TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Junior Football Championship final
Antrim v Wicklow (Sunday, Croke Park, 11.45am, live on TG4)
 
ANTRIM Ladies manager Emma Kelly has urged her side to continue to defy the odds as they seek to deny Wicklow in Sunday’s All-Ireland Junior Football Championship final at Croke Park.

The Saffrons won the Ulster title with a facile win over Derry, but then lost their All-Ireland opener to the Oak Leaf county.

A tilt at the All-Ireland crown seemed unlikely given the calibre of the opposition in the subsequent games.

However, Antrim recorded wins over Carlow (after extra-time) and Limerick to book a place in the last four – although they also suffered a five-point defeat to Wicklow in the group stage.

Another extra-time victory over Carlow last month saw Antrim reach their fourth All-Ireland JFC final.

Being cast in the role of underdogs didn’t hinder Mayo and Tyrone in recent weeks after they pulled off huge upsets in the men’s All-Ireland series against Dublin and Kerry respectively.

While Kelly welcomes more the low-key approach, she insists Antrim won’t be found wanting for belief on the big stage.

“We know they (Wicklow) are hot favourites and we are the underdogs - that doesn’t mean we don’t believe in ourselves,” said Kelly.

“Kieran McGeary said after the Tyrone game that nobody expected them to do it, but they did it and it is the same with us.

“We aren’t putting pressure on the girls to pull something out of nowhere – we know they are capable. It is just a matter of getting that performance from them.

“We believe we can win this. If we can get a good performance. If we are close towards the end of the game. . . our girls won’t lie down and they won’t stop.

“We lost by five points the last day against Wicklow when we didn’t perform and we didn’t show our full hand that day. We’ll be ready to go on Sunday.”

Kelly feels Antrim have yet to deliver a total team performance over the course of the 60 minutes plus injury-time.

Different players have stood out throughout the course of their Championship campaign so far, but few have been consistently excellent.

In order to win the All-Ireland title, Kelly reiterated her stance that the players are more than capable if they play as a unit.  

“I don’t know what goes on with our team. We start off well and then we let teams come back at us,” said the Antrim boss.

“At the end of the game against Carlow, we were lucky to get to extra-time.“Their fitness shone through again, but their mentality and their resilience is incredible – we don’t give up.

“We aren’t looking for one or two players to step up. All 15 our capable and if they all step up at the same time, nobody will stick will us.

“In our games so far, we’ve had maybe three or four girls on top form, but we now need every single player to click. If that happens, we’ll be flying and, hopefully, it happens on Sunday.

“The like of Grainne McLaughlin, Michelle Magee, Maeve Blaney and Ciara Brown had great games the last day. It is about getting everyone else stepping up around them and that’s our hope for the weekend.”

Saoirse Tennyson is back in contention for Sunday's final after recovering from injury
2Gallery

Saoirse Tennyson is back in contention for Sunday's final after recovering from injury

As a player, Kelly experienced both the highs and lows of playing in an All-Ireland final.
In 2012, she played on the team who defeated Louth and, in 2016, was part of the side which lost out to Longford.

While playing for her native Derry, she also lost out at the semi-final stage of the 2010 All-Ireland Championship while assistant manager Kyla Trainor won the Intermediate title with Down in 2014.

Their message to the squad ahead of this weekend’s showdown with Wicklow will be to leave everything out on the pitch and enjoy the occasion.

“Croke Park is the dream no matter what age you are or who you play for,” added Kelly.

“We’ll be telling the girls to enjoy the buzz and enjoy the lead up to it. Once it’s over, it’s over.

“They need to enjoy it while they are there and not let nerves get the better of them. That’s easier said than done.

“Once you get out on to the pitch, enjoy it like any other game and look back with no regrets.

“Aislinn McFarland (Antrim captain) said she was there in 2016 for the first time and a lot of it by-passed her. She probably thought she’d be back soon enough, but that was five years ago.

“We’ve nothing to lose – Wicklow are hot favourites. We are the underdogs and we’ll go out and play our own game.”

Kelly and Trainor are hoping to have close to a full panel to select from for Sunday’s game.

St John’s defender Orla Corr is the only major doubt with a hamstring injury, but St Paul’s ace Saoirse Tennyson is back in contention following a lengthy absence.