*Scariff/Ogonnelloe joint captains, Mairead Scanlan and Amy Barrett. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
MATCH-WINNING hero, Mairead Scanlan has described Scariff/Ogonnelloe’s latest camogie success as “unreal”.
Leading 0-08 0-05 with fifty four minutes on the clock, Scariff/Ogonnelloe fell behind three minutes later when Drom & Inch scored 1-01 without reply in the space of eighty seconds to push ahead for only the second time in the game.
Cometh the hour, cometh Mairead Scanlan to respond for Scariff/Ogonnelloe. The joint captain took a long range free and sprinted into the danger area, somehow managing to pick up a break before unleashing an unstoppable shot that left Caoimhe Bourke with no chance.
Recalling the moment, Mairead said, “I finally get one onto my left side, I was running out into space and was probably a bit far from goal, I had hardly any striking all day it was more running with the ball and hitting a few frees, when it broke to me there, I saw Susan Vaughan in front of me and I was like what are you doing here, I rose it up and made a really clean connection”.
Drom & Inch had a chance to equalise with sixty six minutes played but Eimear McGrath lost her footing and the subsequent free tailed to the right of Rachel Daly’s goal. “You have to be a free taker to understand how a free taker thinks, going into big games as a free taker that carries its own bit of pressure, it wasn’t an easy free, it was out the side and conditions were darkening, she is an excellent free taker but no one is a one hundred percent free taker, you might get eight out of ten or nine out of ten but nobody is perfect, they wouldn’t have been a point down without her”.
Conditions in Mallow allowed for “faster and more skilful hurling,” the accountant noted. “It’s unreal, we said it over Christmas, I’ve never enjoyed my camogie as much, we’re going out having the craic and we feel so lucky to play and train together, we have such a good time, we have two cups won and we have to take this on. It’s a new championship and we’ll go all out for it”.
