Junior Championship Match Preview

At 11.30am this Sunday 5th October, Tir Chonail Gaels grounds in Greenford London will play host to the London Junior Championship Final.

It is truly a North/South battle with the girls in red and white from John Mitchell's Birmingham taking on the blue and white of Tara Camogie London. Given the intensity of these two teams' previous encounters, as well as the exceptional standard of Junior camogie this year in the championship, the spectators in Greenford are, undoubtedly, in for yet another great match.

For John Mitchell's it has not been too long since they can remember the buzz of championship final day and the sweet taste of victory, having been champions in 2012. For the Tara girls, it has been five long years since they have been Junior champions and so it will be interesting to see whether their hunger for success will trump Mitchel's recent winning experience in the competition.

Both teams have had their fair share of difficult matches to make it to this stage of the competition and having played each other in not only the Junior Championship but also the League, neither team will go into this final underestimating their opponent. Previous battles between the two have been tightly contested with skilful displays of camogie, and both teams will no doubt be fired up for Sunday.

John Mitchell's, under the guidance of coach John Bergin (Kilkenny) finished second in the group stages with wins throughout their campaign against Brothers Pearse, Erin go Bragh, Michael Cusacks and Tara. Some excellent performances of team work, determination and excellent individual scoring helped underpin these victories. A defeat to Croydon by a mere two points meant that the girls from the North narrowly missed out on finishing on top of the group stages but had more than made their mark on the competition and set an extremely high bench mark from early on.

Taras, under the guidance of coach Alan Smyth (Galway) had a slightly more difficult route to the semis, due primarily to a lack of available players early on in the season. A first round defeat to John Mitchel's did not however seem to dampen the West Londoners spirit or drive. Wins soon followed against Brothers Pearse, Michael Cusacks, Erin go Bragh and Croydon. A last round draw against Green Isles, where the south east Londoners equalised with a last ditch goal meant that the Taras finished third in the group stages. The Tara backline showed it's experience throughout the campaign and was the driving force behind the team. Couple this with some great additions along the year and the team seemed to grow in strength and confidence as the competition went on.

The semi-finals held on Saturday 20th September provided two wildly contrasting games. In the first semi-final, old rivals Tara and Croydon could not be separated after 60 minutes of exceptional camogie and so the match went to extra time. Only after an additional 20 minutes of play could the teams be divided, with Tara emerging victorious on a scoreline of 5-4 to 1-5 despite a fantastic display by the Croydon team. In the second semi-final, John Mitchells proved too strong for Green Isles, and emerged victorious on a comfortable scoreline of 8.12 to 1.2 thanks once again to their on target forwards and attacking midfield.

With both semi-finals done and dusted, the final two were decided and preparations could begin in earnest for the final that both teams had so desperately longed to reach.

With nothing separating these teams, Sunday promises to be the pinnacle of Junior camogie this year in the County. Tara will be looking to their experienced players Joni Traynor, Emer Kelly, Anna Nyhan and Dearbhail O'Rourke to help push them over the line. Couple this with the attacking Mary Fenton, Orla Tynan and Eilish O'Neill, and the girls in blue and white will hope that they have what it takes to bring the cup back to West London.

For the mid-landers, all eyes will be on pocket rocket Aoife Murphy to cause the Tara backline endless misery. The Birmingham girls will too be looking for the experience of Noelle Devlin, Rebecca Molloy and Alice Quinn to be the driving force behind their play on Sunday and make the long journey back north a celebratory one home.

Throw in is at 11.30am, with referee M.Magin taking charge of affairs.

The London County Board wishes both teams the utmost luck in the final, and gives thanks in advance to all match officials and those at TCG for the use of the facilities.

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