Carlow ladies turn their attention to Championship action

Carlow travel to Emmet Park in Killoe, County Longford for a first round TG4 Leinster Junior Football Championship first round game on Saturday. Also in the group are Kilkenny and Offaly, two teams which Carlow have enjoyed success against during their gloriously successful National Football League Division 4 campaign.

“We have met them all (the teams in the group) already this year but it would be good to get play them all again before we go into the All-Ireland series,” said Carlow captain, Roisin Bailey, at the Leinster championship launch at the end of March. That took place before Carlow met Leitrim in the National Football League Final.

Bailey recalled that she and Carlow have had mixed luck in the province.

“We got to the Leinster final last year but Louth beat us. Some years ago we beat Kilkenny. That is the only Leinster I have. There was only two teams in it that year so it wouldn’t have meant as much as it would if we could get across the line this year,” she says.

Nevertheless, Bailey is looking forward to this Leinster championship which is a stand-alone competition and has no bearing on what happens in the All-Ireland series.

We will have to refocus. It will be interesting to see because every team is improving as the year goes on. All the teams would have got to know a bit more about us too. It would be a different challenge when we meet them all again now,” the Carlow captain speculated.

The players will also welcome the rise in temperatures.

“The league was tough with the weather and we haven’t been playing on good surfaces.” 

In the All-Ireland series, Carlow have been drawn in the same Group B as London, Sligo and Limerick where Carlow will have to travel to play London. There are five teams in Group A encompassing Kilkenny, Derry, Longford, Antrim and Offaly. The first round of games will throw in on May 31st.