TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Junior Football Championship final
Antrim v Wicklow (Sunday, Croke Park, 11.45am, live on TG4)
 
ALL good things come in threes and Antrim captain Aislinn McFarland hopes her luck continues this Sunday as she leads the Saffrons out on to Croke Park to face Wicklow in the All-Ireland Ladies JFC final.

Last month, McFarland got engaged to her partner Matt Keenan and then led Antrim to a semi-final victory over Carlow following extra-time later the same week.

It would round off a memorable few weeks for the Antrim skipper if she gets to climb the steps of the Hogan Stand to lift the All-Ireland title on Sunday.

“They say that good things comes in threes, so hopefully the final will be one more and that will be my lot,” said McFarland.

Reflecting on that 3-22 to 3-18 win at Dunleer, McFarland added: “I’ve been asked a few times what makes this team different and I think it is the youth in our team.

“When things are going against us, rather than panicking, they stay calm. They didn’t care how good a side Carlow were, they just kept at it.

“We’d been in that situation before against Carlow and, going into extra-time, the heads never went down. It was a case of just keep going and we’ll get there. They got a goal in the 10 minutes, but we reacted superbly.”

Antrim will be playing in their fourth All-Ireland final at the grade having last won the title back in 2012 with a win over Louth.

Indeed, McFarland will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of her Bredagh clubmate Clare Timoney by captaining Antrim to All-Ireland glory.

McFarland is one of a number of survivors from the 2016 squad who contested the Junior Championship final, but the Saffrons suffered a 4-10 to 1-12 defeat to Longford.

Now five years older and wiser, McFarland has implored the younger members of the squad to embrace the challenge and relish the opportunity of playing on Croke Park’s hallowed turf this weekend.

“I’m in a good position as captain as I was there before whenever I was their age. I was 18 or 19 the last time I played there and I don’t think I appreciated it for what it was at the time,” said McFarland.

“The one thing I’ll stress to them is to enjoy it. You can put too much pressure on yourself and it affects your play.

“You don’t get these experiences often and every GAA player dream of playing in Croke Park. To get experience when you are 18 or 19 is incredible and they just need to enjoy it.

“You have to play the game, not the occasion. I know that’s a clichéd saying, but it is how you have to approach it.”

Bredagh’s Aislinn McFarland was a member of the 2016 Antrim team that lost to Longford in the final, so is hoping to go one better on Sunday against Wicklow
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Bredagh’s Aislinn McFarland was a member of the 2016 Antrim team that lost to Longford in the final, so is hoping to go one better on Sunday against Wicklow

Antrim, having won the Ulster title in emphatic fashion against Derry in June, suffered a shock defeat to the Oak Leaf county in their Championship opener.

However, wins over Carlow and Limerick saw them book their place in the last four despite a five-point defeat to Wicklow last month.

The Garden County suffered a 2-9 to 0-12 defeat to Fermanagh in last year’s decider and will be strong favourites for Sunday’s final, something McFarland feels wills suit Antrim.

“We looked back on the game against Wicklow and I don’t think any one of our players could say they had an amazing game,” stated the Bredagh defender.

“We lost by five points, but that’s not a huge different. We have a lot more to give.

“I don’t think we’ve given 100 per cent as of yet. I know Wicklow are strong favourites, but I’d rather go in as underdogs. I do believe we have it in us and it will be a really good battle.

“We don’t have the same pressure on us because nobody expected us to get this far. The squad of players believed we could get this far. Antrim are going to do a lot of damage in the next few years given the strength of the minors coming through.

“This year was meant to be a developmental year or a transition year, but we’ve gotten to where we needed to be very quickly so we just need to continue to progress.”