Ladies Gaelic Football

ladiesgaelic.ie // 21 NEAMH WOODS (TYRONE) Volume 14 | Issue No 3 | PEIL Autumn 50,141 turning out to see the three ladies finals, the pressure mounted throughout the day. But Tyrone were a team determined to land the Mary Quinn Memorial Cup after the heartache of 12 months previous. "I really enjoyed the game. We came down here the evening before and there was a good buzz and good environment," said Woods. "It was very focused but at the same time it was very relaxed. Everyone was enjoying being there. "Preparation in the morning was very enjoyable. There was no real nerves before the game. Everyone just came here knowing that we needed to perform. "Everybody was willing and ready to do that." Tyrone didn't dwell on their painful defeat to Tipperary in the 2017 intermediate final. They simply got back to training a little earlier, and used that experience to build an even deeper hunger within. Their league campaign gave them huge confidence that they could compete against the very best in the intermediate championship, and a 6-22 to 1-7 win over Down, ensured their third straight Ulster intermediate crown. "We had an excellent season, we were unfortunate to miss out on a semi-final place. We weren't happy with our league performance in that sense," said Woods. "But saying that it was the senior teams that finished in the top four. We learned an awful lot from playing against those quality sides. It definitely helped us going into the intermediate championship. "We beat Down in the Ulster championship and in our round robin games we had convincing wins as well." Tyrone scored 12-35 in their round robin victories over Wicklow and Offaly. But the quarter-final success against Wexford made this team. Chloe McCaffrey scored the crucial goal and set up a repeat of the 2017 All-Ireland semi- final against Sligo. That was another hard fought victory for Tyrone but they came out on the right side of a 3-14 to 3-10 win against the Connacht county. It all set up a mouth-watering All- Ireland final against Meath. But Tyrone snuffed out the threat from their opponents early and Woods was to the forefront of the onslaught. It was the ultimate redemption. "It probably wasn't until we played Wexford in the All-Ireland quarter-final that we got a stern test, a very very physical game, a tough game," said Woods. "We beat Sligo in the semi-final. The game was level with four minutes on the clock and we ended up winning by three points. That in itself tells its own story and shows the character. "The bench there is quality. It's not only competition to get into our starting 15, there's competition to make our panel of 30. We have a panel of 38 girls. "Every day we go out to training everybody steps it up and puts real heat on the person in front of them who is holding onto the jersey. It's such a collective effort. "Wexford were a real quality side. That was certainly our toughest battle on route to the final. We were in a real dogfight in the semi-final and once we got over that line there was no doubt in my mind that we were going to go on and win against Meath. "We could have easily backed down and thrown it in at that stage but we pushed on for a win that day. That summed it all up in my opinion." Preparation in the morning was very enjoyable. There was no real nerves before the game. Everyone just came here knowing that we needed to perform. Ciara McAnespie, Monaghan, in action against Neamh Woods, Tyrone. Neamh Woods of Tyrone shoots to score her side's fifth goal

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