‘Football is not just a physical game, you have to be mentally prepared as well’

The highly controversial yellow card shown to Vikki Wall against Kildare in the All-Ireland SFC recently sparked plenty of debate about whether the Meath and AFLW player is the victim of unfair treatment.

Part of Wall’s style is to bomb forward with determination and force. Opponents who get in her way, as they try to stop her, can be knocked off course, to put it mildly.

Some referees interpret that as charging, and therefore a foul, but Meath’s Mary Kate Lynch says such a viewpoint is unfair on her colleague.

She certainly feels Wall was harshly treated in the Kildare incident. It became the chief talking point from a game the Royals won, 0-7 to 0-4, and ensured top spot in the group and a home quarter-final against Tipperary in Pairc Tailteann next Sunday at 5.15pm..

“It’s very difficult because some refs interpret the rule one way, another might interpret it another,” she says. “It’s just very hard to know what’s the right thing to do.”

As a defender looking to stop marauding opponents Lynch certainly has reason to talk about the issue with more authority than most. “Sometimes you’ll have players who run into you, who go for you, and if you stand and make that tackle that goes against you.

“Referees, I think, have a hard job too because they don’t know what the rules are either. I think with Vikki, because she is such a strong, athletic player the call tends to go against her. That yellow card against Kildare was certainly very unfair.”

Among the more interesting statistics from this season is that Wall has been shown seven yellow cards while Lynch has picked up three.

Whatever about the cards, one statistic that remains uncertain is how many miles Mary Kate Lynch has travelled between Limerick and Meath in recent months for training sessions and games - but we can assume it is considerable. Very considerable indeed because, for some time now, she has been making the journey several times a week for training sessions and games.

It’s not a burdensome pilgrimage for her. It is done with light heart – and is part of her desire to help Meath in the quest for another All-Ireland SFC title.

On Sunday Lynch, Wall & Co can take a giant stride towards reaching another big day out at Croke Park when they confront Tipperary.

Playing for her county has, and always has been “massive” for Lynch; a central, important part of her life.

“I wouldn’t be making the commitment of travelling up and down if I didn’t love playing for Meath, I absolutely love it,” she adds.

“The Meath management have been so good about me moving down to Limerick, they’ve never put any pressure on me to attend training sessions but I want to be there. You don’t want to be missing out on anything so you are going to make that travel commitment. I don’t know what I would do without it all.”

In that sentence alone lies the reason why Lynch, who is a noted sean-nos dancer, is now one of the top footballers in the country. Why she has already won two All-Ireland SFC medals and two National League (Div 1 and Div 2) medals. Why she is an All-star. It’s because she is willing to go that extra-mile, literally, to help her county’s cause while seeking to become a better player herself.

Considering what she has achieved in her career so far it’s easy to forget she is still only 23; her youth belied by her mature, high-quality performances at either full-back or centre-half-back. She’s also a leader on the field, regularly turning defence into attack, with her timely clearances and full-blooded displays an example to others.

As well as helping Meath’s cause, the young Summerhill woman is busily involved in doing a Masters in sports psychology in Limerick University. It’s a full time, full-on project and it’s hardly surprising the two-time All-Ireland winner is working on something that afflicts many players in football.

“My dissertation, the final piece of the puzzle, is about ACL injuries in ladies football,” she explains. “I’m looking at the emotional and psychological aspect to getting an injury like that.

“The focus tends to on the rehab side of recovery, without looking at the emotional journey involved,” she adds.

As part of her research she has interviewed players at club and inter-county levels and came up with some fascinating material. “There’s a lot of the players saying how their support network of friends and family are so important to them. Some talk of how they restructure their routines, how even relationships can change with people.

“Some blame a lot of things such as the type of ground where they picked up the injury, the amount of training they were doing that week, different things.”

It is clearly a deep dive into the mentality of injured players and something that fascinates the Meath defender – and she admits she did grapple with her own confidence in her early days as a Meath footballer.

She wondered if she was good enough for inter-county level and consulted the Meath team’s own sports psychologist Kelley Fay who helped her overcome her doubts. The effort was clearly beneficial for the player as she became an integral part of a Meath team that won those All-Ireland SFC crowns in 2021 and ‘22.

She talks about how she learned to stay calm, composed despite setbacks. Staying calm she knows is vital in the white heat of battle on the pitch – and in life. “Football is not just a physical game, you have to be mentally prepared as well,” she adds.

To underline her assertion she makes reference to Meath’s clash with Armagh a few weeks ago when she and her team-mates were four points down in the final minutes but fought back to earn a draw. That result too demonstrated to her an encouraging spirit and self-belief in the ranks.

She could also have referenced Meath’s recent spirited, if ultimately, unsuccessful display against mighty Dublin in the Leinster final.

Now Tipperary stand between the Royals and a last-four place in this year’s race for the Brendan Martin Cup. Lynch is wary about any talk that suggests because Tipperary are a Div 2 side they will go in against Div 1 outfit Meath as rank outsiders.

“You can’t underestimate what Tipp are bringing with them,” she warns.

She talks of the threat players such as the richly-talented Aisling Moloney brings to the table as well as others such Ann Marie Kennedy and Emma Morrissey. Players well capable of turning chances into scores.

She agrees with the suggestion that Meath face something of a psychological barrier themselves on Sunday because for the past two years they have lost All-Ireland SFC quarter-final showdowns. Both defeats away to Kerry.

On a more positive note for Meath and Lynch is the fact that last year they defeated Tipperary 2-15 to 2-12 at Pairc Tailteann in the All-Ireland series, although the three-point margin of victory is a reminder it was far from easy.

Mark Kate Lynch knows there are no easy victories. Everything has to earned and everyone has to be ready for the battle. She is.

Meath team to face Tipperary.... Sunday, Pairc Tailteann, 5.15pm

Robyn Murray; Áine Sheridan, Mary Kate Lynch, Katie Newe; Aoibhin Cleary (capt.), Sarah Wall, Karla Kealy; Orlaith Sheehy, Marion Farrelly; Megan Thynne, Niamh Gallogly, Ciara Smyth; Emma Duggan, Vikki Wall, Kerrie Cole.