PREVIEW: Tipp ladies travel into the dragon's den to tackle fancied Meath side this Sunday

Lidl Ladies Senior Football Championship quarter-final

Tipperary vs Meath, Sunday, July 6 in Pairc Tailteann, Navan @ 5:30pm

It doesn’t get any easier for Tipperary lady footballers in their quest for a first All-Ireland senior title in 45 years when they travel to take on form side Meath in Navan on Sunday in the quarter finals.

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It’s a big test for the side but one they earned with a hugely impressive win over Donegal in their final group game at Bansha on Sunday week last.

Manager Ed Burke has said that many of his post-match interviews this season contained words such as “what if, but and maybe” as too often he saw his side struggle to reach the levels that he knows they are capable of.

But after the Donegal game, he had nothing but praise for the team, lauding the excellent performance and the control and game-management shown by the players. 

Too often, he had seen his side start impressively, build up a lead and then fall into a lull period that allowed the opposition back in contention.

That nearly happened again against Donegal, seeing a seven points lead dwindle to just one, but this time the players dug deep and controlled the final quarter to see them progress to the knock-out stages for the first time in forty five years – that was the last time they the won the All Ireland in 1980, with a 1-1 to 0-1 win over Cavan in the final.

That resolve and determination shown against Donegal will now be needed again against Meath. Tipperary are ahead of the Leinster side in the roll of honour, with three wins to Meath’s two, but Meath’s were much more recent, back-to-back wins in 2021 and 2022, and they still remain one of the top teams in the game.

They topped their qualifying group with a draw against Armagh and a win over Kildare, and in Vikki Wall, have one of the most exciting and dangerous players in ladies' football. 

She was not only crucial to their double All-Ireland win but, since then, has played AFL in Australia with Melbourne, as well as international rugby with the Ireland Ladies Sevens team.

Manager Ed Burke will be impressing on his players the importance of keeping a close watch on Wall, but the Meath management will also be well aware of the threat to them from Tipperary’s marquee forward, and another whose talents took her to ply her trade in Australia, Aisling Moloney.

The Cahir player has enjoyed All-Ireland success with Tipperary intermediates, but a senior success would be the crowning glory for a player who has given ten years of her life to the county jersey.

After the Donegal game, she spoke about the confidence that the team had going into the winner-takes-all contest, and how that mentality had helped them to navigate through some difficult periods in the game, especially when that seven-point lead was reduced to one. 

“The mental composure that we showed was massive, probably the first time in years that we have shown that”, she said.

Moloney is also conscious of the significance of Tipperary’s run to the All-Ireland quarter finals, where they join other big names such as Dublin, Kerry, Galway and Cork, in the promotion of the game at home.

She said; “There’s a massive push going on in the development of young girls in Tipperary. We have thousands of little girls playing now, which is incredible. It means more than what you see in a game, it means more than winning a match, it’s finally the pride for everyone in getting over the line”.

Moloney can expect close attention from the Meath defenders, but that can open opportunities for others. Manager Burke has said that some teams might feel that if you mark Aisling Moloney, then you mark Tipp out of the game. He disagrees.

Against Donegal, the Cahir player was tightly marked but still played a huge role with her fielding and distribution, and also allowed space for others. Against Meath, that could create the scoring opportunities for Anna Rose Kennedy, Emma Morrissey and Kirsty Crotty Ryan.

With players of the calibre of Vikky Wall, Emma Duggan and Marion Farrelly in the Meath attack, the Tipp defence will face a busy sixty minutes, but Maria Curley is a pillar of strength at centre half back, with the English sisters, Sarah and Clara, as well as Nora Martin, Lucy Spillane and Emma Cronin all tenacious tacklers. Team captain Lauren Fitzpatrick is a strong last line of defence in goal.

Tipperary have been slow to reach their full potential this year, but with the Donegal win, they might have just turned the corner with their best performance of the season to date, and they will take that confidence to Navan on Sunday (throw-in 5.15 pm) for what will be their biggest game in decades.

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