Stagg proud of new generation of All-Ireland winners

It’s commonly said of coaches and managers that they might mentally kick every ball with their players, but that felt doubly true of Sinéad Stagg on the sideline for Ballinrobe Community School last Tuesday.

She wasn’t just a coach and a manager , but also a former player who knew exactly what it was like to compete in an All-Ireland final with the people you sit beside in school every day, all while playing in front of many more.

Out on the field for Ballinrobe, as well as Sinéad’s daughter Chloe, Ali Hughes, Emily Jennings and Tara Fitzpatrick were daughters of players who had been part of the school’s incredible run of success three decades ago.

That made it all the more emotional for Stagg to watch this team come through to secure an impressive All-Ireland final win.

“It's very tough being on the sideline when you're not in control of what's going out on the pitch”, she remarked.

“When BCS won so much in the 1990s, that's when Mayo ladies started to flourish, you had so many future county players that were part of that school team, and what's lovely is that there's parents out there that I went to school with, I sat beside them in class and their daughters are playing here today, it's very special”.

A special emotional occasion certainly, but a masterclass in defensive football too.

“We had a lot of upheaval but that affected St. Anne's as well, and our girls didn't let it affect them, they worked really hard and took their chances when they came.

“Our defence has been strong, even in the semi-final when it went to extra-time, they tackled with great energy. We knew that was a goal-hungry St. Anne's team and that as long as we kept the goals out, we’d be in a good place. When you looked at the scores that they came in with, 6-5 to 0-11, you worked awfully hard to get eleven points, but goals win matches, it's a cliché but it's true,” said Stagg.

Goals may have helped to win the game, but so too did five points from Sinéad’s daughter Chloe. On paper, the team was down a hugely influential player with Chloe’s older sister Emma still recovering from her cruciate ligament injury, but a flawless display from dead ball opportunities helped keep the scoreboard moving at times when defences at both ends were on top of things.

“It is very emotional, I've three daughters playing football, one of them popped the frees over today when we needed them and that was very important, if we'd Emma I wouldn't have felt as much stress! She'll be back on the field too and we're all looking forward to that, but the players that were out on the field today, they showed the resilience and the workrate and they delivered on everything that we worked on. They’re a wonderful group, and we’ll see a lot more from them I’ve no doubt.”