Burke: "It was the first game where we had a bit of fear in our heads"
The Carlow ladies celebrating their win over Offaly on Sunday. Photos: Pat Ahern.
“Really tough. It was the first game where we had a bit of fear in our heads. In the league, you always had the next game. If we lost here today we were out. We are in a final now,” Burke pointed out.
Carlow seemed to be in control but they conceded a goal midway through the first half and another just after the interval.
“We scored two early goals but we handed the initiative back to them,” Burke said but he was right when he said his side deserved to advance to the final.
“I think we were the better team and it showed in the second half. I think we won 40-50 percent of the kickouts which was the winning of the game. We are delighted. We are promoted up to Division 3 now and I think the way we are playing our performances will see us do very well in the division.”
He also suggested that this could be the golden age for the ladies game in the second smallest county. “If we can keep the whole team together it is going to be a really good period for Carlow,” he suggested.
Double goal scorer, Aibha Kiernan, was delighted with the performance. “We went out wanting to start strong and that is what we did. It helped having that wind in the first half too. In the second half they came out with all guns blazing. We weathered the storm well and handled the ball well towards the end,” she said.
Before Kiernan could celebrate scoring her second goal, there was a long wait as the referee discussed matters with her umpires. Was the goal scorer in the square before the ball was played across the goal?
“I thought I had timed it well. The rule was changed this year where once the ball leaves the players hands you can go into the square. I thought in my head it was ok and thankfully it was given,” she said.
Carlow captain Roisin Bailey also offered her thoughts after the final whistle. “It is great to step right up. It is not an easy division. It is very competitive. For us to bounce straight back up and not do it the easy way as they fought back is good,” she said.
“I felt we utilised the wind really well in the first half. Then all credit to Offaly. It was really tough to defend in the second half. We had a first half lead and we were able to hold out.”
In any game, Aibha Kiernan gets through an amount of work and this was very much illustrated in the contrasting ways her two goals came about on Sunday. The first as Carlow worked the ball through the hands with Anne Roche and Roisin Bailey both involved before Kiernan supplied the finish.
The second and vital third Carlow goal was down to an awareness from the St Brigid’s club player where she had to time her run into the small square as Carlow attacked down the left. Moving forward even a second earlier would have seen her in the square before the ball was played across and the goal would have been ruled out.
The third Carlow goal scored by Kiernan pushed Carlow that bit further ahead and by the break, they led by ten points. That effort just gave Offaly that bit much to do and against a side as experienced as Carlow are at the moment. It was just a bridge too far.
Clíodhna Ní Shé’s two point free coming so soon after the goal was important. From the moment it left her boot, it was only going in one direction and that was over the bar. Her feat got plenty of attention on-line.
A National Football League Division 4 final against Leitrim. The LGFA Master Fixture List schedules it for April 12th but a venue and time still have to be confirmed.
