By Niall Gartland

TYRONE minor ladies captain Sorcha Gormley will lead her team out on All-Ireland final day against Sligo this Saturday at Brewster Park in her final ever game at underage level for the county.

The precociously talented forward is already making her mark at senior level and whatever happens on Saturday, she’ll have another crack of the whip in Tyrone’s All-Ireland Intermediate Championship showdown against Leitrim on Sunday week.

So it’s all systems go for the Carrickmore girl, but Sorcha is taking it all in her stride and she’s hardly unaccustomed to the big occasion.

Only a matter of months ago, she scored a remarkable seven goals, completing a first half hat trick in two minutes, as Tyrone claimed the Ulster Minor Gold Championship title with victory over a dogged Monaghan side.

Gormley also hit 2-3 as Tyrone were crowned inaugural All-Ireland U-14 Gold Champions with another win over Monaghan back in 2019, while she also made an extremely positive impression from the bench in Tyrone Seniors’ All-Ireland Intermediate semi-final win over Down nearly a fortnight ago.

She’s also starred down the age groups at club level – and not just on the ladies front as she’s an extremely talented camog – so it’s fair to say she’s already accrued a serious amount of experience into her burgeoning player career.

Looking ahead to Saturday’s All-Ireland Minor B Championship final against Sligo, Gormley says she has full faith in every member of the panel.

“Hopefully it goes well for us. We know the ability of our panel, any sub can come in and do a job for us when we need fresh legs.

“The management set-up is unreal, and when you have a good plan in place you never doubt it. We couldn’t ask for anything more really, every aspect of our preparation has been top class.”

There’s no doubt that there’s a fresh batch of talented footballers coming through the ranks, but Sorcha is also mindful to add that there’s a real sense of friendship throughout the team, something that’s also played a part in their run to the cusp of All-Ireland honours.

“We have a really close tight-knit team. Everyone’s really friendly with each other, we’ve all known each other before minor level and we’re very close to each other. It’s like a big friendship group really.”

Tyrone qualified for the final with a last-gasp victory over Dublin, Sorcha nailing a late free to settle the match on a scoreline of 1-9 to 1-8. Standing in their way of the title is a Sligo side that booked their spot in the decider with a convincing win over Clare. Sorcha is expecting nothing handy from the Connacht outfit.

“We played them in a challenge game at the start of the year before the serious football started. It was three periods of 20 minutes, it was good just to get a run out.

“It was a good game and it was close as well. They’re similar to us in a few ways, they’re fast with the ball, they’ve got good runners so it should be a competitive contest.”

Son of former Tyrone footballer Brian Gormley and niece of former Tyrone Ladies captain Eilish, Sorcha is steeped in the GAA. She says she just loves playing football and isn’t one for pre-match speeches, but she certainly leads by example and recently took the big step up to the Tyrone Senior panel. In just over a week’s time she’ll travel with the team for their All-Ireland Intermediate final showdown against Leitrim at Croke Park, an occasion she’s massively looking forward to.

“It’s everyone’s dream to play in Croke Park, it’ll be my first time playing there. Even to get the opportunity to play at Croke Park is a dream come true.”