Kennedy and team excited by another chance

By Joe Scully

For Tipperary captain Karen Kennedy, this Saturday’s semi-final can’t come around quick enough as her side look to finally qualify for an All-Ireland final after years of heartbreak stretching back to 2018.

In what will be another chance to qualify for a first final since 2006, the Thurles Sarsfields star feels the squad is raring to go, after a three-week break since the quarter final.

“There’s fierce excitement around the camp,” she said.

“We have just been working really hard the last few weeks and really looking forward to the challenge of another semi-final.

“It’s been three weeks since we last played a match, so really looking forward to getting out there again and hopefully we can get a performance from the team.”

Despite losing in six semi-finals in the last seven years, Kennedy doesn’t feel that those defeats will have any bearing on Saturday’s game. The past is firmly in the past and this game has been treated as another semi-final just as this year’s championship has been treated as just another All-Ireland all year.

“We take every championship as a new championship, and hope you take learnings from the year before,” she added.

“You don’t let it hold you back, and when it comes to Saturday it’s a new championship, a new semi-final and we’re just hoping to get the best performance out of ourselves.”

Kennedy knows Saturday’s test against a strong Galway side will be a tough challenge but hopes the improvements her side has made throughout the year will stand to them.

“We can take a lot of confidence from our year so far,” she added.

“Obviously, very disappointed after the Cork game, but the way the team has responded has been very positive, and again against Kilkenny the last day there are aspects of our play, we weren’t happy with, but to be able to respond on the day and come back and get the win was really important.

“Galway are going to be huge opposition, we have had some serious battles with them over the last few years, and there has been very little between us and we except the same on Saturday.

“Our main focus is just to get the best performance out of ourselves, and bringing the best we have to offer on the day and hopefully it will be enough to get over the line.”