Drom’s focus shifts to the past

By Thomas Conway

Most expected it to pan out this way. Statistics can often be misleading, but the scoring data generated on both teams did give a pretty clear indication of the outcome which might emerge.

Prior to Saturday's county-final, Drom had a hit a total of 9-112 (129 points) and conceded 4-44 (56 points). Clonoulty, meanwhile, had registered 11-78 (111 points), conceding 6-60 (78 points).

Large wins during the group stages do of course have to be factored in, and finals tend to take on a life of their own - supposedly anyway. This one certainly wasn’t surprising, but it wasn’t straightforward either. Drom ended a miniature goal drought with a hat-trick of first-half goals, and yet Clonoulty still managed to utilise their slightly limited scoring arsenal (Cáit Devane and Casey Hennessy) to good effect. Speaking after the game, Drom & Inch manager Pat Ryan emphasised that his side were under no illusions at half-time. They knew Clonoulty would return to the field a different force, eager to make amends for events before the interval.

"The first thing we said at half-time was that they're going to come at us,” he said.

“And with the calibre of players that they have, they were going to come back at us. And the third quarter is when that can happen - it's the moving quarter. Either we were going to move on, or they were going to come back at us. And to their credit, they came back at us like a tonne of bricks."

Ryan is genuine in his praise of Clonoulty/Rossmore, which have impressed this season despite several setbacks and losses. There was a look of absolute delight on his face when he spoke about his own players. He cares about them on an emotional level, and perhaps that is why Drom have overcome past disappointment to achieve their present success.

"We just seem to find a way to grind it out every time,” he felt.

“The experienced girls come to the fore. To me, Miriam Campion gave an exhibition - every time the ball went up to the half-forward line, she was there, and she scored a fantastic goal as well in the first-half. I'm so delighted for Niamh Long as well - she's been there, working so hard, for years, and today she was great again. Look, everyone just pushes each other on, all the players. They're a credit to each other.

Drom & Inch have always produced high-calibre players, but over the past three years Pat Ryan has assembled those individual talents into a fine-tuned collective which operates with fluent efficiency. Their forwards play off one another, dissecting the opposition with slick stick-passing and brilliant movement. Along with free-taking ace Eimear McGrath, Niamh Treacy was instrumental in Saturday’s victory, helping to ensure her side got to grips with the Clonoulty revival. Throughout the season, Drom have deployed the Tipperary panellist as an attack-oriented wing-back, quickly making her synonymous with powerful deliveries to the full-forward line and piercing solo-runs up the field. Saturday saw her use both those assets, and while her defensive abilities were also key, Treacy has a forward-looking mindset which reflects her style of play. As soon as the final whistle had been blown last Saturday afternoon, her thoughts were already turning to next weekend’s delayed 2020 Munster Final.

"We're just delighted with today, and buzzing as well for next weekend,” Treacy said.

“It would have been very hard to prepare for a Munster Final if we had lost here today. So, there are great vibes now, positive vibes. We're all a team. We work as a team, we fight for each other, we're just completely dogged. Every single one of the players today, 1 to 15, and Siobhán off the bench, was just unbelievable."