Grehan believes that camógs have turned a corner

Roscommon junior camogie manager, Mary Grehan, feels that her side are equipped to turn the tables on Armagh in this Saturday’s Centra Division 3A League final in Abbotstown (throw-in at 2 p.m.).

Armagh have beaten Roscommon three times over the past two years, including in last year’s league final and championship semi-final. An eight-point victory for the Orchard ladies in the opening round of this year’s league was another indicator of how the Ulster side have dominated this fixture, but Grehan is optimistic that her charges can spring a surprise and claim national honours.

“Do I believe that we’re as good as Armagh? I do. The difference with Armagh is that they’re a little more experienced. They have the benefit of playing in Croke Park. We played Westmeath recently, and 12 of my starting 15 were U-23.

“It is a factor, but the more times my players go out and play a team like Armagh, I think they’re less in awe of them. They know what’s expected of them. We play many of the same teams in the championship as we do in the league, so that’s something we’ve got to become accustomed to,” Grehan told the Roscommon Herald.

Grehan cited the league game against Armagh at the beginning of the campaign, highlighting how Roscommon gave their opponents a healthy headstart. A bad loss against Tyrone followed before victories and Wicklow and Kildare hinted at improvement.

“Every time we’ve played them, we get a measure of what’s expected at that level. We get a better insight into their players, and the pace and physicality at which they play at. If we can get things right on the day, and get the scores we’re capable of getting, we feel as if we’ve a chance.

“We conceded 1-3 in the first three and a half minutes the last day, and ended up losing by eight. We feel as if we’re very close to the point where we have the measure of them.

“We didn’t play well against Tyrone. We conceded four goals, but we still should have won the match. We created twice that many ourselves. We missed a penalty. Our main aim since that game has been to stop conceding goals, and that’s what we’ve done,” she pointed out.

Weather conditions have made it difficult to hone in on skill work, and Grehan admitted that Roscommon have dedicated the bulk of their training load towards fitness and physicality.

“It’s a different team to the side we had last year. Young girls have come into the panel, and they’ve brought great enthusiasm and freshness to the set-up.

“We’ve worked so hard on our fitness and physicality. We’re creating so many goal chances but just not getting them.

“I want all the players to step up. Everyone has a job. That’s the great thing about us — that we’re not solely relying on one player. The majority of our forwards have been on the scoreboard.

“We’re still trying to get our best team on the field because you want to give every girl a chance to prove herself. But the matches come thick and fast in league and championship. You’ve little time to work on things between the games,” she concluded.