St Munna's reach their first All-Ireland final
Following on from their Leinster success, St Munna’s booked their place in the All-Ireland Junior ‘B’ final with a comprehensive victory over London’s Croydon, at Abbotstown GAA centre on Saturday.
The Westmeath club will contest their first ever All-Ireland final on Saturday week when they take on Crossmaglen Rangers at the same venue and it will be a proud day for the parish of Turin and surrounding areas. Manager Paddy Maloney was thrilled with the victory and felt St Munna’s were always the superior side once they found their feet.
“St Munna’s never won a Leinster title before and this was their first time in an All-Ireland semi-final, so you are bound to be nervous and jittery from the start. When that first goal went in, they kicked on and won it comfortably enough,” he remarked following Saturday’s victory.
The Castletown Geoghegan man acknowledged the effort of London side, Croydon, but felt St Munna’s were worthy victors on the day.
“I’m over the moon with the outcome. They are a super group of players and they deserve nothing less than to be in an All-Ireland final given the work they have put in all year. Fair play to Croydon having come all the way from London: they got stuck in and played good hurling. You would have to hand it to them, but St Munna’s were the better team on the day,” he said.
St Munna’s knew very little about Saturday’s semi-final opponents, but two first half goals from Sandra McGrath sent them on their way to a 3-16 to 0-2 win - quite empathic in the end.
“I got a little bit of information, but not a lot. The first 15 minutes were about settling and getting the match-ups right, but we did that. We had enough homework done to get over the line,” observed Maloney.
“In fairness to Sandra, she gave everything she had. She’s a county player and she really stood out, but from one to 20, the girls were excellent. Every player involved was excellent and I can only compliment them.”
St Munna’s will have to turn their attentions to Ulster opposition in the final as they face Armagh’s Crossmaglen Rangers, who were 7-12 to 1-3 winners against Roscommon Gaels in the other semi-final.
“We are looking forward to the All-Ireland final now - we might have the Christmas dinner together we’re playing together that long! Crossmaglen Rangers won easy enough (against Roscommon Gaels), but we will settle down again this week and get ready for the All-Ireland final. It’s great for the club and the community,” remarked Maloney.
Goal scoring heroine Sandra McGrath said St Munna’s are aware a tough assignment awaits in the All-Ireland final.
“They are going to provide a huge battle. We know, an Armagh team - they are not going to make it easy at all. We just have to do the homework and just put the heads down. We have to enjoy the journey as well, these finals don’t come around too often. And certainly not at my stage in my playing career. So we will try and enjoy every bit of it,” she said.