, really driving us on.”

Since the league, the squad were released back to their clubs for a different environment. It helps flush out the system. The freshness can then help focus the next step at county level.

“We got back together and we did both. We were allowed to play club games,” Mulvenna said of their window ahead of the championship.

“We were training away with the county as well. It was a mix and I think that really helped us in terms of getting girls game time,” she said of the mid-season break in the county fixture list.

“We mixed between the two, club and county, but the training and everything was great for those number of weeks.”

Mulvenna spent three seasons out of the country. She joined the Na Fianna club in Abu Dhabi where she played before returning to play for Down in the summer.

Back on Irish soil, she was named as captain ahead of this season’s search for silverware.

Tyrone pipped them in last summer’s All-Ireland semi-final. Down were also a fraction from promotion. Early defeats to Roscommon and Wexford did the damage. The fact this month’s win over Tyrone was by a whisker was no surprise.

“Even in training the other night, we were just going over small set plays and the tipping points of the game,” Mulvenna said of last week’s result.

“Everyone’s just in really good form. Just a new lease of energy. Everyone’s just really optimistic and really excited for the final.

“It’s not often you get here. So, we’re just trying to make the most of the build-up to it and enjoy every moment of it.”

Their eyes are open. Cavan’s 3-15 to 1-8 win early in the campaign will sharpen the focus. The Breffni side starting with a 1-4 burst and following it up with a 1-5 blitz after half time doing all the damage.

“It’s definitely going to be a massive challenge,” she added, “but we’re definitely up for it and looking forward to it.”

The Down footballing public are the same. There has been a keen interest in the ladies’ game. Walking into a shop, Mulvenna is finding “random” people asking about games and performances.

“The clubs are very tight-knit,” she adds. “Anytime you do bump into anybody, they’ll be sure to mention it (football) to you or wish you good luck or ask you how you’re getting on. That’s great.

“The number of young players now too that are coming up through all the clubs.

“We just want them to want to play for Down in five, 10 or 15 years. That’s really the main goal.

“Getting into finals, it massively helps that because you get that bit more of publicity for the game as such. It’s been great. So hopefully that’ll just build now.”