*Chloe Moloney. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
AS CLARE put the finishing touches to preparations for their All-Ireland intermediate ladies football tilt with Tyrone, team manager Wayne Freeman says they “are really happy with where we are”.
Clare will enjoy home advantage on Sunday for their quarter final date with the Ulster side with the game going ahead at Cusack Park at 2p.m.
A win will set up a date with another Ulster county, Monaghan or Down, in the semi-final on July 14.
Freeman and his management team will have a full squad from which to select Sunday’s team. “While we have a few sessions to go before Sunday’s game, we are injury free at present. It’s probably the first time this year that we have a full squad available”, commented the manager this week.
He accepts that Clare will carry the favourites tag. “We have home advantage and we are after winning the league title but the bookies don’t win games for you. They (Tyrone) will be strong and they will be confident that they can get a result. They were in the division 2 league final against Kildare. It will be tough”.
Asked if the team is likely to be along the lines of that which has played in earlier rounds he said “we tend to rotate quite a bit as it works for us. We rotated in the league, we are carrying a smaller squad this year. A lot will depend on form and how we will set up tactilly, we are very flexible and a lot of our players can play in different positions”.
Commenting on whether or not there is extra pressure this year having contested the final last year and lost by the minimum margin he said “we put pressure on ourselves, people wouldn’t have viewed us as potential champions. We have focussed on ourselves and we knew what we have. We put a big focus on winning the league, it sharpens us more that anything, we put on the pressure ourselves. It makes us focus”, he said.
The manager concluded “we have been training three times a week and we haven’t let up. We work hard and train hard. We haven’t let the foot up. We have worked really hard to get to this point and I am really happy with where we are”.
Siofra Ni Chonaill, the Harvey sisters Grainne and team captain Caoimhe, Laurie Ryan, Chloe Moloney, Fidelma Marrinan and Ailish Considine are key members of the side who will be expected to make matters difficult for their Northern opponents
As manager Wayne Freeman said it won’t be easy but Clare have looked settled all season and come Sunday evening should be making plans for an All-Ireland semi-final.
