DERRY GAA: Steelstown Ladies seek first Ulster Intermediate title against Glenavy

​Wednesday past was two years to the day since Steelstown Ladies stood on a sodden Augher pitch watching Kinawley be crowned 2021 Ulster Intermediate champions.

Brian Ogs' hearts had been broken by an injury time Roisin O'Reilly point after a game they should have won. It was the most cruel of finales, but back came Thomas Cusack's squad a year later only to be thwarted off the field of play at the semi-final stage when a late change of venue meant moving to a 3G surface. The city girls were already en route without the necessary footwear and the surface switch meant they were unable to fulfil lthe fixture. A controversial few days later, they were expelled from the competition.

Two such years would break lesser sides. But not Steelstown. They promptly returned for 2023 reinvigorated, recovering from a first Derry Championship loss since 2019 in their opening game against Glen to defeat the same opposition in the final and complete FOUR successive county titles.

Provincial victories over Omagh and Castleblayney followed to bring them back to the brink of a maiden Ulster Intermediate title. Standing in their way is the considerable challenge of Antrim champions, St. Joseph's, Glenavy but Brian Ogs manager Cusack is believes the memory of that day in Augher can help ensure a different outcome on Saturday in Carrickmore (2pm).

"No," was Cusack's emphatic response when asked if he felt his side had anything to prove in Ulster after last season.

"We are just going in there taking every game at a time. Even with the county championship, we just go out and try to take it game at a time. We always say it's about getting back on the training pitch on the Monday night. It's the same for Saturday.

"We'll go out and play the game in front of us. The girls are totally focused. They always come in, get the heads down, listen to what we are telling them and go out and try to put it on the pitch.

"Hopefully this will be our year. That final down in Augher in 2021, two of our forwards were out that year and they're back now so, yeah, we're in a good place but it's about bringing it all together now and seeing if we can get over the line.

"Experiences like 2021 will help because the girls remember that feeling, standing on that pitch watching Kinawley lifting the trophy. We've talked about that. It's something to help keep the focus and hopefully help make sure it doesn't happen again."

With a lovely mix of experience and youth and players like Orla McGeough right at the top of their game, Cusack's team have hit form at the perfect time but he knows they face a team on the rise in Glenavy who have made the step up from junior football seamlessly over recent years.

"Glenavy are a good side, I've seen a bit of them," added the Steelstown manager, "They have some good players so it will be about getting the match-ups right and then seeing how every one performs. No, they are a good team and play good football.

"They are young, but with a bit of experience sprinkled throughout the team, a bit like ourselves; maybe even a bit younger. They were in junior football a couple of years back but have been coming up with a good, young squad."

Steelstown's bid for glory will once again be backboned by the likes of Aoife McGough, Ciara McGurk and 2017 All Ireland Junior Players’ Player of the Year, Emma Doherty, who led the Brian Ogs to Ulster Junior glory in 2015. That was a first provincial title for the city club and they would dearly love to illustrate their undoubted progress since by adding the Intermediate version.

"In 2020 it was covid; in 2021 (we were) beat in the final and then last year's semi-final, well the less said about that the better, so hopefully this year will be the year," adds Cusack.

"We never really set Ulster as a target. We turn around and say, ‘Right we've win the county championship; that was out objective at the start of the year, so let's see where we go from here’.

"Everybody coming out of their own county, there are no bad teams in the Ulster Championship so it's for us to play week at a time and don't be listening to any noise about what is at the end of it, just week at a time with the goal of getting back on the training pitch the following Monday.

"That's the same for this game. Everybody is fit and ready, we're all good and have trained well this week. Picking the team is going to be the problem but there has been a good buzz about the place. The players are focused and looking forward to Saturday."