Experience and firepower may tilt final Denn's way

JFC final preview

From the outset this season, Denn and Knockbride were ear-marked as the favourites for the Sean Leddy Cup. Denn were in the final last year while Knockbride had been beaten by the eventual winners in the knock-out stages in 2019 and 2020 and seemed to be on the rise.

With no team being relegated from intermediate, the way was clear for another side to emerge as the best of the rest – or maybe, and this weekend will decide, the best of all. And that team is Drung, who have made it to this final off the back of wins over Shannon Gaels and neighbours Kill Shamrocks in the knock-out stages, having beaten Mountnugent, Munterconnaught and Maghera in the group after losing the opener to Drumalee.

In analysing the Drung side, the obvious thing to jump out is the reliance on brothers Tiernan and Caolán Reilly for scores. While Knockbride have a vast arrayof scorers, the Bunnoe-based side depend on the Reillys to do most of the damage on the scoreboard.

It is not a new trend. In 2020, Drung defeated Mountnugent in their round four group game by 2-14 to 3-7, with every score proving crucial as they advanced to the knock-out stages by a single point on score difference.

The Reilly brothers scored 2-12 on that occasion between them.

In the subsequent quarter-final, they matched eventual champions Templeport until the final quarter, eventually succumbing by 2-12 to 0-11, the Reillys accounting for 0-10 of that total.

This year, while Tiernan was injured and missed most of the group stage, a similar pattern has emerged. The brothers scored 0-6 of 0-11 in the quarter-final against neighbours Kill, for example, and 0-7 from their total of 0-10 last time out against the west Cavanmen.

It must be noted that the impish Paddy McEntee has been chipping in with scores, including 1-4 against Mountnugent in the group, but it is rare that any player outside of those three gets more than two scores.

That would ordinarily be a slight concern going into a final but the Reillys are so gifted for this level that it is hard to see any defence holding them. If they are held, though, Drung could be in trouble.

That's not to say that they are a poor outfit – far from it. Drung have an excellent management and are very well organised from the back, where former Cavan star James Reilly has been in top form in goals, pulling off three saves in the semi-final, and the defence as a unit has been outstanding.

They are lion-hearted in their approach, throwing their bodies on the line, and have a couple of terrific athletes including wing-back Declan McEntee.

Around the middle, Aidan McCaul can pop up with the odd spectacular score and forms a hard-working duo with Mark Cassidy. Ronan Brady has had his moments on the 40 too, with Gary Watters a classy player to bring in off the bench.

So Drung are here on merit but Denn will start as favourites by virtue of the fact that they toppled Knockbride in a replay last time out.

Denn were in fine fettle last year after a big win over Shannon Gaels in the semi-final and were warm favourites for the title against Templeport until a Covid outbreak on the eve of the match saw the final called off.

In the end, it would be almost a year before it was played and when it was, Denn looked a shadow of themselves as Templeport beat them comfortably.

Coming into the championship, they were obviously fancied to go well and they have made it to the final without hitting the heights – that was, until last Friday evening when they delivered an outstanding performance to sink Knockbride in the semi-final replay.

While they had been motoring fairly well to that point, a draw against Munterconnaught (a game they could easily have lost but for a late Oisin Kiernan strike) the only blot on their copy, they looked a little flat at times and there was a sense that the long drawn out nature of the 2020 season was beginning to show on the Crosskeys men.

However, that notion has now been banished as manager Stephen Baxter got a great tune out of his players in that replay. All over the field, they were superb.

Denn are a very formidable outfit for this grade of football. Goalkeeper Mark Fegan has made a number of crucial saves in the championship as well as coming forward to take frees.

James Brady has caught the eye in the half-back line alongside the ball-playing Mark McSherry, while full-back and captain Bernard Gaffney was a tower of strength last week.

Conor O’Reilly, Man of the Match against Knockbride and in many ways the lungs of the team, forms a strong midfield pairing with the powerful Kiernan while the attack is the strongest sector, with star man Thomas Edward Donohoe (main pic), his brother Sean, the livewire Ben Conaty and Cavell Keogan all chipping in with scores.

Add to the mix the experience of former county stalwart Mossy Corr in defence or possibly lending a hand around the middle and it’s easy to see why Denn will carry the favourites’ tag into this encounter.

On paper, they look the better side, with a wider spread of scorers in particular, and they have the experience of already having played in a final.

But, of course, the beauty of sport is that finals are not played on paper; anything can happen and one-off games, particularly this late in the season, can take on a life of their own.

Should the Reilly brothers catch fire and if Drung could strike early and perhaps give Denn the jitters, they could potentially win this match but in all likelihood, Denn may have too much in too many positions and could by with a couple of points to spare.