Major obstacle between ladies and a return to winning ways

The first of a double header in Kerry this Saturday will see the Mayo ladies look to kickstart a potentially great weekend for the Green and Red as they travel to Killarney (2.30pm) for what will be a tough task for Liam McHale’s young guns in Round 4 of the Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 1.

The meeting of the pair will evoke some painful memories from last year when the Kingdom ended Mayo’s championship hopes in Thurles, as Footballer of the Year Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh hit 1-10 to scupper Mayo’s journey at the semi-final stage for the third year in-a-row.

Kerry won the league for a twelfth time last year and look poised to reach another final after winning their opening three games against All-Ireland champions, Dublin, Waterford and Cork.

Ní Mhuircheartaigh, Niamh Ní Chonchúir, Danielle O’Leary and Hannah O’Donoghue were all involved in the win against Cork and it is expected they will all see action again as Kerry look to take a giant step towards another Division 1 final.

For Mayo, Liam McHale’s priorities at this stage will perhaps be more focused on keeping their place in the top flight for next season. Despite a good Mayo performance, Emma Duggan did the damage for Meath on the opening weekend as the home side fell to the Royals, and while the next performance did not reach the same levels, it was just about good enough to secure a much-needed two points against Galway – but not without a major scare as Roisin Leonard missed a free in the final seconds to level.

McHale’s young squad is on a steep learning curve following the withdrawals of Shauna Howley, Clodadh McManamon, Sarah Muvilhill and Roisin Flynn from the panel for this year, while Deirdre Doherty will miss the league but may yet return for championship.

That lack of experience reared its head when Mayo surrendered a nine-point lead against Dublin in Round 3, to lose by seven on what was an extremely windy day in Ballina. The All-Ireland champions used the gale force wind to their full advantage in the second-half in what was a disappointing loss for the Green and Red. However, Liam McHale does look to be settling on something close to his starting 15 for the remainder of the year. In goals, Hollymount’s Laura Brennan made her first appearance of the season against Dublin after coming in for Lisa Reid and she may keep her place. The defence has largely been a consistent pick with captain Soairse Lally, Nicola O’Malley, Danielle Caldwell, Kathryn Sullivan and Jenna Mortimer forming the majority of the six while Emma Needham or Lucy Wallace have taken the other spot.

Aoife Geraghty and Hannah Reape look to be McHale’s first choice midfield pairing at present while it is in attack where Mayo have changed things around.

Newcomers Fionnuala McLaughlin and Alana Fitzpatrick have impressed since coming in, while the team’s most experienced player, Fiona McHale, has excelled in hew new-full-forward role. Lisa Cafferky is also on fire, topping the league scoring charts with 4-8 in three games, with the deadly accurate Maria Cannon not far behind on 1-14.

Sinead Walsh and Tara Needham have also chipped in when needed and whoever starts this Saturday afternoon will have to be at their best to take down the Kerry machine. It’s a difficult task, but not an insurmountable one.

All four of the weekend’s Division 1 fixtures are available to view at StreamSport.ie.