McLoughlin’s Mayo minors set for Connacht Final test

There’s no doubt about it, from the very second you first pick up a football in Mayo, your dream is to pick up a provincial or national title.

On Saturday, Mayo Minor girls stand 60 minutes away from doing just that, and securing the title of Connacht champions.

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Brian McLoughlin’s side will travel to Bekan knowing that their Galway counterparts will be aiming to ensure Mayo don’t do the double on them, having already beaten the girls in maroon earlier on in the campaign.

Saturday’s tussle will be one which has been earmarked from Day One in the Green and Red camp.

Many of these girls have plenty of recent experience of the nerves and pressure a day like this can bring. The likes of Anna Roche, Isobel Phillips, and Lily Hession were all to the fore as Mount Saint Michael secured All-Ireland final glory earlier in the season, with the latter putting in a player-of-the-match performance that day.

The team’s captain, Kate Brennan, is no stranger to guiding a side to silverware either. The half-back lifted the All-Ireland ‘C’ Schools’ Championship for Ballinrobe Community School, and she’ll be vying to add another honour to her collection ahead of her Galway counterpart Alisha O’Malley.

The likes of Kayla Doherty, who has made a raft of appearances for Liam MacHale’s senior side, and Kate Byrne, who chipped in with 2-2 against Roscommon and 3-3 against Leitrim, have been on fire up top.

The girls from Galway have been in sparkling form themselves. Terry Delaney’s charges have been excellent thus far, with the Mayo game the only blot on their copybook in the league phase of the competition.

O’Malley was on the panel when Galway tasted All-Ireland glory in 2023, and knows what it takes to win, and netted in the 2024 Connacht final between the same sides.

Leanne Seoighe was also a standout performer in that game, and she’ll take some watching.

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If Mayo can repeat some of their stunning offensive performances and keep some sort of control on Galway’s forwards, who have averaged almost 30 points a game and come into the game as the top Championship scorers, then they’ll have every chance of leaving the Connacht Centre of Excellence with the silverware in tow.

VERDICT: Mayo