*Eoin Powell. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
TRUAGH/CLONLARA are not talking about a three in a row as they come within sixty minutes of making history this weekend.
What worked last year isn’t going to work this year. It could easily have been Inagh/Kilnamona taking the title last year, there was only a puck of the ball in it, coach and selector of Truagh/Clonlara Eoin Powell outlined.
He told The Clare Echo, “It’s been one game at a time. It’s been match by match and we have evaluated each game as it came. There has been no pressure about three in a row or anything like that, no outside noises. After the All-Ireland we didn’t return to training until March of this year when he girls were well refreshed and they were rearing to go”.
Stressing that they haven’t looked at anything outside Clare he noted “there was only a point in it against Scariff/Ogonnelloe when a draw would probably have been a fair result. There has been nothing between ourselves and Inagh/Kilnamona. It’s game by game. Teams have got caught before by not focussing on the next game. One cannot afford to look past the next game”.
Players who were part of last year’s panel but not involved this year include Sinead Ryan who emigrated, Becky Foley who got injured at the start of the league which ruled her out for the season, Niamh and Roisin Powell and Aoife Dillon.
On the plus side, Michelle Caulfield, captain of the team which won the title for the first time in 2023, is back in the squad this season. Her faher Bob continues as the team manager.
Coach Eoin believes his charges are “facing a huge challenge. We know we are facing a big battle that is likely to go down to the wire. Inagh/Kilnamona have Aoife Keane and Andrea O’Keeffe back in their side this year which is a huge boost to them. They have a well balanced panel and they have a very strong and experienced management. We expect nothing less than a huge battle”.
Like his joint captain Ellen Horgan, the team coach is satisfied that there will be “a huge crowd supporting us. Tubber is a good distance from us and for an early afternoon game last week, we had a huge following. The support we have is phenomenal. It’s similar for all clubs which is great for camogie. It’s great to see the county teams doing well, the players deserve the support”.
Concluding he said “there is no talk of three in a row. It is its own match and that’s the approach which has been the case all year”.
