O’Mahony: Superb Skibb defence laid the platform for famous All-Ireland semi-final win at home

BY GER McCARTHY

TRIONA Murphy, Laura O’Mahony and Fionnuala O’Driscoll are all looking forward to an All-Ireland junior club final just before Christmas.

The midfield duo of Murphy and O’Mahony were prominent throughout Skibb’s semi-final win over Gusserane that set up an All-Ireland final date with Claremorris on December 17th.

Murphy’s opening goal against Gusserane was crucial to helping the Rossas build an unassailable first-half lead.

‘Yeah, it was a nice goal alright!,’ Murphy told The Southern Star.

‘I didn’t expect it to go in as, in fairness, I was going for a point. It was nice to see it go in under the bar though.

‘Gusserane were very tough opponents but thankfully our pitch was in great condition. It was still tough going. I think we put in a great team performance. We won out in the end so it was a great feeling at the final whistle.

‘It is unbelievable, looking forward to an All-Ireland final up in Parnell Park now. Words can’t describe it really. It is going to be unreal.’

As per usual, Laura O’Mahony ran herself into the ground. The Cork footballer’s partnership with Murphy was key, as this dup got through a huge amount of work and linked Rossa’s defence with attack.

‘Having an All-Ireland semi-final on our home pitch meant so much to us,’ O’Mahony commented.

‘It meant so much to everyone standing outside the wire as well. And to our management too. I think it really showed today how many of our supporters came out and got behind us even though the weather wasn’t great. It didn’t stop people and they were all here decked out in their hats, woolly scarves and umbrellas! Look, we are delighted with the win.’

The Cork senior also took time to pay tribute to O’Donovan Rossa’s defence. The winner’s back six and goalkeeper restricted Gusserane to just six points on the day. Even more impressively, only two of that total came from open play.

‘All those turnovers from our defence got us going,’ O’Mahony noted.

‘Emer McCarthy, Allie Tobin and Michelle Donnellan, each of them got vital blocks and tackles in. That’s something that we have been working on. We knew Gusserane have good forwards and that we needed to stop them in order to get the win.’

O’Donovan Rossa corner forward Fionnuala O’Driscoll was another player to make her presence felt in the victory over Gusserane. A terrific return of 1-2 was highlighted by O’Driscoll’s late goal that sealed victory. Collecting a pass from Laura O’Mahony, O’Driscoll turned and instantly found the bottom corner.

‘Reaching an All-Ireland final is absolutely amazing,’ O’Driscoll said.

‘It is dream-come-true kind of stuff, especially playing at home here in Skibbereen. This was everything we could have ever wanted. I am absolutely delighted. It took a massive team effort so I am buzzing now, buzzing!’

The O’Donovan Rossa forward admitted getting off to a fast start was vital to the West Cork club’s eventual win.

‘It was hugely important because we didn’t know a lot about Gusserane,’ O’Driscoll admitted. ‘We knew we had to come out of the traps fighting, straightaway. We got a few scores on the board and gave ourselves a platform to work off.

‘As for my goal, in fairness, it was a great ball in from Laura (O’Mahony) so I can’t take all the credit. I was delighted to get on the end of it. This time of year, you have to expect the type of weather we got. Sure we love a bit of adversity so that’s why it's great to get the win.’