Farney don't fear Cork

Ciara McAnespie, Monaghan, in action against Geraldine O’Flynn, Cork

BIG GAMES and big occasions have become a way of life for Monaghan ladies over recent seasons.
Ulster finals, National League finals and All-Ireland finals have become part and parcel of footballing fabric for the Farney girls, and this weekend they head into another All-Ireland semi-final with a Croke Park clash with Kerry the prize on offer for the winner.

Standing in their way are Cork, the most successful ladies team of all times and without question the kingpins of the ladies game over the past decade.

It’s another mammoth task for Monaghan under the management of Gregory McGonigle, who admits that no matter how many such games they are involved in, the task does not get any easier.

“Every game brings its own challenges. As a management team I think we were probably more worried heading into the Mayo game. We hadn’t played in a long time, we had gone through the Ulster championship too easily for our liking, and our last really competitive game would have been the league final against Cork on May 12.

“So naturally we were a bit worried about how the girls would respond, and whether they would be able to perform straight away.

“Credit to the players, they did the business. Things since then have been good, we played Mayo on the Saturday and had a recovery session on the Sunday, which meant that we were able to go hard into training again on the Tuesday night in preparation for Cork.

“We squeezed in an extra session last week so this week we could ease off a bit and tailor ourselves for this weekend.”

The full story is in the current issue of Gaelic Life, published on Thursday September 6. Buy your copy now in your local newsagent, or you can purchase the online version – for only 90p – by clicking here