Ward steeled by past losses ahead of date with destiny
WINNERS never forget the losses, the ones that got away. Kilkerrin/Clonberne captain Louise Ward certainly doesn’t, still rankled by the ghost of a defeat of eight years ago that by now should have been laid to rest.
In 2012, Kilkerrin/Clonberne were within moments — several times —of securing a place in the All-Ireland intermediate club final, only to draw with Parnell’s of London after two periods of extra-time first day out, before losing out in the replay on a 3-11 to 2-8 scoreline.
While Ward, who along with her sister Nicola collected her first ever All-Star award last Saturday, remembers having chances in the drawn game to win it, what haunts her more is that Parnell’s went on to win the All-Ireland by a landslide.
“We had chances in that (drawn) game to win it. They went on to beat Cahir of Tipperary by a good margin in the final, by 15 points (2-14 to 1-2), and it hurt because we had been so close to them.
“So, they beat us in a replay up in Emyvale in 2012, and then, obviously, we lost All-Ireland senior semi-finals to Termon (Donegal) in 2014 and Mourneabbey (Cork) in 2015 and 2018. So, to finally get past that barrier — the semi-final stage — this year was massive, from a psychological point of view more than anything.”
Indeed, their 5-12 to 2-10 victory over Leinster champions Foxrock/Cabinteely a fortnight ago was nothing less than impressive. For county star Ward, it was also satisfying to put one over a Dublin team, having lost out with the Tribeswomen to Dublin in last September’s All-Ireland final.
“It was nice to finally get one over a Dublin team,” she admits. “We had an element of confidence about us going into it; I think we knew what we were capable of, and we always know that if we can get a good performance we will be there or thereabouts.”
They now face title holders Mourneabbey, a side they have lost to on the previous two championship occasions they have met. However, Ward says with each passing year, the Kilkerrin/Clonberne players getting older, more experienced, and better conditioned. The latter can only happen by design.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
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