Championship silverware beginning to appear on the horizon
Andy Glennon and his Michael Glaveys team-mates will hope to catapult their side into the club's first senior football championship final since 1996 when they tackle Roscommon Gaels in Dr. Hyde Park on Sunday next. Picture: Bernie O'Farrell
A look ahead to the eagerly-anticipated last four clashes in the senior, intermediate and Junior A football championships this weekend…
If getting, and subsequently beating, St. Brigid’s was the challenge that the Pádraig Pearses players wanted in the quarter-finals, then this is the game they dare not lose.
The expectation has shifted dramatically towards Frank Canning’s men in light of their thoroughly deserved victory against the reigning Roscommon and Connacht club champions. How they handle that increased scrutiny will determine how their season pans out.
Crucially, they’ve the personnel to embrace what’s coming at them. With a cohort of players with the experience of senior or U-20 football for the Rossies in their locker, the reality is that Pearses are a right good team with quality in every line of the field.
Paul Whelan has been excellent between the sticks. Niall Carty continues to defy Father Time with his consistency. Declan Kenny has been excellent for Pearses from wing-back, while Conor Ryan has caught the eye at midfield.
Eoin Colleran and Paul Carey have added plenty of scoring power to the Pearses full-forward line since their return from abroad, while the Daly brothers — Lorcan, Conor and Ronan — have supplied the ammunition from the half-forward line.
Niall Daly remains an injury doubt, but his introduction against Brigid’s showed how important he is to the Pearses cause.
Faithleach’s were magnificent against Clann. Spearheaded by their talisman, Diarmuid Murtagh, they prevailed after a shootout. The trouble is that Pearses will close down the acreage that Clann afforded Faithleach’s, enabling them run riot.
Ciaráin Murtagh, David Rooney, Johnny Hussey, Cathal Gunn, Connell Kennelly, Cian Glennon, Michael Dunne, Darren Nerney and James Browne personify all that’s good about Faithleach’s.
Any team equipped the brilliance of Diarmuid Murtagh always have a chance, but surely Faithleach’s have reached their glass ceiling for this season.
As long as Pearses haven’t lost the run of themselves, they’ll find a way to get back to where they feel they belong.
A chance for Roscommon Gaels to return to the final for the first time in five years, while Michael Glaveys are eyeing up another scalp in their bid to be part of Roscommon club football’s big showpiece for the first time since 1996.
What Glaveys have shown is that they’re never beaten. To recover from the drubbing they received against Brigid’s in the opening round and show the character and resilience they’ve demonstrated since is a credit to Iain Daly, his management team and players.
But the air is getting thinner, and a repeat of the slow start against Oran last time out will leave the men from West Roscommon gasping for breath.
Their Roscommon cohort — Conor Hussey, Dylan Ruane, Andy Glennon and Cathal Heneghan — are key, but there’s a lot to like about the way Shane O’Malley, Caoileann Fitzmaurice and Robert Heneghan have gone about their business in what is turning into a memorable campaign.
Now that their injured players have returned, the Gaels are looking like a more solid unit.
John McManus, Cathal Dineen, Scott Oates and Cian Connolly know that there aren’t too many campaign left where they can exert a major influence on the Gaels trying to scratch their 20-year itch for the Fahey Cup.
But manager Mark Dowd has worked the oracle with teams before, most notably with Ballaghaderreen in 2012, and he hasn’t been afraid to give youth its fling with Ryan Conlon and John McGuinness, still a minor, getting their opportunity in recent games.
Overall, the Gaels look a well-balanced side. Apart from a ten-minute spell in the second half against Boyle, they were always in control of their own destiny.
If they play their cards right, the same should happen here.
We’re about to find out if Strokestown being below par in recent games is a case of timing their run to perfection — which they’re past masters at doing — or if there’s something more deep-rooted behind their average performances against St. Brigid’s and Creggs.
Certainly, there was never a danger that they were going to lose against the latter, but it almost looked like Strokestown were trying to conserve as much energy as possible to be in mint shape for a championship that, in reality, will only get going next weekend.
With Michael Fallon out injured, Strokestown have an issue around midfield. Fionn Cusack started brightly against Creggs before fading, while Colm Neary, just back from a long-term injury, has ended up there. Fuerty will have taken note.
Still, there’s no disputing the class of Shane McGinley, Colin Compton and Diarmuid McGann if they’re in the mood, and one suspects — with the wheat finally separated from chaff — they’ll fully click into gear on Sunday afternoon.
