Waterford and Armagh both go in search of promotion and league title.

On April 6, Waterford and Armagh met in the last round of games in this year’s Ladies National Football League in Ardmore, the first time the two sides had clashed since the Orchard County beat the Déise County in the 2012 All-Ireland Intermediate Ladies Football Final at Croke Park.

In that last meeting victory as it did in October 2012 went to the Ulster Side.

Both sides went into the game in good form, even if Waterford had lost an earlier game to Sligo.

At the break, Waterford trailed 1-7 to 1-2 but they had played against the elements which at the Ardmore venue can be very testing at times.

The indications were good for Waterford for the second thirty minutes. Five points at times might appear a lot at times, but if the breeze blows in from the sea at the scenic grounds in Ardmore, then five points could well appear to be a very small margin.

But in the second thirty minutes, Waterford added just three points, a tally bettered by two by the Ulster side, who also struck for five goals in the second half.

What happened that day will be forgotten about when the two sides clash at Parnell Park in this years Division Three decider on Saturday.

No doubt someone at some stage, be it on the journey to the Capital on Saturday morning or in the dressing room will echo words that often have come from the lips of former Ladies Football and Senior Hurling manager Michael Ryan. The Ballymacarbry man who led sides to so many successes in the past at County and Club level has often said that if you look at the score board at the start of the game it reads “zero, zero to zero, zero”.

The result of the games in the last two games between the sides will be confined to the pages of history. This weekend’s game is a new one. The Ulster side will go into the game as favourite’s but Waterford will have to go into the game believing that they can make it third time lucky against the Ulster side.

Twelve months ago, Armagh were also involved in the final where they took on fellow ulster side Down.

The 2012 All-Ireland Champions who ran an all-conquering Cork side close in the senior championship last year were the raging hot favourites to win, and they did start well, going 0-6 to 0-1 up inside thirteen minutes of the game starting. That was how the half would finish as in the last seventeen minutes neither side added any further scores in what was a free ridden game.

And when the Orchard County side came out for the second half kicking the first two scores of the half it certainly did look good for them.

But there was a twist in the story and as we all know only too well, no game is over till the referee sounds the final whistle. No matter how far you are behind, if you keep trying hard and you keep believing anything could happen.

With eleven minutes to go, Sinead McNamee picked out Kyla Trainor for a goal. The same player had rattled the Armagh net after ten minutes of the first half but the score was ruled out as the referee indicated that he had blown up the play to award Down a free in.

And Down would add a second goal six minutes after they hit their first, Sinead McNamee again played a major part, this time picking out Hazel Jordan to beat Katie Daly.

Down won the game 2-6 to 0-11 despite Armagh going into the game as the favourite’s and Waterford will like Down have to believe that they too can confine Armagh to another year in Division Three in the League.

Armagh will go into this weekend’s final with a perfect record, winning the eight games they have played to reach the final. Some of these games were won easily but along the way they also had to dig deep to win, most notably against Tipperary and Sligo.

Waterford finished second in the league table, loosing to Sligo and Armagh. Like Armagh they had to dig deep in order to get a result against Tipperary and they had to repeat the act when Leitrim visited Fraher Field in the penultimate round of games in the league section of the competition.

The two semi finals recently proved to be contrasting affairs.

Armagh put 9-15 past Tipperary in Dublin, with the Premier County registering just two points, but this is a game that is best forgotten about. Armagh will have learned little or nothing from the game. The score line is a false one. When the sides clashed earlier in the year at Grangemockler, just two points separated the sides. But in between the two games, problems have arisen in Tipperary, ones which hopefully will be resolved sooner rather than later, as Tipperary are a good side, borne out by the fact they finished 2013 playing in Croke Park.

Waterford on the other hand had a tough game with Leitrim at Birr, something that should stand to Waterford in the long run.

For much of the game it looked as though the side from the Western Province would advance to this weekends final, but in the second half not only having s strong fifteen to start with, Pat O’Brien showed he also has strong reserves, as those he sent into the game to freshen things up played a major roll as the side hit a number of late scores to see them past the finish line with a little to spare.

Both sides have some devastating forwards. In their eight games, Armagh has averaged just over 27 points in their eight games while Waterford has averaged just over 21. Both sides clearly know where the posts are so this is a game that could well be won in defence more than attack. The defensive unit that holds strongest could well comes out on top.

Both sides have named strong teams for this weekend’s game.

For Armagh Katie Daly is named between the posts. The full back line is as it has been for much of the same as Mairead Tennyson, Caoimhe Morgan and Sarah Marley line out in front of goal.

In the half back line Sharon Reel who has played much of her side’s games this year misses out and is replaced by Marian McGuinness at wing back but Niamh Marley and Niamh Henderson who are regulars all year both start.

In the middle of the field Caitlin Malone is Caroline O’Hanlon’s partner. O’Hanlon is the counties top player all year and has struck ten goals and seventeen points in the six games she has played.

In attack there is a bit of a surprise with the omission of Siobhan Mackle. When the two sides clashed at Ardmore she hit three goals and has hit 4-9 so far this year. Her place in attack goes to Sinead McCleary who played much of her side’s games in the middle of the field this year.

The rest of the forward line is along with familiar lines as Finnuala McKenna who has hit 4-42 for Armagh this year starts at centre forward with Aoife McCoy who hit 5-9 so far for Armagh playing on the opposite wing to McCleary.

