ULSTER SENIOR CAMOGIE FINAL

Antrim v Down

Saturday, Edendork, 12.30pm

By Kieran Lynch

DOWN will head into Saturday’s Ulster Senior Camogie final full of confidence, after they squeezed past Derry 1-14 to 1-13 in last weekend’s semi-final.

The game was right up for grabs throughout, with both sides trading the lead, but it was the Mourne Ladies who were able to gain victory, with veteran Paula O’Hagan instrumental.

O’Hagan was making her return to action for the first time since the birth of her son Charlie in January, and she was clearly relishing the chance to get playing again, as she fired home 1-6 for her side, with the winning goal coming just minutes from the end of extra-time.

Also key to their win was the performance of Clara Clowan, who provided 0-3 from play, Niamh Mallon who pointed and provided the assist for O’Hagan’s goal, and Down’s goalkeeper Catherine McGourty, who pulled off a wonderful penalty save, halfway through the second half.

Despite taking some heavy defeats earlier in the season against Tipperary and Galway during their Division One campaign, their manager Paul Donnelly always kept the faith that his team would turn their fortunes around.

“We started our season against two teams who I believe are amongst the best teams in the country,” Donnelly told Gaelic Life last month, after their tough start to the season.

“But the management team have identified a lot of positives out of both games, as well as areas for improvement. But that’s sport, isn’t it? There is no team or player that is the finished article, and as I see it, every time you train, or every time you play, it should be seen as an opportunity to improve.

“That’s our mantra: improvement, improvement, improvement.”

Down have definitely taken their manager’s advice on board, as they have shown progression throughout the season, and they may be hitting their stride at the right time. Down responded to those defeats with a 2-11 to 3-6 victory over Offaly, which was good enough to keep them in Division One for another year, and that of course will be crucial to the team’s development.

Having played four difficult Division One fixtures and now an ultra-competitive Ulster Championship semi-final, Donnelly will believe his team are primed for a big summer, which could start this weekend with an Ulster title win.

“We’ve had the opportunity to develop some new and up-and-coming players within Down, who I believe will set the pitch alight, come the summer months,” said Donnelly at the time, and now is their opportunity to do just that.