Fairytale ending for St. John's Athletic or Glen Celtic?

Every team has a story.

Whether that be a side’s story of survival, relegation, agony or ecstasy, teams in all sports are determined to ensure theirs is one of triumph rather than deflation.

For both St. John’s Athletic and Glen Celtic, they will both be looking to ensure their season finishes in a blaze of glory as the two sides prepare to do battle in this season’s Joe’s Bar sponsored Challenge Cup final at the RDFL League Grounds, Lecarrow this Sunday (kick-off at 2 p.m.).

For St. John’s they are aiming to complete part two of an historic double. After claiming their first ever Premier Division title, the Lecarrow-based outfit are now trying to win their inaugural Challenge Cup in what is their first appearance in the showpiece event.

Meanwhile, Glen Celtic will be aiming to lift the Challenge Cup for the first time since 1998. If they manage that, it will be classified as an upset.

They were underdogs in their semi-final against a Dunmore Town side that finished the season second in Division One. Glen Celtic had lost twice to Dunmore in quick succession, the second a 6-0 drubbing in the Division One Cup.

However, Glen Celtic dug in and earned a deserved 3-2 triumph to book their spot in the decider. The Glenamaddy-based side defeated St. John’s Athletic B 2-0 in the quarter-final, but they will face an entirely different proposition on Sunday.

By the time this game comes around, St. John’s will have had two weeks since their league success. That should give Keith Reynolds’ outfit the opportunity to celebrate the club’s greatest day properly, allowing them the opportunity to get the heads right in preparation for what promises to be another game played in a carnival-like atmosphere.

Reynolds and Tony O’Sullivan possess enough experience on the sideline to temper expectations and not let the players get sucked in by any talk of a double. However, they do have some decisions to make.

Will they start Cathal Feerick up top or instead go with Jamie Tiernan, who has made a big impact off the bench, most notably in their title-clinching game against Moore United?

St. John’s went a more direct route in the second half with their long throws from Simon Leonard causing problems. They will, most likely, have the lion’s share of possession, so they will need to find the balance between keeping possession and maintain the directness that helped them complete an amazing comeback against Moore.

For St. John’s, Daire Keenan will need another big display while wingers Kevin Brennan and Cian Kelly have the pace and quality in front of goal to trouble defences.

How Glen Celtic’s captain and right back Ethan O’Dowd does against Kelly will also be telling. The midfield battle will be decisive as Alan Duffy controls the tempo in the centre.

For Glen Celtic, they dominated the second balls against Dunmore with Michael Heneghan, Michael Geary and Willie Comer providing the necessary bite and guile in the middle of the park.

One side will pen the perfect final chapter to cap their 2024/25 season. An interesting final awaits.