Kilkerrin Clonberne turn attention to All-Ireland semi-final

“When we needed it, the big players stepped up,” stated Ward. “From Nicola (Ward) at centre back driving up and Eva Noone, she just took on the field several times there, got some unbelievable points. Olivia (Divilly) as well. The big leaders came to the fore,”Kilkerrin Clonberne manager Willie Ward told Tribune Sport.

Kilkerrin Clonberne recorded a 1-15 to 1-7 victory over Knockmore to win their ninth provincial title in-a-row in Tuam Stadium on last Saturday afternoon.

“A really good test for us. I thought Knockmore played all the way to the end, and they kept playing their game. And they really, really, really tested us everywhere all over the pitch. We’re delighted to come out of it with the win.

“It was physical. It was intense. And there was nothing given easy anywhere. You had to fight for everything you got. The referee let us play, let the game flow. And you got a proper good contest and that’s what you want to see. And as an advertisement for football, it was very good.

“And that was mostly because we were playing a team that brought the game to us, which hasn’t happened very much this year yet.”

“We knew coming in that Knockmore were really going to test us,” added captain Louise Ward. “We knew the quality of their whole team. I think they had 11 starters that would have had Mayo inter-county experience. Any team that comes out of Mayo is going to be difficult.

“You want to be tested. Sometimes when you’re coming through games and you’re winning by 25 points, it’s not really good for us. You want to test people and see how they’re going to react to the pressure as well. We’re delighted to be at this stage again. Loads to work on.

“People are probably saying how do you have the bite and the appetite to come back every single year,” concluded the captain. “But when you have these little bit of history in front of you and things you’re trying to grab every time you go out, it’s brilliant to have something to play for.

“They just keep going on and on,” added Willie Ward about his players. “We’ll be looking for another really tough test coming up which will be at home in Clonberne in three weeks’ time. We’ll enjoy it now.”