Focused skipper O’Shea says ‘renewed energy’ in Cork to reclaim crown
A shock defeat against Tyrone in last year’s quarter-final ended Cork’s dreams of winning a sixth successive crown but the Inch Rovers player insists there’s a “renewed energy” within the camp to reclaim the title.
“It’s great now, it’s great to be back there,” she said.
“Particularly after the year we had last year, we’re delighted to be back in the final. There’s a kind of a renewed energy and there’s a lot of new heads on the team and there’s been a lot of new faces coming through so that’s all very positive so we’re looking forward to it.”
O’Shea, a PE teacher in Blackwater College in Lismore, hinted that last year’s harrowing defeat to the northerners should prevent any complacency from creeping into her side against underdogs Monaghan.
“Their semi-final win was really, really impressive and they really came into their own in the last 20 minutes again and they tore Kerry apart,” she said. “They had a good league campaign and I suppose they were unlucky not to be in the final.
“We came up against them in the league up in Monaghan and they beat us so we know that they’re very good and we know we’ll have a tough game on our hands.”
Their own journey to Sunday’s final has only undergone one serious examination — against Dublin in the quarter-final.
In the semi-final against Laois, whom they also defeated in the league final, the Cork ladies ran out comfortable winners on a 4-10 to 1-6 scoreline, with O’Shea bagging a hat-trick. A concern going into the decider, perhaps?
“I don’t think it’s a concern at all,” dismisses O’Shea.
“I think it gives us a boost because we had to play Laois six days after playing Dublin. That was really very difficult and the girls came out of the Dublin game with a few knocks and bruises but they settled down great. I do think the wind in the first half was a huge disadvantage to us; it held up the ball and to be fair Laois had their homework done and they gave us a good fright.”
O’Shea points to the togetherness of the squad as one of the key reasons for their success over the years.
“We feed off each other, young and old, experienced and non-experienced,” she admitted.
“We gel together so well and everyone is just enjoying it; coming to training, going to matches. It’s very positive and that’s always been the way.
“I think too that we all feed off each others’ success and that is from one to 30 on the panel, the management lads are great to keep our heads on the ground and to keep encouraging the girls too. Whether you’re playing or not playing, there’s nobody’s head ever down, it’s all very positive.”
On her own role as captain, O’Shea shrugs the responsibility off. “The role of a captain doesn’t mean anything more than the role of corner forwards or corner backs. I’ve often said there are 30 captains out there; from the moment Hartey [Elaine Harte] kicks out the ball to when a forward puts it over the bar or in the net, there’s captains through the team and my role is no different to anyone else’s.”
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