Kelly wary of Dublin backlash

ALMOST five months have passed but the memories stand out vividly as ever for Mairead Kelly.

Two points down to Dublin in the Ladies Football All-Ireland final and, with just eight minutes left, Cork were in danger of relinquishing their title and a once-in-a-lifetime shot at a five-in-a-row.

Even manager Eamon Ryan admitted later he thought their goose was cooked. But Cork found a way to finish first, like they always do, and Kelly was there front and centre in the late charge.

Brought on late for Mary O’Connor, the Dublin-based bank employee scored a point and created another as the champions rattled off four scores in a row to win with just a single point to spare.

“The year before, in the final against Monaghan, they were very competitive, but we got some lucky goals and killed them off,” says Kelly. “Against Dublin, everyone probably thought we were going to lose with a few minutes to go.

“Luckily we did it and that did make it sweeter. I think our experience showed but if the same thing happened this year against Dublin I don’t think they would react with the same sort of shock.”

The Dubs will get an early chance to show exactly just how much they have learned from that crushing loss when they meet Cork in the opening round of the Bord Gáis league in Fermoy tomorrow.

The Leinster side were the ones with a single point to spare when the sides met in the group stages of the 2009 league but they succumbed to a 15-point defeat in the semi-final later in the competition. Add all that up and it seems safe to say that the visitors will be making the long trip south with no little motivation.

“They definitely will. We are not underestimating this game at all. We wouldn’t be over-confident, the opposite if anything. Dublin will have nothing to lose. We are back a couple of weeks but it has been hard with the snow and everything else.

“We are trying to introduce some new players onto the panel and we have had some trial games as well.”

Dual star Briege Corkery has left the Cork girls to their own devices this year having decided to submit to a case of wanderlust but hers is the only defection of note in the Cork or Dublin camps since that tie in Croke Park.

Eamon Ryan is still at the helm with the league and All-Ireland champions while Donegal native Gerry McGill continues to pull the strings for his adopted county as they look to build on their 2009 run.

Like the Tipperary hurlers, they will have to take the positives out of a spirited but ultimately unsuccessful All-Ireland final while leaving any of its baggage at the opening traps.

“We have talked about it,” says goalkeeper Cliodhna O’Connor. “You have to take lessons on board after every match whether you win or lose, see the positives and the negatives and then move on.”

O’Connor is wary of reading too much into a league game so early in the season, no matter who the opposition might be.

“You don’t really need an extra motivation to play Cork. Dublin have never won a senior National League so if we were to win it this year, that would be something that has never been done before. As regards the Cork game, we would be just as motivated against Mayo or Monaghan. The 2009 season is finished and all but forgotten.”