Mairead McParland | Contributing Writer
Trinity’s Ladies Gaelic Football team will be hoping for extra special St Patrick’s celebrations this year having qualified for the ultimate stage of their season – the Lynch Cup weekend which takes place on the 15th and 16th March in Waterford IT. Trinity face Cork IT in the semi final on the Friday with the victors going on to play the winners of DIT and Glasgow in the final on the Saturday.
Having been cruelly denied by a last minute penalty minutes from the end of last year’s final Trinity are under no illusions about the task they face. Cork IT is a side Trinity have come to know well. At the same stage of the competition last year, Trinity faced a mammoth task requiring a victory of 6 points in order to qualify for the weekend. Their opponents that time were CIT and in one of the most exciting games of the year Trinity defied all expectations and ran out 8 point winners. It will require a performance of the same magnitude all over again but it is games and occasions like this that the girls have prepared for all year. It is not often you see 20 girls shivering in the November morning in a queue outside the gym at 6.50am but that is the sort of dedication and commitment the team expected from each other this year in order to get back to fight for the championship.
During the league, all players were given the opportunity to stake their claim and impress the management. The turnaround came in the league game against hosts Waterford IT when Trinity turned on the style and showed glimpses of the level of performance they were capable of. Great confidence was gained from this and when the championship rolled around after Christmas the bar was set even higher. Trinity travelled to Newry to put St Mary’s of Belfast to the sword on a score line of 5-20 to 0-02 and NUIG were duly dispatched, setting up a qualifier with neighbours St Pat’s of Drumcondra. Trinity won that match comfortably again impressing with some eye watering intricate play in the forwards and teak tough defending at the back. It was a great team performance to reach the weekend and showcased all the positive elements of the game – great scores, high fielding and brave blocking. What was most noteworthy about the performance however was the high quality of team play. All the late night and early morning training has allowed the squad to develop an understanding of each other which is key during a game. For one score against St Pat’s Catriona Smith picked up the ball and without as much as a glance over her shoulder had flicked the ball off to the oncoming Lucy Mulhall who dispatched a bullet to the roof of the net. Everyone knows each other’s movement and if Trinity can replicate this level of performance this type of understanding of your team mates will give Trinity a massive advantage when they step over the white line on Friday morning.
This year Trinity Ladies Gaelic Football team have highlighted all that is positive about Gaelic games in general and College Sports in particular. The playing numbers have again increased again and the Seconds team provided the perfect platform to give everyone football and allow freshers to springboard their way up to the Lynch Cup. Freshers and experienced players have gelled perfectly with a great balance of newcomers and experienced players in the side. The style of play has been fantastic, the defence have been brave and strong, midfield has been the perfect link between defence and attack and the forward play has at times been mesmerizing Hard work has gone in to reaching this stage and in order for CIT to be overcome Trinity must showcase all the team work and confidence in each other that has served them well so far. This is the reason 20 players stood outside the gym on freezing November mornings and got on a bus to trek to training at 9 in the evenings. These are the weekends you play college football for. This team is where they have aimed to be all year, now it is time to make all the effort and sacrifice count. Colaiste na Trionoide Abu.
