GER Manley is predicting a ‘huge battle’ when Cork and Galway collide in the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior camogie final.
In a repeat of last season’s decider, which the Rebels won 1-16 to 0-16, this is a showdown between the top two teams in the country, according to the Cork boss.
‘I think we've been the best two teams over the last couple of years, Galway and ourselves – there’s nothing between us,’ Manley said after watching his side take care of Waterford in last weekend’s semi-final.
‘We respect Galway, they respect us – we expect a huge battle against them.’
With Cork closing in on the three-in-a-row, Manley was keen to downplay that narrative.
‘It’s just another match. We didn’t even bring it (three-in-a-row) into our minds – everyone can talk about it all they want,’ he said.
‘Our aim every year is to get to the All-Ireland final, and our aim this year was to get to the All-Ireland final. Whether it is two, three, four, five in a row doesn’t matter to the players – it’s about winning the next day.’
Manley also feels that his side will benefit from the challenge Waterford presented – the Déise led by four points at one stage in the first half. Given that Cork had blown away every team en route to the last four, they needed a gut-check to steel them for the All-Ireland decider in Croke Park on August 10th.
‘We needed a game like that,’ Manley admitted. ‘You need those battles.’
Player of the match against Waterford, Saoirse McCarthy, is, like her manager, predicting a tight All-Ireland decider.
‘Galway are a brilliant team, they are always a tough opponent, so it’s guaranteed to be a close game,’ said the Courcey Rovers star, who feels the Rebels will learn from their semi-final clash.
‘Semi-finals are there to be won, and these are the days you train for. We made hard work of it in the first half, Waterford really put it up to us, and we finally got a foothold in the game.
‘Those errors came from the pressure that Waterford put us under – we hadn’t played a game in four weeks and there was that rustiness, while they were coming off the back of a quarter-final. Look, it’s tricky, but thank God we came out the right side of it.
‘We have loads to work on and lessons to be learned. We’re delighted to get over the line and back to Croke Park.’
Ger Manley will have some big decisions to make ahead of the All-Ireland final, with sub Orlaith Mullins making a huge impact off the bench in the 57th minute against Waterford – scoring 1-2. These are the selection headaches the Cork boss embraces.
‘We had a couple of injuries – Clodagh Finn hurt her knee on Thursday night and was a big loss to us, while Katrina Mackey is just back,’ Manley said, offering an update on Cork’s injury list.
‘Orlaith Mullins is going very well. We brought her in for the Wexford game – she was a huge loss to the U23s for their (All-Ireland) final. You saw what she did today – she got 1-2 and is an exceptionally good player. Her composure when she came on was excellent.’
