Character.
You don’t represent your county at Castlebar without it.
You don’t deny Galway a fifth provincial title on the trot with none of it.
You don’t play on for 50 minutes with a broken hand without character.
Mayo ladies had enough of waiting. They had enough of second best and, with women like Martha Carter and Cora Staunton, there was absolutely no way they were leaving Elverys MacHale Park on Sunday without the Connacht championship.
Staunton admitted earlier in the year that she had a long think about whether she’d be turning out for Mayo again.
One Connacht final and one ridiculous personal tally of 2-14 later and it’s easy to see that she had unfinished business. It’s easy to see that she made the right decision to stay on and lead her county to their first provincial title since 2011 with a stunning 3-20 to 0-16 win over Galway.
If Staunton was the game-winner though, Martha Carter was the inspiration and her grit, her resolve, her heart epitomised the attitude of the Mayo ladies and their refusal to lose on Sunday.
And the Mayo girls have their say as a hungry and determined side deny Galway 5 in a row@Mayo_LGFA @LadiesFootball
— Mayo LGFA (@Mayo_LGFA) July 3, 2016
Carter broke her hand. After 10 minutes. She played on. The whole match.
The centre back wasn’t going to leave the field beaten on Sunday. She wasn’t going to leave the field, simple as that.
“Character always wins in sport and we’d often say that,” Mayo manager Frank Browne is quoted as saying in the Mayo Advertiser.
“Martha Carter broke her hand in the first ten minutes and that’s character, that’s fight and that’s exactly what you need and that’s what they all gave.
“So we said at half time: when your legs are tired, just look at Martha. Her hand is broken. What you’re doing is only minor.”
Character.
Clip via Ladies Football TV.
