Preview: Weekend’s senior club provincial finals:
Saturday 6th December
AIB Leinster club senior football championship final
Athy (Kildare) v Ballyboden St Enda’s (Dublin) in Croke Park at 4.30pm
Both of these teams have beat an impressive path to this provincial final.
Athy defeated Baltinglass, Summerhill, and Portarlington by an average of 11 points each and Ballyboden beat Castletown and Tullamore by an average of 12 points each.
They’ve also both been racking up big scores. Athy scored an average of 21 points over their three games while Ballyboden averaged 24.
They’re defensively solid too with Athy conceding an average of just 10 points in those games and Ballyboden 12.
Clearly then we’re talking about two teams very much in form, so it’ll be fascinating to see who comes out on top here.
Some weight must be given to the fact that Dublin clubs have dominated this competition, winning the last five provincial titles in a row and 15 of the last 21.
This Ballyboden team looks as good as any that has come out of the county in recent years. They’re defensively tight, have a powerful midfield partnership in Cein D’Arcy and Alex Gavin, and quality forwards like Colm and Ryan Basquel, Ryan O’Dwyer, Daire Sweeney and Ross McGarry.
Don’t write off Athy though. They earned a reputation in recent years for not delivering on their potential but it all seems to have finally clicked this year.
Cathal McCarron anchors a well organised defence, Kevin Feely and Conor Doyle have been outstanding in the middle third, and Niall Kelly and David Hyland are in a rich vein of form in attack.
The only caveat is that Athy are very much dependent on that duo for scores, whereas Ballyboden have a greater range of threats which could well prove to be decisive in the final reckoning.
AIB Leinster Club Senior Hurling Championship final
St Martin’s (Wexford) v Shamrocks Ballyhale (Kilkenny) in Croke Park at 6.30pm
A Wexford team hasn’t won the Leinster club championship since Oulart The Ballagh achieved the feat in 2015 or even contested a final since then.
St. Martin’s will come into this game as underdogs but they’ll believe they can do something about the county’s poor recent record in this competition
They proved their worth when beating reigning All-Ireland champions Na Fianna in the quarter-finals and there’s been a really nice balance to their play in recent weeks.
There has been a great bite and organisation to their defending and they pose a range of threats in attack where the O’Connors – Rory, Jack, and Barry – have been especially impressive.
Shamrocks Ballyhale have been a rejuvenated force this year under Henry Shefflin and in men like TJ Reid, Joey holden, Richie Reid, and Eoin Cody have players who combine great ability with serious leadership qualities.
The injury that rules Adrian Mullen out is a big blow though and in a contest of fine margins you’d wonder could it be decisive.
It’s hard to bet against a Shamrocks team that has won it all in the past and knows what these days are all about, but don’t be surprised if St. Martin’s pull off an upset here.
Sunday 7th December
AIB Munster club SFC Final
Dingle v St. Finbarr’s in FBD Semple Stadium at 1.30pm
These two teams are playing with a lot of confidence at the moment so this has all the ingredients to be a cracker.
The battleground in the middle third is likely to decide which way the contest swings, because both teams have been dominating that sector all year.
St. Finbarr’s have been especially good in that regard. Ian Maguire and Brian Hayes are a serious double act in their engine-room, with hurling All-Star Hayes in a rich vein of scoring form.
He scored 3-3 from play in the Munster semi-final win over Éire Óg Ennis and his ability to ghost into scoring positions combined with his raw physicality and deadly finishing makes him a seriously difficult prospect to handle.
As Maurice Brosnan pointed out in the Irish Examiner this week, St. Finbarr’s make hay off winning the opposition kick-out. From 49 opposition kick-outs won they have apparently taken 39 shots that produced 5-34. That’s incredible efficiency.
Dingle will need to stop that threat at source so men like Mark O’Connor, Billy O’Connor, and Niall Geaney will be crucial in that middle third of the pitch.
If they can at least break even with St. Finbarr’s there then they’ll believe that quality forwards like Paul Geaney, Conor Geaney and Dylan Geaney can do the business at the top end of the pitch.
St. Finbarr’s will believe that Hayes, Steven Sherlock, John Wigginton-Barrett, and Rickey Barrett can do similar for them.
It’s going to be a ferociously contested game and Dingle have been made the pre-match favourites, but St. Finbarr’s look like a team that’s really in a good groove at the moment.