SFC FINAL PREVIEW: Thrilling encounter in store

Paul Fitzpatrick

If you want to feel old (who doesn’t?), consider this nugget: from the 2012 county U14 Division 1 championship final, 13 players from the competing clubs, Gowna and Crosserlough, lined out at some stage in their recent senior semi-final meetings.

And from the 2005 Division 1 Minor final between today’s finalists, only four of the 30 starters also saw game time in the semi-finals. Truly, club football has become no country for old men.

Crosserlough are without doubt the youngest side to make a senior final in decades.  They used 18 players last time out and these were their ages: 19, 23, 20, 19, 22, 25, 20, 19, 27, 20, 22, 20, 20, 28, 18, 30, 18, 18, which averages out at 21.5 years old.

Dara McVeety, the team captain, admitted this week in The Anglo-Celt that the Lough are ahead of the curve in terms of their development and it’s easy to see where the Cavan star was coming from.

McVeety did, however, add the proviso that “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough” and Crosserlough have certainly ticked those boxes so far. Their win over Kingscourt, who are a seasoned championship outfit with lots of know-how and very difficult to beat, was when they came of age in this competition.

They followed up with a free-wheeling win over Ramor in the quarters and ground out a replay victory over Gowna in tough conditions last Saturday. So, they have proven that they can win pretty or ugly and that should stand to them on the big day, as will the cool head of manager Daragh McCarthy.

The Dubliner is the only combatant in the arena who knows what it takes to win a Cavan SFC medal by virtue of his win with Ballinagh five years ago. On that occasion, his club were massive underdogs against Cavan Gaels; this time around, the team he oversees are also underdogs but not to the same extent.

Castlerahan know more about what the occasion might throw at them than almost anyone. They have been accused of being chokers, which is an ugly slur to throw at any side and totally unfair in this situation. They will, though, know that the time to do it is now.

All of the omens suggest that things have come together for them. The draw with Lavey, during which they slipped into an old habit of becoming defensive in the closing stages, was a timely reminder that they should stick to what they are good at.

In the replay, they played on the front foot, stuck 1-18 from play and impressed greatly. It is something they are aware of, too, as their manager Donal Keogan stressed this week.

“Last year in the final we probably didn't do ourselves justice, we went with a mentality of sitting back and not attacking Cavan Gaels, which wouldn't probably be my style,” Keogan told the Celt.

“But this year, that is definitely the message we are trying to get across. Against Lavey in the drawn game we reverted back in the last 10 minutes with everyone behind the ball, players do maybe do that under pressure but the message being hammered home is we want to attack, that's the way we want to play, that's our game.

“Our philosophy is let's go at it. You're going to be opened up if you go for games but if a team scores 2-10 against us, our mindset this year is we will score 2-15.”

Both Keogan and Flanagan believe that the current Castlerahan panel is their strongest yet and ‘strong’ is the operative word. Because while the teams cancel each other out in most if not all positions in terms of ability, Castlerahan are older and have the benefit of a few years of conditioning which could be an important factor.

If Crosserlough are to win, they will need to vary their running game and keep the watertight Castlerahan full-back line (who love to attack) honest, maybe by throwing a curveball like McVeety being sited close to goal.

The wide open expanses and fast new surface here in Kingspan Breffni should suit the underdogs but it also would seem tailor-made for the sort of attacking game Castlerahan utilised last week.

With Oisin O’Connell electric last time out, the Ballyjamesduff men appear to have a slight edge in terms of pace in the full-forward line compared to what McCarthy’s troops possess.

So much, though, is guesswork. Is there scar tissue there, holding Castlerahan back, or will they hit the high notes and win pulling up? Will Crosserlough turn in a 60-minute performance for the first time (they have been absolutely sensational in some games but only in spurts) or will these young men wilt?

Nobody knows until the ball is thrown in. A goal will probably settle it, as it usually does in these huge clashes. We reckon Castlerahan will get it and edge a high-scoring, epic encounter for the ages.

The Lough will look to keep it tight early on and stay in the game as long as they can. If they manage that and are breathing down the favourites' neck with 15 minutes to go, this will get really interesting.

Castlerahan, though, get the nod.

Verdict: Castlerahan by four