Sally seeking another shot at silverware

By Niall Gartland

THE Tyrone camogs have a possibility of lifting silverware for the second time in the space of eight months when they take on Mayo in Saturday’s Division Four final in Tang, County Westmeath.

Brocagh camog Sally McCann was the hero of their last success, slotting in a brilliant last-gasp goal in their Nancy Murray Cup final victory over Wicklow last August.

McCann says she’s ‘buzzing’ for their looming date with Mayo, a team they clinched a 0-18 to 3-5 victory over when they met last month in the group stages of their league campaign. While there were tough defeats in their other matches against Kildare and Armagh, the league was subsequently split in two for the knock-out rounds so there’s a golden opportunity here to pick up another piece of silverware.

McCann said: “We’re buzzing about the game, it’d be great to hopefully go out and win at the weekend. Mayo are a good side, we beat them by four points in the league. The other games didn’t go so well but it was still good to get the experience, and we’re more closely matched with Mayo so it should be a good game hopefully.”

An infusion of youth has really helped matters with former minor stars like Lara Devlin, an ace forward, and Carrickmore dual star Aoibhinn Daly already making a big impact on the senior team.

McCann said: “The squad is actually a lot stronger this year. We’ve been going really well and have a large panel this year. We’ve better numbers at training this year anyway. Six minors have come through the ranks which is definitely the most in my time anyway.”

Reflecting back on last year’s Nancy Murray Cup success, McCann says victory in that game may have been the spur for younger girls to give it a crack at senior level, instead of fading away from the scene or focusing on club camogie.

“That was such a great game and the dramatic way we won it was brilliant and I think it’s driven more girls to come out and join us. Whenever they see the team going well, it probably adds to the enthusiasm in the county and I think that’s why six county minors have come through this year.”

As for herself, it’s been a very busy couple of years but she says the lure of county camogie is an exceptionally strong one.

“It can be hard juggling it all. We’ve had training back at the club for a while now, I work in the hospital and I’ve two young children so it’s obviously all systems go.

“It can be hard juggling it all but I get plenty of support and I’ll just keep on going as I love it. Playing with Tyrone is so enjoyable at the moment and that’s reflected in the numbers at training.”