PREVIEW: AIB All-Ireland Intermediate Club Championship Final

 

AIB ALL-IRELAND INTERMEDIATE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

Athenry (Galway) v Johnstownbridge (Kildare)

1.30pm, St. Tiernach's Park, Clones, Co. Monaghan

Referee: Andrew Larkin (Cork)

 

Should Johnstownbridge prevail in what promises to be a mouth-watering affair, it would represent a unique achievement in the annals of Camogie. Dick Flanagan’s outfit are on the brink of a third AIB All-Ireland Club Championship in-a-row, which is a notable feat.

 

However, what would make it special would be to garner the Intermediate honours in their first year at the grade, having been crowned Junior champions for the second consecutive season at the end of 2016.

 

Athenry had two points to spare over Mountbellew/Moylough in the Galway Intermediate Final. That ensured they would bounce back to Senior level immediately, having been relegated the year before. That was a real blow for a club with a proud tradition as the dominant force out west for many years. Indeed, they are former All-Ireland Senior victors, in 1977, and have appeared in seven other deciders.

 

Maher is joined by the likes of Jessica Gill, Rebecca Glynn, Dearbhla Higgins and Noreen Coen in a strong looking unit led on the pitch by Lorna Hannon, and off it by Katherine Duane.

 

Johnstownbridge have established themselves as the perennial kingpins in Kildare in recent years, having built slowly through the ranks and in the process, bulwarked the progress of the county side too in recent years.

 

Captain Siobhán Hurley and Róisín O’Connell tend to share the scoring responsibilities, while Clodagh Flanagan is a tireless human dynamo around the middle. Former All-Ireland ladies football winning captain Aisling Holton is a major ball winner around that middle third too, while defensively, Aoife Trant and Eimear Hurley are unyielding operators.

 

Johnstownbridge’s credentials for Intermediate Camogie have been illustrated in no uncertain terms given that last year’s All-Ireland Finalists are listed among their victims in their maiden campaign. They accounted for the champions Myshall of Carlow in the Leinster Final by four points and booked their finals berth by getting the better of the 2017 runners-up Eglish of Tyrone in the All-Ireland Semi-Final. They failed to score in the second half of the latter outing, playing into a strong wind and their determination, as well as defensive strength, shone through after Hurley and O’Connell had notched up the first half goals.

 

Athenry don’t give much away either, conceding only two points to former champions Lismore of Waterford in their All-Ireland Semi-Final. Once again, conditions were difficult and they demonstrated their ability to get down into the trenches and chisel out the win.

 

It has all the ingredients of a thriller.