Galway Ladies U14 win All Ireland Semifinal 2010

Gaelic football for ladies is strong in Galway. 2010 has seen the U14 team qualify for the All Ireland with a very balanced and well tempered team. Managed by Johnny Carter and Padraig Neenan, they have trawled the highways and byeways of Galway for several months in search of talent, and now have a squad of 32 determined, strong, and skilful players. They have worked hard in training and coaching thes players and are ably assisted by Dave Shaughnessy who is a fitness trainer, Carmel Murphy mentor, and Seamus Costello, mentor, and Maura Burke selector.Competition for places on the team is fierce with only about 5 with a "guaranteed spot" due to incredible talent. All girls have played at least an hour in anger in the Connaught championship. The latest to write her name in stone is Sarah Gormley, who put in as fine an hour as full back as one is likely to see in a maroon jersey. Galway did well in the opening half and went in at half time 2-7 to 0-5 (4f). At the throw in Louise Ward and Siobhan Gavin clashed heads and were heavily dazed. For 15 minutes they lost effectiveness, and as Cork won the midfield, the pressure mounted on the Galway defence. Wave after wave of attack was launched trying to probe weaknesses. High ball was dealt with effectively by Sarah. Corner backs and wing backs closed out the open spaces, and provided a safety net for breaking ball in a clinical coordinated way. Wing forwards made themselves available time and time again, out wide on the wings for the beleagured backs. Aces up front in Katie Carter, Ciana Ni Churraoin and Aoibhinn Joyce all hit form and were unstoppable. The defence were truly Trojan in their defence against Cork. Nicola Ward, centre back, put in a hard hour, harrying, tackling, hectoring and marauding, and finished it off with a "charge of the light brigade" run through the Cork defence before laying off to Shannon who took a point. This gave a crucial lift to the Galway girls spirits to lift their game for the last few minutes. The leadership of the Wards was of paramount importance when the going got tough. This match was badly needed by Galway who had sauntered through every game til now. Great credit to Cork, they never dropped their heads but played til the final whistle. Johnny Carter has had a heartache since the 2007 All Ireland final against Dublin. He will not be complacent. He knows what it takes. He knows that in the match against Dublin the match won't be over til the last second of injury time.