Galway's senior ladies football manager Daniel Moynihan has praised the squad for turning their year around ahead of this Sunday’s All-Ireland final against Kerry in Croke Park (4.15pm).
The Tribeswomen have won just five out of 12 competitive games in 2024 but found their groove in the business end of the championship to set up a first ever national decider against the Kingdom.
"Everybody needed to get behind it," commented Moynihan about the collective efforts of the group. "Everybody needed to believe that if we work together, we can do something together. There was the tough days obviously with the losses that we were picking up.
"The players kept the faith and that’s down to them and the mindset they have and the capabilities they have of players. They’ve been fantastic for me this year."
Despite accounting for Dublin and Cork in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively, Kerry will present a tough challenge as they have been consistent contenders recently and played in the last two All-Ireland finals even if they haven’t won the Brendan Martin Cup since 1993. They beat Galway 5-11 to 1-10 in last year’s league final.
"We played them down in Killarney (Kerry won 2-11 to 0-12) in the latter stages of the league," added the Ballinasloe man who took over the county’s senior set-up last winter.
"Kerry are a fantastic team. Experienced. Into an All-Ireland Final for the third time in-a-row. That’s fantastic in this day and age to be able do that.
"It’s going to be a difficult battle for us. We’re confident in ourselves. Like that Cork game, there’s bits and pieces we need to improve on. I don’t think you’ve seen the best of this team. We’re hoping that you do see the best of us come next Sunday."
So what time of game is he expecting?
"If you look at Kerry in the semi-final (against Armagh), they started quite cagey as most teams will do in a semi-final. It could be the same again. An All-Ireland Final, nobody wants to over expose themselves too early.
"That Kerry full forward line in particular can get a lot of scores from a lot of different angles and we just need to try and stop that supply coming into them."
And how does he hope his players managed the occasion?
"I’d like to think that they’ll embrace it," concluded Moynihan. "It’s where everybody strives to play. Particularly in the ladies game, we probably wouldn’t have the same opportunities to get in there on a regular basis. There’s a buzz about stepping into the stadium.
"It’s a case of getting there and realising ‘Yeah, I’m here. I’m going to enjoy it.’"
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
