Four still standing in thrilling Gilroy Cup race

IFC semi-finals preview

The Intermediate Championship is always the hardest to call. The pick of the junior teams go up each year, with momentum on their side, while a senior team exposed to the thin air at the summit comes tumbling down.

This constant state of flux makes for an unpredictable competition. In our pre-championship rankings, we noted that any side in the top 10 could feasibly get their hands on the Gilroy Cup. That was just as well, in hindsight, because Bailieborough Shamrocks were rated 10th in the pecking order in that dubious list.

Of those above them, Cuchulainns (1st) were the most notable of those who bit the dust in the group stages, with Arva (5th) and Drumlane (7th) also exiting before the knock-out stages.

The Shamrocks are certainly the surprise packages. They opened with a high-scoring win against Killeshandra before losing by seven to Belturbet and trouncing Drumgoon.

Their most impressive victory came in round four. Ten minutes into the second half, they trailed 0-9 to 0-5 against Drumlane in Stradone and seemed to be exiting at the group stage for the second year in a row.

But they dug in and showed their resilience. Luke Gilsenan kept the scoreboard ticking over with frees and then came up with a couple of points from play, a sideline ball and converted a penalty.

For good measure, he laid on a goal for midfielder Peter Clerkin as well and suddenly, they were in the quarter-finals. Looking at the line-up, Ballymachugh was the draw they would have wanted – just as the Hughs would have chosen them, possibly, had they had a choice – and they capitalised, coming through a thrilling game by just a point, having been six down approaching half-time.

That win was inspired by Gilsenan, Rhys Clarke and Michael and Brendan Argue, who are among the leaders of the team.

There is a buzz around the club at present. Manager Finbar Clarke, asked after the Drumlane game about the prospects of the one-time heavyweights returning to senior ranks, summed it up well when he said that the Shamrocks had not been punching their weight in recent seasons.

“Now,” he said, “we have a chance, just like a lot of other clubs have a chance [of returning to senior].”

They will view this as a golden opportunity to make a final but it will require their best performance of the season if they are to see off a free-scoring Butlersbridge outfit. Manager George Dugdale has been at the helm for a few years now and their growth has been slow and steady.

Progress doesn’t go in straight lines and after a first IFC semi-final appearance in 40 years in 2018, they lost to eventual winners Laragh last year at the last-eight stage, a side they had earlier drawn with in the group.

Now, they are back and will be favourites to make the final of this competition for the first time. Their form in the book is possibly the strongest of the four sides left standing with wins over Drumlane, Cootehill, Ramor United, Arva and Killinkere.

The brand of football they are playing is brilliant to watch; 3-13 is the lowest tally they have posted in their last four matches. Key to their run has been the magnificent form of Caoimhin O’Reilly, who appears to be on a different level physically to any other forward in the competition.

Killinkere’s Liam McCabe, one of the best defenders around, shadowed O’Reilly every inch of the way in the quarter-final but still couldn’t stop him scoring 1-5 from play over the hour and setting up another goal for former county man Feargal Flanagan.

There was no secret to it, said Dugdale after that game. “When you get quality ball to a quality forward, they will be hard stopped,” was the Leitrim man’s apt summation.

The ’Bridge side is littered with players boasting a high technical ability, such as Killian and Jonny Leddy, Fionntán O’Reilly and John Fitzpatrick, who is one of the most prolific midfielders around. The question mark is over the defence as a unit.

They have leaked a lot of scores – 3-12 against Cootehill, 2-15 against Arva and 3-16 against Killinkere after extra time – and they will surely need to tighten up at the back if they are to go all the way. They are also lacking in height and the Bailieborough think tank will surely have noticed the trouble Killinkere caused them with high ball on top of their full-back line, particularly when the towering Paul Brady came off the bench in that game.

So, the ’Bridge can be got at but whether or not Bailieborough are the side to do so remains to be seen. Michael Argue will likely be the pivotal figure; if he can dominate the middle, particularly  in the air, Bailieborough have a great chance because Clarke and Gilsenan will score if given the supply.

But the sense is that the Shamrocks may find themselves bailing out water at a hectic rate at the other end, where the likes of Shane O’Rourke and place-kicker Peter Conaty can also find the target.

