A familiar scene is set for the 2017 Ladies Senior Singles 60x30 Myclubshop. ie All Ireland Final as the power of Limerick’s Martina McMahon, meets the clinical execution of Cork’s Catriona Casey once more.
This fixture could easily be referred to as another ‘Clash of the Titans’ as these two incredible athletes have met several times over the past year alone, and have dominated every code of handball this year. The battle began deep in early 2017, in an alley in Co Mayo, where McMahon took her first tournament of the year as the She’s Ace champion of the small alley
on a thrilling score line of 15-11, 10-15 & 11-8. Not to be out done, Casey came into the fray of the 2017 40x20 season and defeated McMahon on a convincing score-line of 21-5, 21-4. The two then locked horns in the One-Wall Munster Final, and the 60x30 Nationals Final, where, on both occasions, Casey continued her dominance as champion.
However, if the ‘Big Alley’ Nationals Final between these two contenders is anything to go by, we are all in for a spectacular 60x30 All Ireland Final. In a brief summation of the events that transpired that day, Martina McMahon took the first game with a score of 15-6. Only for Catriona Casey to snatch the second game on the same score. The tie break was an intense affair as McMahon served for the game at 9-5, Casey then showed nerves (and something else) of steel as she managed to come back and take the third game 11-10, a victory that would haunt and possibly define a lesser athlete than McMahon. Yet, as the stakes are higher, so too is the calibre of the competition. Ask any Handball player and they will tell you that to win an All- Ireland medal at senior level is not just a goal, but the goal. As such, we can expect both these handball playing machines to come out all guns blazing on the big day in the Croke Park alley.
Looking at past events, McMahon, as the reigning champion, will be feeling confident coming into this game. She has also had convincing wins in every game of her championship campaign so far this year, beating Westmeath’s Aoife McCarthy 21-8, 21-0. Then a comfortable display against Kilkenny’s Ciara Mahon in the All-Ireland semi-final saw McMahon progress to the final on a score line of 21-4, 21-10.
Casey is through to an automatic final due to a bye in her first round and a walk over from her Corkonian Doubles partner, Aishling O’Keefe in the semi-final round. Despite her path to the 2017 All Ireland Final, Casey will be under no illusion as to the task that lays ahead of her. Casey is rapidly becoming an incredibly decorated player having competed in the last five 60x30 All Ireland Finals, and winning all but last year’s. McMahon has been a competitor in the last three All Ireland Finals and emerged as the first-time victor in last year’s battle.
Wherever your allegiance may lie, this game is surely one that is not to be missed, it is guaranteed to have even the most neutral spectator on the edge of their seat. These two players have broken down every proverbial glass wall that a female handball player can face, and have proven their worth of having the same spotlight as every men’s game. Whatever the outcome of today’s final, both players can be extremely proud of their contribution to the sport of handball, and let us not forget, that this is only the beginning.