Relentless Banner Ladies still looking to raise the bar

Despite being the barometer by which other teams within Clare measure themselves, Banner Ladies manager JJ O’Dea insists that his side are trying to raise the bar.

With the Ennis club aiming to win their 13th county title in 15 years, O’Dea maintains that blending young players in to his side is a necessity if the club are to stay ahead of the chasing pack.

Despite possessing players of the ilk of Niamh O’Dea, Laurie Ryan and Gráinne Nolan, Banner Ladies have continued to give youth its chance with Caoimhe Cahill, Keelin Fitzgerald, Emer Burke,

Caoimhe Ryan and Gráinne Burke all plying their trade at adult level after impressing at underage with club and county.

“We have to blend youth. The most important teams, in any club is the U-10s or U-8s because they are the future of the club. This team didn’t happen overnight. We worked hard to get this group together. People think we are a big club, but we have a small and very good committee. We have to keep our house in order and we do that by bringing players through.”

He believes that the steady supply of younger players in to the panel helps to offset the possibility of complacency creeping in to the ranks.

“For us it’s always about the next game, next attack, next ball so complacency isn’t a problem. There are always new girls looking to push on so we have some players in their first final. The younger ones keep the other girls under pressure for places which helps build a squad.”

As Banner Ladies try to achieve a three on a row of county final successes after being upset by Kilmihil in 2019, O’Dea admits that his side are forced to deal with the pressure of being the side hunted down by the chasing pack.

“When you are winning everyone wants to take you down. We are probably hated a small bit because everyone wants to win. We are always trying to raise the standards. We want to play football at the highest standard possible. Outside of the county we still need to step it up more so there’s always room to improve.”

The defending champions have welcomed Naomi Carroll back in to their ranks as she first featured during Banner Ladies’ win over St. Joseph’s Doora Barefield in the round robin series.

Meanwhile, Aoibheann Malone is out with a cruciate injury while Siobhán McMahon (studying abroad) and Louise Woods (travelling) are also absent. Clare Hehir (ankle) and Eva O’Dea (shoulder) are in a race against time to feature on Sunday.

Despite a 10 point victory over this Sunday’s opponents in last year’s decider, O’Dea believes his side are facing a formidable Kilmihil challenge.

“It will be a close final so hopefully we can come out the right side. They have a great football tradition, but I’d like to think we do too. Football is meant to be enjoyed so we want to go out and play our game.”