Down Senior Camogie Championship final: Clonduff v Liatroim Fontenoys (Sunday, Castlewellan, 2.30pm)
MORE than 10 weeks ago, the Down senior camogie championship kick-started with a feisty enough group game in Hilltown between Clonduff and Liatroim Fontenoys.
This weekend it will climax with another meeting between the clubs after the Fontenoys caused an upset by turning over reigning champions Portaferry in the semi-finals three weeks ago.
The Fontenoys’ form had been up and down going into that semi-final – but they had been in action for the previous two weekends and had built momentum.
They are also a club that seem to raise their challenge when they are up against it. That perhaps comes with a winning tradition that has seen them collect 27 titles, including 16 in a row up until 2006.
The following year Clonduff won the first of their eight titles, but significantly have never beaten Liatroim in a final, the Fontenoys taking their last title in 2014 and beating Clonduff in the final.
But the Shamrocks have recently won four county crowns in a row. That sequence was ended last year when they failed to make the semi-finals on scoring difference and Portaferry went on to claim a maiden crown.
Clonduff’s win over Liatroim in the first round of group games installed them as favourites to win back the title and subsequent outings have reinforced that assessment.
They were never troubled in other games, not even the semi-final against Ballygalget when the wind and rain made any creative play very difficult.
Teenage forward Orlaith McCusker grabbed the only goal in a 1-9 to 0-3 win. Clonduff played against the breeze and led by 1-3 to 0-3 at half-time.
The leadership trio of Paula O’Hagan and the Carr sisters are back after the birth of their children and the team looks very solid with the notable addition of Clare Kearney, who won an All-Ireland junior medal with Antrim back in August.
Kearney forms a strong half-backline alongside Fionnuala Carr and another teenager Katie Morgan. That is the line that Liatroim will need to break if they are to add to their title haul.
Karen McMullan, Gráinne McArdle and Kelly Duffin were all involved when the Fontenoys won back-to-back All-Irelands in 2004 and 2005.
All three have had breaks in recent years but they were solid in the middle third during the semi-final against Portaferry three weeks ago.
Dearbhla Magee was also a tower of strength in the same area and used her pace to break forward to create chances, but it was the goal and late point from Aimee McAleenan that changed the outcome of the semi-final and the Down county captain could be key to the outcome of the final as well.
Both Dearbhla Magee and Paula O’Hagan are reliable free-takers, but Clonduff look to have a little bit more support for O’Hagan in terms of scores from open play. Therefore Clonduff should continue their unbeaten run in this season’s title-race and set up another provincial showdown with Eglish.
