County champions under pressure to deliver against neighbours
Declan Kenny and his Pádraig Pearses team-mates will look to bounce back from their first round defeat against St. Faithleach's when they meet neighbours, Clann na nGael, in Woodmount on Friday evening. Picture: Gerard O'Loughlin
A spicy local derby and, from a Pearses perspective, there’s a lot riding on it.
Manager Frank Canning will argue that the issues his side experienced against St. Faithleach’s can be fixed on the training ground, and it will be interesting to see if the reigning champions can tidy up on their shooting in the space of two weeks.
A bigger concern, however, is the absence of some key players that were the difference between winning and losing last year’s county championship.
Take Niall Daly, Conor Daly and Niall Carty out of any team, and they’ll be expected to struggle. Given that Niall Daly was such a principle protagonist 12 months ago, his loss through injury will be sorely felt.
Clann made a cagey opening against St. Dominic’s before getting their act together in the third quarter to prevail comfortably.
Going into the lion’s den of Woodmount won’t faze Pat Fallon’s men, and they’ll relish the opportunity to put their neighbours under further pressure.
In an interview with Clubber TV following his side’s facile victory against Elphin, Anthony Cunningham was quick to heap praise on Western Gaels, citing their game management and intelligence when the sides met in the O’Rourke Cup earlier this season.
Now that he has presumably reviewed footage from Friday evening’s opponents’ loss against Western Gaels, he will know that, in reality, not a lot has changed from recent championships.
Gerard Nolan’s charges may well pull a rabbit from the hat and survive in this year’s championship, and the game against Elphin represents a realistic target in terms of achieving that goal.
But the harsh reality is that that their more experienced cohort, it appears, has gone to the well too many times. What’s more, Western Gaels still remain hugely reliant on them.
With the proper attitude, St. Brigid’s will win — it’s just a case of by how much?
A big opportunity for Oran who will head in the N60 from Rockfield with genuine ambitions of ruffling their neighbours’ feathers even further after Roscommon Gaels’ opening round loss against Boyle.
What players Mark Dowd has available to him may well decide the contest but what we do know for certain is that Oran are flying it under Pat Regan, kicking 3-20 from play during their routine dismissal of Castlerea St. Kevin’s.
Despite their prosperous start, Regan knows that his side will ultimately be judged on what happens in the knockout stages, given Oran’s failings in recent years.
For now, building on their momentum from the opening round is the key.
A tricky test for Boyle who won’t want to lose the run of themselves on the back of a victory against a depleted Roscommon Gaels outfit.
If Eamonn O’Hara’s side turn up and perform, they’ll only be one winner. If they’re complacent, the home side will make it difficult for them.
Ultimately, like in most Boyle games, it will come down to their marquee players making a difference, and there are enough of them in the visitors’ attack to make sure that they register two wins on the bounce.
Under the new rules, it’s all about forward power, something Castlerea lack outside of Adam McDermott.
The say that one championship win can change everything, and certainly Michael Glaveys’ players will have been bouncing in training following their deserved success against Western Gaels.
But can they back it up with another impressive championship performance, which would pretty much assure themselves of their place in the quarter-finals?
A more realistic take of where Elphin are at was always going to be reserved until these games against Glaveys and Western Gaels.
But there were still worrying signs against St. Brigid’s — principally that their goalkeeper (Aaron Brady) was the only player to kick their five points over 60 minutes.
With the Heneghan brothers, Shane O’Malley and Dylan Ruane on song, Glaveys can get the job done.
A huge game for Dominic’s who know that the last thing they’ll need is a game against Pádraig Pearses to avoid being dragged into relegation trouble.
They’ll wonder how things might have panned out if Clann goalkeeper, Declan McManus, hadn’t produced a brilliant double save to deny Cian Duggan and Jamie Tiernan when they were well in the game at Johnstown. Subsequently, the concession of two quick goals after half time burst their bubble.
For Faithleach’s, taking Pearses’ scalp in the opening round was a massive boost to them.
Much will depend on Cian Glennon’s availability after he picked up an injury against Pearses when he was going well. As ever, the Murtagh brothers won’t let them down.
The greater jeopardy for Dominic’s, and home advantage, makes a tight game likely.
It took Strokestown some time to hit their straps in last year’s championship, but they’ve already exploded from the traps to lay down a marker this season.
Trouncing Kilbride less than two weeks ago won’t lead to the Black and Amber getting notions about themselves, but 5-20 in a championship game is good going, irrespective of the opposition’s quality.
Shannon Gaels will have been disappointed to lose out at home to a strong St. Brigid’s second team.
They’re missing a few key players from 12 months ago. In that context, going to Strokestown is probably the last thing they need.
Probably the game to see who finishes second in the group behind Tulsk Lord Edwards.
Creggs already have a headstart, having taken care of St. Barry’s. St. Michael’s were good for 30 minutes against Tulsk before Liam McNeill’s side hit the after-burners after the break.
If Creggs want to catapult themselves into the conversation about being genuine contenders, this is the sort of game they need to be winning.
Michael’s will ask questions, but the evidence so far this season suggests that Creggs will have the answers.
It looks like Mission Impossible for Barry’s who will hope that their brittle confidence doesn’t drift to the point of no return after this game.
Marking their return to the intermediate championship in front of their own supporters in Tarmonbarry, one would have expected a performance laden with fire and brimstone. What transpired pointed to a team shorn of the quality, and depth, to compete at this level.
They can still turn things around against St. Michael’s in their last time, but the scoreline at 7.30 p.m. next Saturday probably won’t make for pleasant reading.
Once again, another game at intermediate level this weekend where the odds are heavily stacked in one team’s favour.
Going to Croghan and winning is the type of result to suggest that St. Brigid’s are one of the teams leading the chasing pack behind the favourites for this championship.
Assuming that their first team won’t be strenuously examined by Western Gaels on Friday evening, Brigid’s should be able to retain the bulk of their squad that beat Shannon Gaels, although how much longer will they able to hold onto Brian Daly and, perhaps, Mark Daly remains to be seen.
For Kilbride, recovering from their chastening experience against Strokestown is the goal. Even by hitting that target, they’re still the rank outsiders.
The absence of so many players from Pádraig Pearses’ flagship side has really hit the club’s second team this year, and even though they’re at home, coming up against an in-form Conor Cox, and his ability to convert two-pointers, means that things won’t get any easier since their opening round loss against Kilmore.
Pearses have plenty of young players, and Emmett Kelly still has the ability to kick points for fun but Éire Óg are too far down the tracks to slip up here.
Apart from Cox, Jason Doory, Enda Crawley and Ronan Cahill were excellent against Fuerty. That platform should suffice to secure a second victory on their way to topping the group.
Mulhern Park will be laden with emotion as Kilmore tog out for the first time since the passing of their former player Don Connellan.
The visitors have some breathing space in the group following their narrow victory against Pádraig Pearses, while Fuerty will be desperate to get back on track following their disappointing showing against Éire Óg.
Improving their discipline will be on top of manager Tony Brennan’s “to do” list, as, just as Conor Cox did last time out, Paul Garvey will gratefully punish soft frees from inside 45 metres.
Kilmore will throw the kitchen sink at the home side, but Fuerty should have the utensils to ensure that they get their campaign back on track.
