Preview: TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Championship Junior Final:
Sunday 13th August
TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship Final
Down v Limerick in Croke Park at 11.45am.
Both sides have made changes ahead of the Final. For Down, Ciara Byrne at full-back and midfielder Aoife Laverty come into the starting line-up following the semi-final victory over Carlow, with Paige Smyth and Clara Mulvenna named on the bench.
Limerick’s Caoimhe McGrath made a huge scoring impact with six points after coming on in the semi-final victory over Fermanagh, and she earns a starting place, with Iris Kennelly dropping to the bench.
It was a case of fourth time lucky for Limerick in their recent TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship semi-final victory over Fermanagh – and now the Shannonsiders are aiming to get their hands on the West County Hotel Cup for the first time since 2018.
Having lost semi-finals in 2020, 2021 and 2022, Limerick finally cracked the last four code again to book their place in Sunday’s Croke Park decider against Down.
For Limerick’s opponents from the Mourne County, Sunday’s clash will mark a first Junior Final appearance since 2000, when they got the better of Galway.
That was Down’s one and only time to contest a Junior Final, as Limerick prepare for their fourth, having finished as runners-up against Antrim in 2009, before winning the silverware in 2010 and 2018.
The sides have met previously in the 2023 Championship, in a group fixture in Newcastlewest last month.
Down, Intermediate champions in 2014, ran out 1-13 to 1-8 winners on the day but prior to throw-in, both teams had already qualified for the knockout phase.
On the day, Limerick struggled to get to grips with Down’s outstanding forward Natasha Ferris, who scored 1-8.
Ferris is the current leader in the race for the 2023 ZuCar Golden Boot award, which will be won by the player who finishes as the leading scorer across the Senior, Intermediate and Junior grades in the 2023 TG4 All-Ireland series.
To date, Ferris has amassed an individual haul of 7-26, which is two points clear of her nearest challenger, Clare’s Fidelma Marrinan.
DOWN: A McGivern; A Greene, C Byrne, O Boyle; N McKibbin, M Doherty (capt.), O Duffy; A Laverty, A Brogan; N Scullion, V McCormack, L Duffy; E Fitzpatrick, N Ferris, A O’Higgins.
LIMERICK: C Bateman; A Quaid, Y Lee, M MacNamara; G Lee, L Walshe, L Ryan; R Ambrose (capt.), F Bradshaw; D Murphy, K O’Leary, C Mee; L Coughlan, A Ryan, C McGrath.