Enda and St Joseph’s relishing chance to take on Manor juggernaut​ in Leitrim LGFA SFC Final

If one team truly knows what facing Glencar Manorhamilton is like, it is St Joseph’s but as they prepare for Saturday’s LGFA SFC Final, manager Enda Lyons is relishing the chance to take on a team he describes as a juggernaut!

“Saturday is absolutely massive for us,” Enda told the Observer, “The girls have been here before, this is my first county final coaching a Ladies team so very exciting for me personally and obviously, the girls are really looking forward to it. But we have an uphill task against the most consistent team in Leitrim over the last five or six years.

“For our girls, the final is an opportunity to be better than you were in the previous one so we have to be better. We have to raise our game because of the standards that Manorhamilton have set, that’s up to us to do that but in the last number of years, there has really been nothing between both teams.”

St Joseph’s suffered two defeats in their opening two games but have really found form since, something Enda attributes to his player’s resilience: “When your backs are against the wall, you see what you have and we’ve played with great determination, put our shoulders to the wheel and done everything they could to get to the final.

“The semi-final was a huge challenge for us, with extra time, but it showed that the girls have that mentality, that they’re never going to give up, they’ll give everything that they have and they’ve shown that in the championship since the first two defeats.”

Star forward Kate Gormley is an injury worry with a hamstring but Enda believes St Joseph’s showed in the semi-final that they can compensate for her absence: “Kate is a quality forward, a huge part of our team but Kate doesn’t get the ball if the other girls don’t do their job. If we’re not going to win the ball, she isn’t going to get the scores.

“The fact that we’re able to win without Kate against St Mary’s has given the group a huge lift to our confidence and everybody is fighting for their place, it is a clean slate for the final and as a collective, we have some really good players.

“We have some good players coming off the bench that are starting to win us games and we’re starting to develop some depth. Our experienced players are driving standards but that is the culture we’ve tried to bring in this year, that everybody is equal, there is no difference if you have championship medals or you don’t.”

With the introduction of younger players, Enda believes it bodes well for the future of St Joseph’s: “That’s the sign of a very, very good club, that we’re producing these players that are able to step up and play Senior level and that is what we have to do for the longevity of St Joseph’s.

“This year in the championship, we’ve had six debuts, ranging from 14 to 17, so I think that shows we’re going in the right direction.The younger girls have brought freshness to the team but to be fair, the older girls have responded and driven it on even further.”

As for prediction, Enda concedes that while St Joseph’s are underdogs, they won’t leave a stone unturned in pursuit of victory: “Finals are there to be won, we’re not there to make up numbers but we have to be very, very good and maybe Manorhamilton not be for us to win the match.

“It won’t be for a lack of preparation or anything from the girls, all I can ask for is that every girl comes off the field with no regrets and if we do that, we’ll see where it takes us. But we’re coming up against a juggernaut in Manorhamilton but we’ll do everything in our power to get across the line and not worry about Manorhamilton.

“We’re very much looking forward to it, I’m very much looking forward to it because it is my first year involved with Ladies football, it is a different dynamic. We’re trying to do the right things and bring standards to a place that will ultimately lead us to success. We just need to get across the line, break that barrier and win the Cup.”