Ladies Gaelic Football

FEATURE www.ladiesgaelic.ie | SUMMER 2021 | 49 "WE REGROUPED AFTER A WEEK, THE GIRLS HAVE UPPED THE ANTE AND TAKEN MORE RESPOSIBILITY. WE'VE HAD TWO DECENT CHALLENGE GAMES AGAINST LAOIS AND LONGFORD AND GOT GOOD PERFORMANCES. hit by injuries. "Intensity has been high in training so we've had more casualties, and that's been a physical challenge and a mental one for all the girls. We're facing into playing a fit and healthy Cork side and the girls now have had the realisition that Aishling and Emma are not going to be part of the championship campaign this year. "That creates the opportunity for other players to come out of the shadow of those players and make a name for themselves, while it also put a gun to our heads and forced us to find one or two more players that might yet have an important role to play," Carr said. But can they overcome the challenge, particularly with Cork on the horizon? "We want to get a performance, and if you do that, maybe you can get a result. The first objective is to stay a senior county, after that we'll see where that can take it," Carr added. After a promising but disappointing start – a one-point defeat to Clare in Ennis – the wheels came off in spectacular fashion for Wexford from then on in Division 2. Conceding 24 goals across the next three games prompted Paul Carty to step aside as manager, and it was only recently that it was confirmed that former player and selector Lizzy Kent would be stepping in as his replacement on an interim basis for the duration of the championship. "It's all happened very fast, but Lizzy is very well-respected by the players, she knows them well from being involved when Anthony Masterson was managing the team, and already we're up and running and getting ready to rebuild," said county chairman Denis Nolan. "Things can change very quickly – we've seen how that can happen the wrong way in the League, but the girls were eager to get back up on the horse and we're delighted to have Lizzy in there to see if we can turn things around, starting with the Sligo game," he added. Kent is yet to confirm the full make- up of her backroom team, but with three games on consecutive weekends, including a clash with last year's losing finalists and championship front-runners Westmeath, the Model County can't afford the luxury of spending too long dwelling on the League. Of the three counties that were relegated, by some distance Fermanagh were the most competitive during the campaign. They opened with a 3-10 to 1-12 defeat to Roscommon at Dr. Hyde Park, where they were right in the hunt up until a late Laura Fleming goal. They were somewhat off the pace against Sligo in round two, but went on to play very well against Down and Wicklow, losing by two and one-point margins. For good measure, they played Down in the Ulster Intermediate championship recently and again came up just short, losing by three. "When you're on a run of a series of narrow defeats like that, you're always on the lookout for the reaction of the players, but it's been good, they've kept up the effort and responded very well," says Erne County manager Jonny Garrity. Under the Tyrone native, Fermanagh had made significant progress in recent seasons, earning League promotion and winning last year's TG4 Junior championship, and he and his players now face what looks like a hugely important contest against Leitrim this Saturday. As a competitive Division 2 side, Clare will start as overwhelming favourites to top this group, so neither Fermanagh nor Leitrim can afford to drop points in this local derby. "Clare have an abundance of experience and talent, but for us, we just have to concentrate on ourselves. Relegation was disappointing but it's not like the sky fell in on us. If we can just get a result this week, that'll completely transform our season so that's our one and only target right now – to put in a big performance against Leitrim. If we can do that, relegation will be gone out of the minds of the girls straight away," said Garrity.

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