Regina hails ‘cool heads’ in the heat of battle

Swinford-Killasser forward Regina Mullaney was full of praise for her teammates after the East Mayo side’s victory against Parke-Keelogues-Crimlin in Sunday’s Mayo LGFA Junior Championship final.

Mullaney scored 1-3 in the final and her free in the 52nd minute kickstarted a late purple patch that saw her side take control of the game, having trailed by two points in a tight game. The contribution ultimately helped to secure the county title.

“We felt hard done by last year. We were relegated and were plagued with injuries that left us in that situation,” said Mullaney, whose daughters Katie and Rachel were among the Swinford-Killasser substitutes.

“Our aim from the start of the year was to get back up and win junior. We had a good management team behind us and everyone was in good form coming into the game.

“The cool heads won it for us in the end today, we were able to hold possession and keep our lead and see the game out.” 

Mullaney, who helped her native Roscommon win an All-Ireland Junior title in 2001, said the conditions made it difficult, particularly in the closing stages, but that it only made the victory all the better.

“That wind was swirling a bit. It had been more in our favour in the first-half than in the second, so it was hard for the ball to come up to us in the forwards in the second-half,” she said.

“To be fair to the girls, they dug deep when we needed it most and we got on top at the right time towards the end.” Manager Justin McDonagh joined in with the plaudits for his side.

“It was a very tough game overall and came right down to the end where we just about came out on the right side of the scoreline,” he said.

“The wind was against us in the second-half but in the last six or seven minutes we stood up as a team and that got us over the line.” “We had a lot of training sessions and hard work put in from the beginning of January and that showed out there today.”