Whether Strokestown can get them enough ball remains to be seen. When they go direct, they are capable of scoring freely.
Fuerty, on the other hand, have gone about their business efficiently, without setting the world alight.
Coping without their talisman for years, Niall Kilroy, has inevitably taken some adjustment. But when they were the second-placed team to be seeded for the knockout stages, they were pretty much guaranteed another game before the ultimate test arrives.
Strokestown are that test, so Ben McGahon and Philip Neilan will have to be on their toes in defence, with Tadhg Lyons expected to pick up McGinley.
Jack McGahon and Cian Murray will have to pitch in with the scores to buttress Gearóid Ennis’ accuracy, while Peter Kellehan’s availability is a massive boon.
Fuerty are not without hope, but the feeling is that Strokestown will finally shake off the cobwebs and deliver a signature performance.
This is the game that Elphin have been waiting for, and one would imagine that everything they have done in this championship so far has been delivered with an eye towards getting revenge on Éire Óg for last year’s reversal at the same stage of the competition.
There’s no disguising that Nigel Dineen’s men are the form side in the championship. Apart from the opening game against Pádraig Pearses where the defensive foundations were put in place during an unspectacular 0-8 to 0-2 win, their forwards have stolen the limelight since, hitting 4-51 in their next three games.
Niall Higgins has been immense, taking huge confidence from his performances in a Roscommon jersey earlier this season. The Cregg brothers are flying it, while Luke Mollahan, Shane Killoran and Nessan Lenehan have been operating at a different level this year.
But, to Éire Óg’s credit, they’ve dusted themselves down from last year’s heartbreak in the final against Castlerea St. Kevin’s.
The intermediate championship has rewarded consistency in recent years, and Éire Óg seem hell bent on adopting the mantra adopted by Tulsk, Oran and St. Dominic’s — that you have to lose a few to finally get over the line.
Denis Barron, Aonghus McDonagh, Eoghan Walsh, Brian Greene, and Joseph Hester have been to the fore for Éire Óg. And then there’s Conor Cox who continues to shoot the lights out at this level. The aim for Elphin will be to cut off the supply lines to Éire Óg’s marquee forward.
Watch out too for both goalkeeper, Colm Lavin and Aaron Brady, contesting possession around the middle on the opposition’s kickout.
Of course, that’s all part of the risk v reward strategy that has become synonymous with the modern game.
Don’t expect too many risks to be taken here early on, but the form lines point to revenge for Elphin.
St. Barry’s will be delighted, having resurrected some proper form just when they needed it to reach the last four for the first time in a number of years.
What’s more, they’re playing in a venue that holds fond memories for them, having beaten Strokestown and Boyle at the home of Strokestown GAA Club in the previous two rounds.
Cillian Campbell, who enjoyed a successful season with the UL Freshers team, has stepped up the plate, attacking opposing defences with pace from wing-back.
Up front, Emmet Conroy and John Murtagh are capable of punishing any semblance of Ballinameen indiscipline. Goalkeeper Oisín Fallon also made a few crucial saves against Boyle last time out.
An added incentive for both teams is that the winner here will represent Roscommon in the Connacht club junior football championship.
For Ballinameen, getting some key players back from injury has been crucial, including Ronan Garvin who was part of the Roscommon U-20 football panel that reached the All-Ireland final in 2021.
Dessie Carlos and Peter Keane are still doing the business for the North Roscommon team, and their greater balance should swing the tide in their side’s favour.
Roscommon Gaels have watched on in recent years as Saturday’s opponents, Clann na nGael, St. Brigid’s and Pádraig Pearses have made the breakthrough at Junior A level, giving their adult sides an excellent platform to develop players at a higher grade.
Can they now join the party?
It’s possible, but this will be their biggest challenge to date against Clann na nGael, who, like the Gaels, would have expected to have two adult teams involved in semi-final action next weekend.
Experience in the form of Paul Gleeson and David O’Gara is invaluable at this level, and if they can guide Shane Purcell, Aodha Hession and Finn Killion through choppy Clann waters, then Roscommon Gaels have every chance.
But Clann were impressive against St. Aidan’s, especially in the opening half, and, despite losing Sea and Eanna Henry to their senior team since then, they’ll have ambitions of going one better than last year when they were blitzed by St. Michael’s in the final.
Graham Pettit continues to roll back the years at midfield, while Darragh Egan, Cathal Shine and Cian McManus provide bundles of experience.
No doubt Tomás O’Neill will be a marked man, as he always is, but Clann have enough firepower elsewhere to return to the final.
