Ladies Gaelic Football

18 | SUMMER 2021 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie By DAIRE WALSH L earning lessons in defeat is crucial for the progression of any sports team and, according to Meath corner-back Katie Newe, that was the key behind their impressive success over Kerry in the Lidl Ladies National Football League Division Two decider at Croke Park. In the opening game of their Division 2A campaign at Páirc Tailteann, Navan in May, the Royals suffered a 3-10 to 1-10 defeat at the hands of the Munster side. Inside the opening ten minutes of that contest, Meath trailed 2-2 to 0-0 and ultimately couldn't turn the game around in their favour. Since then, Eamonn Murray's charges have been resolute in defence, with All-Star goalkeeper Monica McGuirk keeping clean sheets in subsequent clashes with Wexford, Clare and Cavan. It wasn't until the 55 th minute of the final that Kerry shook the net in the Division 2 Final and that three- pointer from Rachel Dwyer was a mere consolation. The first time we played Kerry, they were very strong and they kind of surprised us with their strength. We put in a lot of work with defending as a team and not fouling in the scoring zone. The defence did great," Newe explained after the emphatic 2-16 to 1-9 triumph for Meath. Like all four teams that were competing on League finals day at Croke Park, Meath had to endure a hectic schedule of fixtures. Their penultimate round meeting with Division 2B winners Cavan was their fourth in the space of just 20 days. While Newe felt it suited the Royals to have so many games on consecutive weekends, the two- week lead-in towards the Final afforded them an opportunity to alter their training regime, and the results were clearly visible on the field of play. "Eugene Eivers is our strength and conditioning coach. He had us doing runs in the first week and then you could take the second week going over tactics. Just getting that right. I think it set us up well for the Final. I think it showed in the match. Our forwards really defended their kick-outs well and put a lot of work into that." Eivers is a vital component of a backroom team that has overseen a remarkable rise in the fortunes of Meath Ladies football in the TOUGH DAYS FUEL FINAL PERFORMANCE INTERVIEW

• Cover