Dearbhla & Glencar Manor can’t wait to get going in Sweeney Oil LGFA SFC Final

It may be an incredible eighth Sweeney Oil LGFA SFC Final in a row for Glencar Manorhamilton but captain Dearbhla Rooney is approaching Saturday’s decider with St Joseph’s with real enthusiasm, treating the entire experience as if it was her first!

“We can't wait to get going in the county final again,” Dearbhla told the Observer, “We're just really excited to be in this position. I think everyone that plays football dreams of being in the county final and we're lucky enough to be in this situation now for the eighth year in a row.”

So what keeps that hunger going for a team that have won so much: “I think every year we nearly get more hungry for it. We see how much it means to each other and that really reflects in our semi-final there against Ballinamore when the stakes are high, we were able to up it another gear. So the hunger is definitely high and that's what's keeping us going.”

Neither does their status as favourites or the team everyone wants to beat bother Glencar Manorhamilton: “I think that the added pressure suits us. We're kind of becoming more mature as a team and we're kind of becoming more of a professional outfit as well - the girls take it so seriously, it pushes us on.

“They're doing their own gym work, they're doing their own running outside of the usual football training. So we just really want to improve our own performance and everyone just enjoys playing the game. So it's not something that kind of adds pressure on us, we just enjoy it.”

NO TALK OF SIX IN A ROW IN GLENCAR MANORHAMILTON CAMP

Dearbhla puts Manor’s run of eight finals in a row down to two things - the infusion of new talent every year and the work that goes on behind the scenes: “There's not a lot of clubs that are so lucky year after year to see players come into the team. There's more young girls that are coming up and joining the team and I suppose that's just a reflection of the club.

“All the volunteers that are putting in the work, they're the hidden engine behind our team and that's what's driving us on. So we're really lucky to have a new team every year really. If you look back on when we won our first final, there's new girls on it all the time so it's brilliant.”

The Youth Olympic & World boxing medalist also credits the new voice of manager David Gaffney as having a big impact: “David is fantastic, himself and Terry are a great team, they're so lovely. Coming in from Sligo as well, he's outside of the county so it was really good to get his insight. He can see things from a different perspective and he was able to highlight our strengths and our weaknesses. 

“He sees things in other teams as well that we might not have noticed before so it's really good to have him as an addition to our team this year.”

Not that either team is going to surprise each other much on Saturday according to the Glencar Manor captain: “We know each other inside out and upside down. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses but I think it's always just who wants it more really. It's going to be a battle and we're looking forward to it.”

As for a verdict next Saturday, Dearbhla simply says “I think we are confident. Just looking at how the management has set us up for the final, they've planned the season really well. So just going off that, we have to be confident in ourselves. We're building really well towards the final. 

“We're improving in every game and I know that there's still another few games left and there's more to bring to the final. We're just looking forward to getting going now and showing everyone what we're capable of doing.”