By Daragh Small
She picked up the ball deep inside her own half, laid it off, and made her way up-field.
Sarah Dillon was just on as a substitute, and she had more energy than anyone else on the field at Parnell Park.
The 14-year-old kept going, she advanced into the Cahir half and, after four of her Milltown teammates combined, it was her turn on the ball. She took it and rifled it into the roof of the net – Dillon was always destined for greatness.
“Looking back on it now, it was all a blur,” said Dillon.
“I remember, Dad put me in for the last ten minutes and coming onto the pitch, it was the second ball I got my hands on, I got it around halfway and I kept running and running.
“Thankfully when I did kick it, it did go in. Our goalie made a save with the last kick of the game and that kind of secured it. It was absolutely brilliant. Everyone came out on the pitch as well.”
Dillon comes from a family steeped in gaelic games, and she grew up with just one field separating her house and the Milltown pitch.
Her father Tom, who previously wore Westmeath maroon, got involved early before his daughters, Tracey, Rachel and Sarah, joined up with the club. They would all go on to represent their county, too.
FOUR surgeries including an ACL but Sarah Dillon is back! See the @WestmeathLFGA girl score great goals SEVEN years apart & see the full story on the @LadiesFootball Facebook page.. #inspiration #ProperFan @SportTG4 pic.twitter.com/v3tyBmANPe
— Jerome Quinn (@JeromeQuinn) July 20, 2021
“Dad has been training me since I was U-6 or U-8,” said Dillon.
“I have been going over with him all the time. Just to go over to kick a few points with my brother and sisters.
“From a young age, watching dad play football the whole way up, I did nothing else, except go over with my friends after school, kicking around. We grew up in that environment and it has worked out, thank God.”
Milltown were crowned All-Ireland intermediate club champions in December 2015 when manager Tom called on his youngest daughter Sarah, to make the difference.
Their Tipperary counterparts boasted big names like Aishling Moloney and Aisling McCarthy, while Roisin Howard finished with 1-3 that day.
But it was the Dillon sisters who shone brightest in a 2-14 to 2-12 success, and four minutes after her arrival onto the pitch, the future TG4 Intermediate Players’ Player of the Year netted the winner.
“Mom was actually involved as well, she does first aid. It was great, all of us were together winning it, it was brilliant,” said Dillon.
That provided the perfect grounding for Dillon, who went on to star for Westmeath in last year’s TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate final. She scored 1-6 in the big win over Wexford at Croke Park and claimed the Player of the Match award.
But, before that, Dillon has suffered a dreadful bout of injuries that could have ended her career before it really got started.
She damaged her ACL for the first time in March 2016 and did it again in June 2018. Then a shoulder injury caught up with her in November 2019, before another shoulder setback in August 2020. But now she is fit and fighting on all fronts.
“Thank God, I actually feel the fittest I ever felt. I have a full pre-season under my belt. In the few League games, I’ve picked up nothing. I’m buzzing, thank God,” said Dillon.
“Hopefully I’ve turned over a new leaf.”
And while Dillon prepares for a crucial Lidl NFL clash with Galway tomorrow, and a Yoplait Lynch semi-final with her TUS Midlands teammates next week, there are others who are not quite so fortunate.
Lucy McCartan, who also scored a goal in the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate final last year, is out with a serious ACL injury. Another influential player, Vicky Carr, has a shoulder problem and Dillon’s sister, Rachel, remains on the comeback trail following her own ACL disaster.
“It’s so tough. You are looking at them and you know how challenging, mentally and physically, it is,” said Dillon.
“It is really tough to watch someone else go through it. So we will just be there to support them and make it as easy for them as it can be.”
And Westmeath have struggled in their absence at the start of 2022, resulting in their game against Galway this weekend taking on huge significance.
A relegation play-off looms large and Michael Finneran will be desperate to avoid the drop in his first season as manager.
But bereft of 18 players from last year’s All-Ireland winning squad, it makes his job that bit more difficult.
“We lost key leaders, Fiona Claffey, Jennifer Rogers, girls who had so much experience,” said Dillon.
“We are adjusting to new girls coming in. We have new management in as well. We did take a lot of learnings from our start this year and we did bring them into the Donegal game.
“We did have a better performance, we didn’t get a win but we got a lot from the Mayo game. We will see if we can get more from the Donegal game and bring that into the Galway game.”
But any team would struggle if the backbone was taken out of their squad, and that, coupled with injuries for McCartan and Carr, have resulted in back-to-back defeats in Division 1A.
“All we want to do is put up a performance and play as well as we can and not make mistakes,” said Dillon.
“Galway are in the same boat as us, they have two losses as well. It’s going to be a really competitive game for both of us. Hopefully we can come out on the good side of it but you never know. We will give it our best shot anyway.”
And while Dillon continues to give everything her best shot, she knows that last September’s stunning 4-19 to 0-6 win on the biggest stage could have been a poisoned chalice.
At just 20, it will hopefully not be the pinnacle of her career but she knows it may have softened the blow for others who headed for the exits.
“It is tough but that’s what happens,” said Dillon.
“But you can’t fault any of the girls for having left the group having gave so much to Westmeath ladies.
“Now there is a new phase of players coming through. We have to adjust to that. Our goal is to develop as a team and keep competing at Division 1 and senior level.
“If we can stay doing that for this year anyway, we will be happy and we will keep trying to progress each year.”