An intriguing game awaits but Butlersbridge get the vote on this occasion.

Potential epic

The second semi-final has all the makings of an epic. From the outset, Ballyhaise and Ballinagh have been on most neutrals’ shortlists for the title; we ranked them third and fourth respectively back in May.

Ballyhaise, under experienced Monaghan man Declan Brennan, torched all comers in the group, finishing with a score difference of +51 from their four wins over Cuchulainns (2-10 to 0-13), Killeshandra (0-17 to 1-7), Cornafean (3-20 to 0-5) and Ramor United (3-16 to 1-5).

In the quarter-final, Cootehill were expected to provide stiff opposition but after a close opening spell, Ballyhaise ran out winners by 2-15 to 1-9.

In truth, had a few things not gone against them, there is every reason to believe that the Annalee Park men would have consolidated and pushed on at senior level following their long-awaited Intermediate Championship breakthrough in 2015.

The following year, they were handed a difficult senior draw and then faced Killygarry (losing in a replay) and, unthinkably, Cavan Gaels in the relegation play-offs. They looked to bounce straight back but lost the 2017 final in something of a freakish game against a Shercock side who came up with the big scores at the right times and after that, they seemed to run out of gas after a few years on the road.

Now, they are back, with a handful of last year’s minors – notably Brían O’Rourke, Ross O’Gorman and Colin McKiernan – having been fast-tracked and blending in well with the experienced spine already in place.

Their strikeforce is stellar. David Brady, a starter for Cavan in the first round of the National League two-and-a-half years ago but whose progress has been derailed by injury, has been outstanding. Kevin Tierney remains one of the top forwards at club level and a huge goal threat while the evergreen Stephen Smith could well be the club’s highest scorer of all time at this stage and turned in a Man of the Match performance last time out.

Also doing well have been Michael Brady and Sean McCormack, starting championship midfielder for Cavan two seasons ago and now reinvented as an inside forward.

The depth in the panel is probably their greatest asset, with Martin Conaty, for example, scoring 3-7 when he came in for his first start against Ramor.

However, we have seen so far that teams who have come through the group stages untested have found it challenging to get to the pace of their quarter-finals; Kingscourt, Butlersbridge and Templeport all had 100pc records and were pushed close, although all won.

That trio of sides were all fairly long odds-on favourites at the last eight stage; that will not be the case for Ballyhaise because in Ballinagh, they are facing a powerful outfit who can match or surpass them in a lot of areas.

The 2013 senior champions came up through the ranks and then grew ‘old’, in footballing terms, together, resulting in a decline which saw them relegated. Under the radar, they brought through a new generation, not in one wave but in ones, twos and threes.

The result is a potent mix. Of the defence, Enda Brady (once a workaholic forward, now in nets), Patrick Carroll, Niall O’Reilly and Philip Bogue – still a student in St Pat’s at the time - were all on that Senior Championship-winning side. Killian McBride, who has been injured for the last couple of games, was corner-back and captain.

At midfield, Padraic O’Reilly was inspirational back then and remains an integral figure, as is his midfield partner, Thomas Moore. And up front, Kevin Smith, now reinvented as a full-forward to sensational effect, and David Finnegan were instrumental then and now while Niall McDermott was and is the best of the lot.

McDermott’s return from Australia has had a transformative effect. His power, accuracy from frees and play and general presence was seen to full effect in the round four game against Belturbet and again versus the same opposition in the quarter-final.

More than anything, though, the emergence of fresh blood has re-energised this Ballinagh side, managed by former player Adrian Maguire. Centre-back Cormac Timoney ticks all the boxes and is a county senior player in waiting. Thomas Smith and Shane Finnegan are livewires who can score while 2019 Cavan U20 player Evan Finnegan continues to impress both on the ball and in a man-marking role.

Their loss to bogey team Cuchulainns in the group seemed like a major setback at the time; in hindsight, it may have been a useful reset button.

The blend of youth and experience looks just right on both the Ballinagh and Ballyhaise sides and both will know that they will have a glorious opportunity of winning this coveted title should they ge the job done this weekend.

But two into one won’t go. This game is likely to go the wire and, being honest, we can’t split them. Gun to the head? Ballinagh. Maybe.