Majestic Kilkerrin-Clonberne complete their ‘drive for five’

St Ergnat's (Antrim) 1-5

WE have never seen a Galway GAA team like this before. One so superior that the normal standards of excellence no longer apply and boasting a mould-breaking group of players continuing to sweep all before them.

The headline feats from Saturday's All-Ireland Club Ladies Football Senior Final at Croke Park were Kilkerrin-Clonberne capturing a fifth title on the trot and extending their unbeaten championship run to a staggering 53 matches.

Regardless of what opposition turns up on All-Ireland day, Willie Ward's charges keep knocking it out of the park. No team can live with their sheer quality, cohesion, athleticism and savage desire. They remain in a league of their own.

That doesn't mean Kilkerrin-Clonberne are not tested here and there, but living with them for 60-plus minutes is a challenge which has proven beyond all rivals over the past five momentous seasons.

First-time finalists, St Ergnat's from Antrim, didn't roll over and were only two points behind at the interval, but they suffered badly in the third quarter when the champions gave full vent to their range of talents in stretching 2-8 to 1-2 clear by the 46th minute.

It hardly mattered that Kilkerrin-Clonberne – a tad surprisingly – wouldn't score again but the damage had been done. They are so used to winning now that losing is no longer part of their DNA. It was simply business as usual.

Despite all they have won, there is no erosion of standards within the camp. They have it every way and, undoubtedly, appreciate that this already protracted dominance of the ladies' football club scene won't last forever. In the meantime, Louise Ward and company continue to make hay.

Completing the 'Drive for Five' has become, for instance, an almost mythical challenge at inter-county level in hurling, but now we have a small GAA outpost in North Galway tearing up the record books, with the promise of even more to come.

During Kilkerrin-Clonberne's glorious era two players have set the tone – Nicola Ward and Olivia Divilly – and though both were again at the coalface on Saturday evening, their displays were overshadowed by a pair of sisters growing in influence.

The outstanding Siobhan Divilly repeatedly gathered-up possession around midfield like a combine harvester would lay waste to a field of wheat and was presented with the Player of the Match award, but her sister, Niamh, must have run her close for the accolade.

She was up and down the left flank all evening and typified the work ethic and hunger of a great team. But they had stars all over the field, not least in the Noone sisters. Hannah's storming runs through the centre must have broken St Ergnat's hearts; while Eva and Lynsey were full of tricks and movement.

Pictured: Siobhán Divilly of Kilkerrin-Clonberne gets her pass away against St Ergnat’s of Antrim during the All-Ireland Club Senior Ladies Football Final at Croke Park on Saturday. Photo: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile.