It has been a quick few months for Kevin Reidy since he took charge of his first training session with the Mayo ladies’ team at the turn of the year. The Tuam native has seen in that time his side just get enough players together for the league opener against Tyrone where they lost by two points, pick up the pace, and made it back to the national league final after a gap of the year. Since that opening day defeat the Mayo panel has expanded with some old faces coming back and some new ones stepping up to the mark when it mattered.
Standing in the way of Reidy picking up his first national title with Mayo is the side he regards as the best in the country. “Whether we win, lose, or draw on Saturday Cork are the best team in the country at the minute and that won’t change until after the championship.” The recent past backs up Reidy’s statement, as the Rebelettes have won the last four All Ireland senior titles, in the same time winning three of the last four national league crowns, with Mayo’s win in 2007 being the only blot on their copy book. In 2007 Mayo knocked Cork out of the competition bringing to an end a 31 game unbeaten run the Leesiders had put together.
It’s what happens on the field
But that is all history and on Saturday it is all about what happens on the field during the 60 minutes of play, and that is what Reidy is looking towards. “It’s going to be tough and exciting, but that’s what finals are all about. The girls are well prepared and drilled and are ready to give it a real go against Cork.” Reidy also believes that this meeting with Cork will show how far his side have come in the past few months as the championship looms closer. “We will see on Saturday night how far we have come and where we need to improve, you only really get to judge yourself when you go up against the best that’s out there and that’s what we’ll do.”
And how does Reidy think his side have developed so far this season, according to the Tuam native that is hard to tell at the minute. “I don’t really know, in the league we won three games in the group stages and then drew against Laois in a tough game, but you could see in each game that we were making process. The semi-final against Laois, you could say showed we had progressed, but we were missing a few players the first time we played them, Cork are going to be the real acid test.
Meeting old rivals
This will be the first time that Mayo have faced Cork, since the ladies in red beat Mayo in the All Ireland football final in Croke Park in the autumn of 2007. And despite long term injury Mayo are fighting fit according to Reidy. “Everyone bar Helena Lohan is available for the game, which is a great help. There has been a lot of hard work done on the training ground since the win over Laois and there has been a great buzz about the place and all the girls are flying.
Since he took over Reidy has mixed youth with experience in most of the games as he tries to find his best 15, and having a more or less full panel to pick from means that he and his backroom team have not yet decided on the starting 15. “We’ve tried out a few different things in all the games so far this season, we haven’t decided on the team yet and there possibly will be a couple of changes from the semi-final. But when you have a great panel like we have you know that everyone who comes in will do the job they are asked and give their all.”
Break time after the final
With six weeks from the league final until the start of the championship on the under-card billing of the Mayo men’s team clash in McHale Park on June 20, a well deserved break will be taken after the league final on Sunday. “We’re going to take a couple of weeks off and then get back at it with a month to go before the semi-final, there are a lot of girls in the panel who are doing exams, so we have to think of that and they’ll need a break for that. But we’ll be back hard at it with a month to go before the championship starts and then it’s all go again.”
