currentaccount.ie All-Ireland Senior Club Championship semi-final: Kilkerrin-Clonberne (Galway) v Donaghmoyne (Monaghan) (tomorrow, Kilkerran-Clonberne, 1pm)
ULSTER champions Donaghmoyne come up against new opposition in Kilkerrin-Clonberne of Galway when the sides meet in tomorrow’s currentaccount.ie All-Ireland Senior Club Championship semi-final in Clonberne.
This will be the first time the sides have met in the competition despite both being frequent winners of their respective provincial championships over the last decade.
Donaghmoyne travel west down the country ready to hit the ground running and reach their eighth All-Ireland senior club final and first since 2016.
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In contrast, Kilkerrin-Clonberne have reached the final on just one occasion but that was most recently in 2019, when the last final was played, losing out by a late, late point to Mourneabbey of Cork. They are the defending champions, aiming for three titles in four years and they face Meath and Leinster champions Dunboyne, who are backboned by several All-Ireland senior medal winners, in tomorrrow’s other semi-final that also throws in at 1pm in Mourneabbey.
Donaghmoyne captain Amanda Finnegan said they will go to Kilkerrin-Clonberne full of belief that they can book their place in another final despite there being a five year gap.
“You have to believe that you have what it takes to make another final. We have a lot of experience and we will go out fighting and we do believe we can make an All-Ireland final. With the competition in 2020 being cut short, it’s hard to know where every team is at, but we do believe we definitely have what it takes,” said Finnegan.
“We know they are a really fantastic side. They are not reaching All-Ireland semi-finals and finals for no reason. They have been very consistent. They got beaten by Mourneabbey in the last All-Ireland final by a point so we know they are a great team but we haven’t played them before so that’s nice. It’s different territory for us and it’s nice to be up against a different team but we definitely know they are very strong, very fit and fast but we are looking forward to the challenge.”
The Galway champions will look to captain Louise Ward to lead their challenge alongside her sister Nicola as well as Olivia Divilly, Lynsey Noone and Ailish Morrissey. They are three in-a-row Connacht champions have won nine county titles on the bounce.
If Donaghmoyne can get off to a good start it could be the makings of victory as their opposition have been known to concede goals, especially, early on, although such is their experience and strength, it’s the second half where they up the ante and pull away.
Much is made of Donaghmoyne’s experience – they have 11 players from their fifth All-Ireland club final victory in 2016 against Foxrock-Cabinteely on tomorrow’s starting team – combined with an injection of youth in the form of Garland twins Lucy and Amy, Eimear Traynor and Aoife Burns.
A real battle is expected and it could come down to who has luck on their side, something Finnegan is hoping will be on theirs.
“We are really looking forward to the game. Our last semi-final against Mourneabbey we were beaten by the better team. The year before we lost right at the end of Foxrock-Cabinteely and we feel that year was a final we missed out on,” she said.
“We believe we have what it takes to get back there again. We set high standards for ourselves and try to reach that but sometimes that doesn’t happen and sometimes you need luck on the day as well so please God we’ll have that and perform to our high standards we set.”
