St Brigid's ladies face daunting test against champions Carnacon

EVER had a throbbing toothache that just couldn't be quelled without a visit to the local dentist? The sense of dread and anxiety builds slowly, but powerfully, and increases ten-fold upon entering the dentist's waiting room. The sheer nervousness of the whole thing; waiting to meet the man, or woman, whose about to plunder your gums with a sharply-pointed implement, is excruciating. Almost as bad as the ache itself! It's the fear of the exercise ahead that makes you so tense. Think like that for a moment, and you'll get a slight idea of how the St Brigid's ladies footballers must be feeling ahead of their meeting with the all-powerful and mighty Mayo champions, Carnacon, in the Connacht Ladies SFC final on Saturday (Claremorris, 2pm). Sometimes, the fear of the unknown can grip you. With this though, it's the agony of knowing what does lie in store that could provide a huge psychological obstacle for the ladies from Kiltoom. In ladies' football circles, Carnacon are a serious outfit. All-Ireland champions in 2007 and 2008, and runners-up last year, with the immense Cora Staunton in attack, they've been literally unstoppable on the provincial scene over recent years. Bidding for a sixth straight Connacht title, and a 12th since 1998, Carnacon are viewed, and rightly so, as the undoubted powerhouses of Connacht ladies football. Knowing this all-too-well is St Brigid's manager, and Mayo native, and former county team-mate of many of Carnacon's current stars, Diane O'Hora. Diane has shared some amazing memories with some of the Carnacon players, including when O'Hora's last gasp goal sealed All-Ireland victory for Mayo, over Dublin, in the 2003 All-Ireland decider. O'Hora was also captain of the Mayo team that won the All-Ireland title in 1999. So, with an experienced and well-respected hero of Mayo ladies football in their corner, are St Brigid's better-placed to avoid a similar mauling, received at the hands of Carnacon (6-14 to 1-5), in last year's provincial decider? O'Hora was admirably honest when answering. "I don't think my past involvement, or knowledge of Mayo ladies football, will have any impact whatsoever on this game," said O'Hora. "We have to be very honest here. St Brigid's lost by 24 points to Carnacon in last year's Connacht final, and we're up against a very seasoned, mature, fit, strong, and experienced side. The likes of Cora Staunton, Claire Egan and Fiona McHale are as close to unstoppable as it gets. They have 13 players who have played senior county football with Mayo over recent years, and some of their players have carried Mayo through some difficult situations over the years. They're a really serious outfit, but we just have to go out there and focus on ourselves, and try to play to the best of our ability. Our girls have tremendous team spirit, the best I've ever seen in any team I've been involved with, and hopefully that togetherness and spirit will help us at the weekend," she added. This article isn't intended as a scaremongering exercise. It's just that Carnacon really, genuinely, are pretty much untouchable in the province. Despite that, St Brigid's did come agonisingly close to upsetting them in the 2008 Connacht final. With less than a minute remaining in the final, St Brigid's led Carnacon by three points, and were within touching distance of causing a major shock. But then Carnacon turned on the style. With a razor held firmly against their collective throats, they responded with alarmingly clinical precision. First, Claire Egan picked out Natasha Beegan, and the wing-forward slammed a shot into the top corner of the net. The sides were level and, as the game drifted into injury time, Cora Staunton put Carnacon in front from a free. Moments later, Fiona McHale's long-range attempt at a point ended up going into the net under the crossbar. From three points behind, the home side were suddenly four ahead, and Caroline McGing iced the cake with a point before the end. It was devastating evidence, if needed, of the power of Carnacon. St Brigid's have their own stars too, though. In the Roscommon final, Cliodhna McHugh bagged an impressive 2-7, including five frees, in the 5-13 to 0-6 destruction of Kilglass Gaels. Also notably chipping-in on the scoreboard that day were Aine O'Brien, who notched 2-2, and Rebecca Joyce (1-2). O'Hora, who said she has "a handful" of injury concerns ahead of the game, said: "We have some very good attackers, but they can't do anything if the others, out the field, don't carry out their jobs. In last year's final, St Brigid's conceded a goal against Carnacon after seven or eight seconds, that makes things hugely difficult. We hope to avoid that sort of thing this weekend, and stay in touch with Carnacon for as long as possible." And the massive question, which has still to go largely unanswered, is how to stop the near-phenomenon that is Cora Staunton, who is a former Athlone IT student. O'Hora was again bluntly honest when assessing that particular conundrum. "Look, I've played with Cora on many occasions with Mayo, and saw various teams try different tactics to stop her. But none of them worked. It's pretty much impossible to stop her. Her unbelievable speed, agility, power and shooting accuracy makes her a really, really difficult opponent for anyone. We can't make specific plans for Cora, because Carnacon have three or four other forwards more than capable of taking advantage of any spaces or extra room. It's a very difficult situation to deal with, and there's no way you can expect Cora to have an off-day, it just doesn't happen," she said.