The Waterford ladies footballers host Cork today in the final group game of the Lidl National Ladies football league - a game where a win can secure their place in a league semi-final.
One win and one loss each is the tale of the tape for the teams who take to the Fraher Field from 2pm. The results are very similar for both sides, with each of them taking a scalp against Tipperary, but both succumbing to the pressure of the All-Ireland Champions Dublin.
Former Waterford star Michelle Ryan thinks that Ciaran Curran's team will be content with their early league outings, especially when the short run-in and limited preparation time are taken into account.
"I think Waterford would be delighted with having overcome the very stiff and tough challenge of Dublin in the sense that they got through it and then were able to put a win on against Tipperary last week. You know, they're coming into it [the Cork match] from a good place. Cork are coming in from the loss against Dublin last week and that was an absolute cracker of a game down in Pairc Ui Chaoimh last weekend."
"It's very interesting. It's poised to be one of the best games of the weekend if both teams can bring their A-game to it. I don't think Waterford are going to fear Cork too much going into this game. I've said it over the years, even though people will always say look Cork have the reputation that they have, the Waterford girls never fear playing Cork."
"Whenever they go out and play them; yes, they have the history behind them and they have the victories over the years but, when you're so familiar with a group of players, whether it's playing with them in colleges and against them in clubs and so on, you know their attributes, you know their strengths, but you also know that there are weaknesses there as well and if Waterford can exploit some of those weaknesses, then who knows what could happen tomorrow [Sunday]."
As with all intercounty games this year, the league is offering a sampler menu for teams who have one eye on the horizon and the Championship. A late return to Gaelic Games as we emerged from level 5 lockdown has meant that managers and players worked in isolation for a long period and the early league games were always going to offer up some less than stellar performances. Ryan reminds us that the players are human and the biggest prize on offer is always going to be swirling in their minds while they play out these league fixtures.
"The championship has to be there in the back of the mind, because it's so close in proximity to the league. That's why I think the Waterford camp will be very happy."
"I mean, if you were to put yourself in the Tipp camp, you are up against the All-Ireland Champions in your last league game, the very likely possibility is that you're entering into a relegation playoff in the next few weeks and then going straight into Championship. I mean, even mentally, that's not a great place to be in leading into a Championship campaign. That kind of negativity can feed into the group, it can be very hard to get yourself going again and pick yourself up for a Championship campaign that's just right around the corner. There's no break there to kind of gather yourself again."
"Waterford are poised in a lovely position. They've had tough challenges. They've been in a group with the two top teams of last year's Championship in this league, have got some great stiff competition, have performed well and will hopefully perform well again tomorrow [Sunday], then depending on tomorrow [Sunday], they might be preparing for a league semi-final, or else you know, there'll be back to no getting ready for a championship with the league put firmly behind them and no need to worry about a relegation playoff."
"I think it is very valuable to them in the sense that they're preparing for the championship. It is definitely in the back of their mind that they're getting to run out as many players. There was a good few subs brought on the first week as well and there is a nice little turnover there. So Ciaran Curran is getting to see enough people on the pitch in certain positions which can only bode well for the championship."
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3SdNZF7mK0Z3ouAnje5uAg?si=o2gY2jpuS1-ip2Xhx9t_7w
