PREVIEW | Limerick Ladies SFC Title on the line as St Ailbes and Monagea face off once more

The undefeated teams meet in a titanic Limerick Ladies SFC Final this weekend.

Familiar faces do battle in this Sunday’s Limerick Ladies Senior Football Championship final as defending champions Monagea take on St Ailbes.

Bruff will host encounter which throws in at 1.30pm this Sunday.

For Monagea, it will be a sixth successive final as they bid to defend their title for the first time ever. Indeed, the last team to beat them in the championship was this weekend’s opponents in the 2020 decider.

On that occasion, Ailbes were 0-9 to 1-4 victors to retain the title they won at the expense of Monagea twelve months previously.

Last Ten Senior Football Championship Winners

• 2021: Monagea
• 2020: St. Ailbes
• 2019: St. Ailbes
• 2018: Monagea
• 2017: Ballylanders
• 2016: Ballylanders
• 2015: Ballylanders
• 2014: Monagea
• 2013: Mungret/St. Pauls
• 2012: St. Ailbes

Between them, they have won seven of the last eleven title on offer, Monagea with three and Ailbes winning four in that span.

This year, both have been the standout teams, holding 100% records coming into the final. Monagea did get a scare in their semi-final as Ballylanders took them to extra time in a repeat of last year’s decider. But the girls from the West outlasted their opponents with a 0-13 to 0-12 win AET.

That made it four wins on the trot for Monagea who won each of their group games to qualify directly to the semi-finals.

Monagea

• Rd1: Bt Drom Broadford 1-8 : 0-3
• Rd2: Bt St Brigids 4-7 : 1-7
• Rd3: Bt Old Mill 3-10 : 1-7
• SF: Bt Ballylanders 0-13 : 0-12 AET

Equally, St Ailbes have won each of their games thus far, a pair in the group stages before they powered past Drom Broadford in the semi-final.

They were imperious in their opener with Feohanagh Castlemahon before coming through their tie with Ballylanders which was essentially a quarter-final. After being pushed by last year’s Intermediate champions in Wednesday’s semi-final, a quickfire double of goals helped them past Drom to set up another clash with Monagea.

St. Ailbes

• Rd1: Bt Feohanagh Castlemahon 3-8 : 0-11
• Rd2: Bt Ballylanders 3-6 : 2-8
• SF: Drom Broadford 2-11 : 0-8

The teams last met in the semi-finals of the competition in the 2021 semi-final where Monagea eventually got one over on Ailbes after successive final losses.

In Clarina, Monagea laid out their intentions from the start as they raced into a 1-8 to 0-0 lead at the half with Grace Lee grabbing the goal. St Ailbes replied from the returning Mairead Kavanagh but it was too little too late as Monagea secured a 1-9 to 1-3 before beating Ballylanders in the final to earn a third title.

If they copy the success this Sunday they will claim a fourth ever title but if final history repeats itself, it will be Ailbes standing tall come the final whistle.

Monagea take on St Ailbes in the 2022 Limerick Ladies Senior Football Final on Sunday September 25th at 1.30pm in Bruff.