Competition for places playing a crucial role for St Conleth's in preparation for final

Preview - LGFA SFC Final 

ST Conleth’s will be looking to secure a second championship in five years and they’ll be going up against Portlaoise, a side going for a third championship in a row and a fourth in five years.

Alanna Havill, Aoife Kirrane and manager Chris Lynch were speaking ahead of the final at the Laois LGFA media night in the LOETB Portlaoise Institute last Friday evening.

“The mood's good, I suppose we're all buzzing, it's the fourth year we're in a county final so we're all just focused on the game and everyone's in good spirits. Three years in a row, so third time lucky. It's something that we're trying to aim towards and hopefully on the day we'll perform and pull it off,” Havill said.

Aoife Kirrane spoke about their semi-final win against Sarsfields and how important it is to have a strong squad when it comes to the big games.

“We've had a good few battles over the last couple of years. So yeah, they're a really strong team, they're very effective up top, some really great forwards there. So we knew we were going to have a really strong battle and we were well prepared I think and we were glad to come out of it in normal time. The strength of the squad that we have this year really, really showed on the day and I think that's what helped us finish it off in normal time,” Kirrane said.

A big boost this year for St Conleth’s has been the return of All-Ireland Intermediate winner Emma Lawlor. She would have played underage for St Conleth’s before then playing for St Paul’s.

“Emma would have been originally a Conleth’s woman, so I suppose she's only coming back to her home club, it's not really a transfer. Emma's a great player, we're delighted to have her in the squad.

Chris Lynch like Portlaoise manager Ronan Molloy is in his first year as manager of St Conleth’s. The strength of his panel and competition for places is immense according to Lynch “It's my first year involved now this year, there’s an excellent atmosphere around the camp and around the community. We've 28, 29 key players fighting for positions, we've so many options, 15 starting, 6, even 8 or 9 to bring on. We've only used 4 the last day, it could be different for the next day. The competition's great and it's great to have the girls there,” he said.

Lynch says that every training session has been of high intensity and that every player has given everything that he’s asked of them to date.

“The intensity in training's been unbelievable for the last month, since the start of the championship, unbelievable. Effort, application, commitment, just the work ethic's been unbelievable and it's great to see, it's great to be involved,” Lynch said.

St Conleth’s are playing Portlaoise in a county final for the third year running but as Lynch says ‘finals are there to be won’.

“It's all on the day, looking forward to the occasion. It's a final, finals are there to be won, it could go either way. Portlaoise are a strong team, going for 3 in a row and we're expecting a big battle,” he said.

A win on Saturday would mean so much not just to St Conleth’s but Laois football as a whole according to Lynch.

“It'd be great for St Conleth’s, we've got a lot of young players coming through. Even for Laois Football, it'd be great for Laois Football, we've got a lot of young girls coming through.

Laois are back down in Intermediate, it'd be great to bring on them girls in Intermediate and push on for Senior. It's more than St Conleth’s, it's Laois Football as a whole,” Lynch said.

St Conleth’s front players have been lighting up the championship with Emma Lawlor and Eva Galvin combining for 3-7 in their victory over Sarsfields but the St Conleth’s manager says it’s all about the panel and not just the girls who get the scores.

It's unbelievable, they're the girls that get the score but it's the work that goes on out the field to get the ball into the girls. Yes, the girls might get the headlines but it's the girls in the backs, the girls that come off the bench and even the girls who don't play any time, they're the girls that put in the work,” he said.