Down Senior Camogie Championship final
Portaferry v Clonduff (Saturday, Kilclief, 3pm)
WHEN Clonduff beat Portaferry to win their first-ever Down senior title in 2007, Fionnuala Carr, Paula Gribben and Sara Louise Carr delivered 1-8 between them.
Last Sunday, 17 years later, the same three players, each now a working mother, scored a combined total of 3-12 to take their team into another county final and within touching distance of a 10th county crown.
In the opposite corner will again be Portaferry, who built up a big enough lead over the first 45 minutes of their semi-final against Liatroim earlier on Sunday to withstand a last-quarter surge from the holders.
Not surprisingly, Niamh Mallon was central to Portaferry’s game-plan, although the rest of the team had secured top spot in their qualification group before Mallon’s transfer from Galway came through early last month.
Saoirse Sands has taken on more responsibility at the scoring end of the pitch, while Deirbhle Coleman and Leah Coulter provide the work-rate at the back.
As with every team that faces Portaferry, it will come down to what game-plan is adopted to control Mallon. I don’t think I have seen a team at any level from club through to senior inter-county All-Ireland level that has kept her scoreless.
It’s therefore imperative that the whole Portaferry team step up to the mark on the day and that’s not just about containing the Carr sisters and O’Hagan.
The Shamrocks have been developing good young players in recent years – the Fitzpatrick, McGilligan and Morgan sisters as well as Ceallagh Byrne just some who have come through the ranks.
Add in ex-Cushendall defender Claire Kearney, who was there for their All-Ireland run two years ago, and they are a formidable bunch.
Both teams qualified for the final with relative ease and the only real point of comparison is how each fared against Liatroim.
Clonduff met them at the group stages and were probably even more comfortable than the 0-17 to 1-7 score-ine suggests, while last weekend Portaferry did well to hold off that Fontenoys’ late challenge.
This has been the pairing for finals in 2007, 2014, 2018 and 2019 and each time Clonduff prevailed. Portaferry’s only title came in 2021 and this is their first final appearance since that 0-8 to 0-7 win over Liatroim, when Mallon scored all their eight points.
The stats suggest that Clonduff are the team to beat. The only danger comes Mallon, but it’s looking likely that the Carrs and Paula O’Hagan will bring their collection up to 10 medals each.
Meanwhile, Bredagh are tipped to beat Attical in the intermediate decider in Dromara on Saturday, while on Sunday, in Hilltown, Darragh Cross should win the junior final against Newry Shamrocks. a game which was postponed last Sunday due to a water-logged pitch.
