Courtney: Underdogs tag didn’t faze us

By Shaun Casey

IT’S not too often that Donaghmoyne go into any game carrying the underdogs tag and it’s something they aren’t used to, but it didn’t faze them one bit on Sunday according to Sharon Courtney.

Donaghmoyne are back on top in Ulster having suffered a couple of barren years where they failed to even get out of their own county.

But the Monaghan representatives, who won their first provincial crown way back in 2004, have regained their title for the 15th time, defeating reigning champions Moneyglass by five-points at St Mary’s Park, Killyclogher.

Sharon is one of four Courtney sisters who played on Sunday, with Fiona, Rosemary and Cora all playing central roles for Annmarie Burns’ side as well.

“That was a tough game,” Courtney said following their 1-8 to 1-5 triumph. “I’m absolutely delighted; it is sheer relief. From minute one to the last minute, we couldn’t let up.

“We were coming in as underdogs, and we just knew it was going to be a tough task. We knew everybody was going to have to work and, by God, we worked.”

The underdogs tag may not be a familiar one, even in Ulster, where Donaghmoyne have dominated over the last two decades. But Sunday was their first victory in a final since 2022.

“Maybe the first year of it we might have been underdogs,” she explained. “Then the second year we won it. We’ve probably been going in as favourites ever since.

“We’ve obviously had a blip the last couple of years. The big letdown, maybe, was that the work, or the want, or the hunger wasn’t there. It was there this year, and we needed every ounce of it.

“Moneyglass had sailed through Ulster, we knew that. We also knew they weren’t going to have met anybody like us.”

It was a case of easing into the game and feeling each other out during the early exchanges as the two heavyweights went head-to-head.

Moneyglass, who reached the All-Ireland final last season, eventually opened the scoring after 17 minutes of play, with Leah Stewart bagging a goal.

“I don’t know if it was overly defensive, as in everyone behind the ball. The turnovers and the pressure all over the field, that was the defensive aspect.

“It was very, very physical, and the ref let a lot go. Whether it added to the game or not, I don’t know, but it was seriously physical.

“Super turnovers by both teams, and that’s why it took a long time to get a score. Every score, every shot, was precious. You kind of knew that from the word go.”

Courtney picked up a yellow card at the start of the second half and sat on the sidelines for ten minutes. The Monaghan champs were briefly down to 13 players when midfielder Maeve Smith was shown a straight red card.

Donaghmoyne held strong and only conceded two points when Courtney was off the field. They never scored again once she returned.

They did have a chance to ripple the net for the second time with an injury time penalty, but unfortunately for the St Ergnat’s girls, it was struck wide of the post.

“I don’t even think it was a penalty. I actually thought there was another one after that. We got a free out and I thought that one might have been a penalty, more than the one before it.

“Look, it finished at five (points the difference). I think maybe it was the fourth or fifth minute (of injury time) when they got the penalty. I think there was still five in it, so we had that wee bit of a cushion even if it had gone in.

“It’s not easy to stand facing up at Linda in the goals there. It actually was a nice penalty, it just went wide of the post.”

All eyes will soon switch towards the All-Ireland series and that’s a path Donaghmoyne have travelled many, many times.

When they last won Ulster, four years ago, they went all the way to Croke Park and the All-Ireland final, but lost out to Kilkerrin-Clonberne, who have won five titles in a row.

Donaghmoyne have got their hands on the Dolores Tyrrell Memorial Cup five times, the most recent coming in 2016.

“It is always one step at a time,” Courtney said of their All-Ireland ambitions. “If we get the thing going right and get the work rate and everything else, we’ll go places.”