D Day for Tyrone Ladies

Sunday 12.04.2015

Club

The Tyrone ladies must secure a win on Sunday if they are to retain their division one status. After six rounds in the Tesco Homegrown National League it all comes down to the final game of the campaign against Laois. It’s literally win or bust for a Tyrone side who have struggled throughout what can only be described as a disappointing league season.

There was no-one surprised that the division one league campaign proved tough for Tyrone. A raft of players had opted to step away from the county set up, there were changes behind the scenes and this new look Tyrone side were forced to face five of their seven league games away from home. The fixture list resulted in trips to Cork, Monaghan and Dublin with only Kerry and Sunday’s opponents Laois making the trip north.

It has been frustrating for Tyrone who despite failing to secure any league points turned in some decent performances. The lack of fire power and several costly injuries have conspired to make life difficult too for a new look Tyrone. There has been frustration too. The lack of home games and a lack of respect from some national media despite the efforts of the players has galvanised the squad ahead of their final league fixture at Clanabogan Park.

Primary schools have been issued free tickets and local clubs will be involved in mini-games and there’s expected to be a real family feel aimed at attracting a bumper crowd to this must win fixture. County Chairman Martin Conway agreed that it’s a massive occasion.

“The senior players have worked hard behind the scenes to try and get the support out for this vital clash. Through the county coaches tickets have been sent out through the schools. It’s both county boards working closely together as well but to their credit the players have been the driving force behind this. They deserve credit for those efforts and we all hope a big crowd comes along on Sunday afternoon. It will be special, indeed extra special if the team can get the win”

Tyrone are presently sitting second from bottom in the division one table. They suffered heavy losses to Dublin and Monaghan but ran Kerry and Mayo close. In that Mayo clash they hit a glut of wides and lost two key personnel, Emma Hegarty and Shannon Quinn to injury. That duo and Niamh O’Neill have returned to training ahead of Sunday’s home tie with Laois, while Shannon Lynch who missed the game against Dublin because of illness is also 100% fit again, a timely boost for Tiffy Quinn and Tony McVeigh as they focus their side on a win.
The game in conjunction with match sponsors O’Neill International Sportswear, throws in at 2pm.