51 years versus 47 weeks - who will prevail?

SFC final preview

Damien Donohoe

On Sunday next, Killygarry will march around Kingspan Breffni in a Senior Championship final for the second time in the club’s history. The first time was 13 years before the oldest player currently on the team was born. In 1971, Killygarry, as a club was only five years old, having been formed on the back of “a number of promising minor players”.

Jody Devine’s side have been almost flawless in terms of results in this championship, having lost no games in their six so far. The confidence they gained from beating Gowna in round one has catapulted them to Sunday’s final but it goes deeper than that. For a change, Killygarry have Conor Smith, Martin Reilly, Mattie McKenna and Darragh Kennedy all injury free at the one time. The footballing quality of the group is shown by the fact that those four lads along with Cian Reilly and Oisin Brady have all played county senior football.

The Gowna management will have to plan for those six men but Darragh Lovett will also take watching as the Ramor Utd defence found out all too late in their semi-final. Mark McDermott at wing forward and midfielder Daniel Walsh are dropping back when Killygarry are without the ball but once the turnover happens, the long strides of both men quickly transition the ball to attack and on more than one occasion so far in the championship, they have created or scored goals.

Another area of the field that Killygarry have shown improvement in is defence. Cian Reilly, despite just turning 20 a few weeks ago, has become the leader of the unit and appears to be able to bring the best out of the players around him. Daryl Dunne and Conor Connolly have been asked and delivered on some vital man- marking roles so far but Sunday’s game will undoubtedly be their toughest challenge.

It’s been 47 weeks since Gowna played in a Senior Championship final. They, like Killygarry, are perceived to be stronger up front than at the back and it’s easy to see why. Fintan Reilly and Dermot McCabe have the luxury of being able to play a county senior forward in their half-back line in Cian Madden. Selflessly, he takes his position deep on the field and uses his ability to carry the ball from back to front for the betterment of the team.

In almost every game in this year’s championship, Gowna have had a different top scorer, showing the attacking riches they possess. Daire Madden, Robbie Fitzpatrick, Tiarnan Madden, Cian Madden, Ryan Donohoe and Conor Casey have all held the role so far which leaves two county seniors in Oisin Pierson and Conor Madden yet to take that honor.

Despite all this, Conor Brady is probably their most consistent performer and leader. His brother Ryan has found his form at the right time as he’s hit two points in both of his last two games. At the back, Fionán Brady has had a very solid campaign while captain Ryan McGahern has happily gone toe to toe with the county’s best forwards. Mark McKeever’s final 15 minutes in their semi-final win was a ‘rolling back the years’ display as he won breaks, used the ball smartly and even used the clock to his side’s advantage.

With both sides scoring an average of 16 points per game, we can expect this to be a high scoring encounter. Killygarry hold the advantage on the defensive stakes as they are conceding an average of 12.8 points per game compared to Gowna’s 15.

Kick-outs may prove to be the winning or losing of the game and both sides have gone with experience as Ronan Bannon and Paddy Galligan’s combined age is over 80. The restarts for both sides have been a real asset as they have both produced goals from them.

Getting over the line in the semi-final without Oisin Brady will have boosted Killygarry’s confidence even more but Gowna have yet to start a knock-out game with Oisin Pierson in the side.

I’m finding it harder to call this the more I write so I better stop. Killygarry have shown against Kingscourt that they will always go for the win and if it’s close at the end they won’t sit back - and yet I’m going to give Gowna a slight nod here for one simple reason. On three occasions in the last 11 years, the previous season’s beaten finalists have come back and won it the following year. Gowna got over their rocky patch and I think last year’s experience will stand to them on Sunday.