Bourke driven to make the breakthrough
By Enda Treacy
After the disappointment of the National League semi-final defeat to Kilkenny, the Tipperary management and players alike have had a chance to reflect on the pros and cons of the campaign so far.
Along with the most recent Munster championship exit to Cork, it has still been a 2021 campaign that has been positive overall for the Premier ladies as they begin their quest for the All-Ireland title next Saturday.
A near-perfect performance against subsequent league winners Kilkenny didn’t produce the desired result and with this followed closely by another defeat against Cork, Tipperary heads will have surely dropped somewhat as a result.
Borris-Ileigh defender Julieanne Bourke has been a regular presence in the full-back line for Bill Mullaney’s side this year, and she was quick to point the positives to come out of the league campaign and feels the results will soon match the performances in the big games and the rewards are coming agonizingly close for this group of players.
“I think we’re really just building towards getting the big wins against the other top teams, she said.
“We went well in the league overall, but it was disappointing the way it finished in the league semi-final.”
The manner of the defeat to Kilkenny was understandably frustrating given how well the Premier women played for vast periods of the game and having led for so long, but Bourke believes that this isn’t enough if you want to put away the top teams.
“I suppose in patches of the games we’re playing extremely well and putting the teams under pressure, but we need to be putting it together for the full 60 minutes to win these games,” she said.
“But I think we’re definitely building towards those performances and hopefully they will come in time for the championship.”
The recent loss to Cork in the Munster semi-final won’t have created too much ire to the Tipp camp, but what is worrying is the fallibility against Cork that is becoming a regular occurrence but isn’t something Bourke wanted to get hung up on with championship following so closely after.
“Look, a Munster final would have been great to get to as well, but we didn’t get there so our focus now has definitely turned to the championship and winning an All-Ireland,” she remarked.
The goal has been consistent over the past number of years for this particular group of players and bridging that gap is proving difficult, but the disappointing results and setbacks along the way haven’t deterred them from getting to the summit and Bourke says the motivation is bigger than ever.
“To get to Croke Park and play in an All-Ireland final is what you dream of and it’s why you play. You want to play for Tipperary and play in these big games,” she said.
“We definitely feel we have the ability. The way the last few games have gone, I think we have to lose some before we start winning them, so we have confidence that we can do it and we’ve been working really hard to get it right in training so fingers crossed it will all go right for us come championship.”