The inside forward line sees Kelly Mallon start at full forward with Lauren McConville the scorer of 1-14 so far in an Orange jersey this year and Mags McAlinden who has scored 4-5 which includes 3-3 against Tipperary starting in the number fifteen position.

If Armagh have named a strong starting fifteen, so do has Waterford manager Pat O’Brien.

Regular goalkeeper Aimee Jordan is once again between the posts.

Grainne Enright who recently returned to the panel is set to start at full back ab will be flanked by Nora Dunphy and Mary Foley who has played in the corner back positions for much of the league this year.

Karen McGrath who is having an impressive year with Waterford again starts at centre back and will be flanked by Róisín Tobin and Grainne Kenneally who is again in contention for a place after her efforts in helping Lismore win their recent All-Ireland Club final.

Michelle McGrath and Elaine Power are again in the middle of their field and their experience their will be vital to curb the danger that Caroline O’Hanlon posses to the Waterford defence.

In attack Waterford are just as clinical as Armagh are.

Linda Wall has hit 3-15 so far for Waterford. Michelle Ryan is the side’s top scorer. She will again start at centre forward. She is the only Waterford player to score in every game of the league hitting 5-29. On the opposite wing to Linda Wall will be her sister Mairead who has raised three umpire flags this year. She has been involved in many of Waterford’s scores this year and if the needs arise she could head back into her own half of the field and play in defence.

In the full forward line, Mags Revins has proven to be a thorn in the side of a number of sides this year. She is possibly Waterford’s best full forward since the deadly Áine Wall in the 90’s. The Old Parish Club Player has hit 7-8 so far this year and will be looking to add to it here.

She will again have Aileen Wall along side her. The Ballymacarbry club player is another that is in fine form this year hitting 3-12 while Liz Devine one of a number of young players brought into the team this year by Pat O’Brien completes the named starting fifteen.

Of course no side is complete without back up and the players picked to wear the shirt numbers from number 16 up will play a vital part in this game.

For Armagh Sharon Reel, Siobhán Mackle and Caoimhe Murray will be disappointed not getting the nod to start. They however are likely to play a part in the game. The question is from what point. If this was a men’s game and with the way teams are announced and the way they start, I would be suggesting that at least two could well be starting the game this weekend. Could we see a trend starting in Ladies Football where one team is handed in for the programme but it lines out differently? We will know at 12-15pm on Saturday.

For Waterford, a number of players will be very disappointed not to be starting. Louise Ryan has started all games for Waterford this year up to now. Ciara Dunphy has started the majority of the games as well. So too has Hannah Landers. Shona Curran is a very experienced player and would add a great deal of physicality to the team.  Shauna Dunphy hit some crucial late scores to help beat Leitrim in the semi final. These and others would have liked to start this weekend, but they will be the first to admit management is a tough job and they can only start with fifteen players. We have seen Waterford subs make an impact a number of times this year and no doubt we will see it happen again not just this weekend but again later in the year when the championship begins.

Armagh will go into this game as the favourites. I have no doubt some bookies will take a few euro on them to win the game, but it would not surprise me if Waterford were to put a smile on the faces of the bookies. We all know Waterford can often play best when not given a chance. Waterford will only have to look at Down in last years league final, to the Waterford minors during the week when many would have predicted they would not be able to keep the ball kicked out to a fancied Cork side, yet they kept them to within six points and at a penalty saved.

Paths to the Final:

Round 1               Armagh                                3-11       Longford              1-8

Round 2               Armagh                                1-12       Tipperary             2-7

Round 3               Armagh                                3-23       Wexford              1-5

Round 4               Armagh                                3-14       Offaly                    0-3

Round 5               Armagh                                6-18       Leitrim                  0-6

Round 6               Armagh                                4-9          Sligo                     3-10

Round 7               Armagh                                6-12       Waterford           1-5

Semi Final            Armagh                                9-15       Tipperary             0-2

 

Scorers:                Finnuala McKenna 4-42 (54), Caroline O’Hanlon 10-17 (47), Aoife McCoy 5-9 (24), Siobhan Mackle 4-9 (21), Lauren McConville 1-14 (17), Mags McAlinden 4-5 (17), Kelly Mallon 2-4 (10), Caoimhe Murray 2-3 (9), Marian McGuinness 1-3 (6), Niamh Henderson 0-3 (3), Sinead McCleary 0-2 (2), Mairead Tennyson 0-1 (1),

 

Round 1               Waterford           3-14       Offaly                    1-5

Round 2               Waterford           5-15       Wexford              1-9

Round 3               Waterford           2-8          Tipperary             1-10

Round 4               Waterford           6-15       Longford              0-5

Round 5               Waterford           1-9          Sligo                       1-15

Round 6               Waterford           6-8          Leitrim                  3-8

Round 7               Waterford           1-5          Armagh                6-12

Semi Final            Waterford           3-14       Leitrim                  1-13

 

Scorers:                Michelle Ryan 5-29 (44), Mags Revins 7-8 (29), Linda Wall 3-15 (24), Hannah Landers 5-9 (24), Aileen Wall 3-12 (21), Shauna Dunphy 2-1 (7), Liz Devine 1-1 (4), Elaine Power 0-3 (3), Mairead Wall 0-3 (3), Aimee Jordan 1-0 (3), Michelle McGrath 0-2 (2), Lauren McGregor 0-1 (1), Roisin Tobin 0-1 (1), Louise Ryan 0-1 (1), Shona Curran 0-1 (1).