Rebels face another big clash

CORK and Laois battle for an All-Ireland final place when the first of the Ladies senior football championship semi-finals is played in Cashel this evening (6pm, TG4).

The Munster champions are bidding to return to Croke Park for the first time since 2009 while the midlanders last appeared in the decider in 2001. Last weekend the Rebels overcame Dublin in a cracking quarter-final in Birr, ousting the champions thanks to a late point from midfielder Juliet Murphy. Prior to that, Eamonn Ryan’s side were six weeks without a game, but now face two crunch fixtures in just seven days.

“A one-week turnover is very short, and it’s probably our biggest worry. There’s no point in complaining because at least we’re in a semi-final, and we’re just happy to be there,” said Ryan, who has a full squad available.

The euphoria of last weekend’s comeback victory — which saw his side score seven unanswered points in the last 16 minutes — was evident at the final whistle but Ryan is confident his side have their feet firmly back on the ground.

“It was a big game and for a long time we were struggling. We made a lot of mistakes but in the end the girls’ spirit came to the fore and it was a massive relief to come out the other side. But, the girls have shown in the past they can knuckle down and they’ve done that again during the week.”

Cork claimed victory when the sides last met in the National League Division One final in May (4-15 to 3-9) after a titanic battle at Parnell Park. The sides were tied five times with substitutes Ger O’Flynn and Ciara O’Sullivan turning the game in Cork’s favour in the final quarter.

Ryan agreed that the depth of Cork’s bench was again crucial in securing victory over Dublin last weekend.

He said: “A lot of the time these decisions are luck. Some days you make dumb decisions and wonder why you ever made them. Then other days they pay off, but there’s no doubting the contribution the five girls made to the result.”

Throw-in at Cashel is at 6pm, with the TG4 Intermediate Championship semi-final between Cavan and Leitrim the curtain raiser at 4.15pm. Both games will be televised live on TG4.

CORK: E Harte, A Marie Walsh, A Walsh, D O’ Reilly, B Corkery, B Stack, G O’ Flynn, J Murphy, R Buckley, N Cleary, M Kelly, G Kearney, V Mulcahy, R Ní Bhuachalla, Amy O Shea (c).

LAOIS: C Dollard, L Hyland, G Dunne, E Healy, A Taylor, J Moore, M McEvoy, A Casey, T Lawlor, Mary Kirwan, A Moore, M Dunne, Martha Kirwan, S Doogue, G Weston.