All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship quarter-final
Antrim v Tipperary (Croke Park, Saturday, 3.30pm, live on RTE2)
 
IT has been over 40 years since Antrim found themselves at the business end of the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship, but on Saturday they face Tipperary in the quarter-final at Croke Park.

The game precedes the All-Ireland hurling semi-final between Limerick and Galway, so in terms of occasion, it doesn’t get much bigger.

However, the Saffrons are not going along to merely enjoy the experience as there are ambitions of taking a big step forward in terms of development, while also putting last weekend’s defeat against Waterford behind them.

Elaine Dowds’ side headed south to the SETU Arena with the opportunity of bypassing the quarters into the last four had they won but suffered a resounding 5-16 to 0-10 loss that was at odds with previous performances.

Despite an even start, the Déise women powered on in the second quarter with four goals to put the game away and managed it out well in the second period.

It was a disappointing day for Antrim, but they have the chance to make amends this week and show more of what they are capable of against their Munster rivals.

“We’ll just put Waterford down to a really bad day at the office,” said Dowds.

“I don’t know if we had one eye on Croke Park and the quarter-final but once their first goal went in, we seemed to lose any belief we had and everything just went from bad to worse.

“We decided it’s a performance that just needs parked at this stage, we really can’t be dwelling on that when we need to focus on this weekend coming.”

The bad news on the injury front is that Antrim will be without centre-back Caoimhe Conlon who suffered a Grade 2 tear in her AC joint against Waterford and will now spend a time on the sideline.

Her loss will be keenly felt given her performances throughout the year and Dowds admits she is gutted for her fellow Dunloy clubwoman is devastated to be out.

But it’s a case of next player up as Antrim seek to turns the tables on Tipperary and reach the semi-finals that would represent another major hurdle cleared in their second year back at senior.

Last year they just missed out on the knockout stage, so that they are here shows they are moving the right way, but know they face a huge test against the Premier County.

“This is the furthest an Antrim team have got in a very long time, well over 40 years since Antrim competed in an All-Ireland quarter-final,” the Antrim manager outlined.

“There are only six teams left in the competition, so this is it, a do or die match and we need to bring absolutely everything we’ve got to the table on Saturday.

“The girls were in great form there tonight (Monday) at training, so they know how to reset and regain focus after a performance like Saturday’s.

“Tipperary have plenty of players to worry about. Like any of the big teams left in the competition, they have loads of big names.

“Obviously, Cait Devane needs watching but I think this week at training we’ll be more focused on our own game plan rather than worrying about Tipp.”

Playing at Croke Park is nothing new to the vast majority of this Antrim team as they have been involved in a host of finals, from last year’s Junior or the 2021 Intermediate All-Ireland wins, last year’s Division two final or indeed, the Loughgiel contingent in an All-Ireland Club final before Christmas.

Therefore, they will be familiar with their surroundings and that will be a big help as it is imperative Antrim block everything out and focus on the job at hand as it will require a huge performance to topple Tipp.

“Most of these girls have played in Croke Park before once or twice,” Dowds outlined.

“That’s helpful because playing Croke Park for the first time can be very daunting and overwhelming, so hopefully those experiences stand to us and we just go about business as usual.

“I’m hoping we can cancel out all the noise and distraction, focus on what we need to do and really show up for the big occasion and do ourselves justice.”