Galway forward Leanne Coen thinks their appearance in front of a record attendance at the 2019 All-Ireland ladies football final will help in this Sunday's decider despite opponents Kerry having contested the last two showpieces.
The Corofin player made a substitute appearance five years ago but as many as eight of the current squad were involved in that 2-03 to 0-04 defeat to Dublin.
"In 2019, I think there was about 56,000. That was a bit of a shell shock. Running out on the pitch, I got the fright of my life," joked Coen. "So, I think that’s nearly a good advantage to have going in there again, knowing what to expect now this time.
"You’ll never forget those days. Croke Park especially. It’s where everyone wants to play - All-Ireland Final day - the best day of the year. Delighted to be going back."
Sarah Lynch, Nicola and Louise Ward, Olivia Divilly and Róisín Leonard all started that day. Charlotte Cooney, Coen and Andrea Trill were also involved but Galway’s other players do thrive with a solid support base.
"Even the last day against Cork (semi-final), there was great support like hearing the Galway chants," added Coen whose contributed 0-05 during this year’s championship. "Another thing that brought us on was hearing 'Galway, Galway, Galway.’ It gave us a real boost so it did."
It’s been a remarkable journey for the 2024 group missing Lisa Murphy, Aoife Molloy, Shauna Brennan, the Noone sisters (Lynsey, Hannah and Eva) and recently retired former captain Tracey Leonard from last year’s quarter-final against Mayo.
"We had a bit of a rough start in the league," continued the wing forward about their relegation. "It was a good learning curve. The only thing with league is it is nearly a training field you could say. Then we went into championship and our first round against Cork didn’t go to plan either.
"We knew from there we had to pull up the socks and get with it. I think that’s when it really hit home. It’s time to get with it now."
Dethroning All-Ireland champions Dublin in the quarter-final turned their season around. And they won’t fear Kerry having defied the odds against Dublin and Cork.
"We just had to give it our all against Dublin. There’s no quitting.
"We got a good high from that game and it really helped us going into the Cork game. It was the exact same thing. It was to just keep going right until the end. Don’t give up. If we could do that, we knew we could win it."
One thing guaranteed this Sunday is that Galway will go to ‘right until the end’ against Kerry.
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