The four sides left in the Treanlaur Catering Senior Football Championship have lifted the Moclair Cup a grand total of 72 times. Ballina Stephenites (36 ) and Castlebar Mitchels (27 ) have more than the lion’s share between. But that does not mean that those two sides will make it through their semi-finals over the weekend to set up a traditional classic pairing in the final. In fact the favourites to the make the final in a lot of people’s eyes will probably be the younger pretenders Knockmore and Ballintubber with their eight and one title respectively. While Castlebar won their first title in 1888 and Ballina in 1889, Knockmore did not climb the mountain for the first time until 1973 and Ballintubber did for their only time so far last season.
The action will get under way in McHale Park on Saturday at 4.30pm when Castlebar Mitchels and Knockmore come face to face. Both sides just happen to be the beaten finalists in the past two years and will be going all out to make sure that 2011 ends up differently. Since the start of the season and all through high summer, Castlebar looked to be on course to put rest the demons from last year’s final where they failed to really perform when Ballintubber did not allow them in the final. But over the past couple of weeks the foundations have become a little shaky in people’s minds. Both sides met at this stage of the competition last year with Castlebar coming out one point to the good on a 1-10 to 0-12 scoreline. Knockmore lost Declan Sweeney early in that game and Kevin O’Neill was only able to play a bit part from the bench. Both men should be ready to take a much fuller part in the game tomorrow. Both sides have plenty of experience on the sideline in the shape of their respective managers with Pat Holmes taking over the Castlebar hotspot from Peter Ford and Ray Dempsey stalking the line for Knockmore.
There will be plenty of household names on show for both sides with lots of experience on display. Along with Sweeney and O’Neill, Knockmore will be looking to Aidan Kilcoyne, Damien Munnelly, Stephen Sweeney, and Andrew Keane to rise to the challenge. The placement of Kevin McLoughlin in the Knockmore line up could be key to the outcome of the contest. Dempsey has used him as a man marker and a sweeping roll in defence over the course of the championship, while his displays as a link man and an attacking wing-back for Mayo this year have also shown the massive attacking threat he possesses.
For Castlebar, Barry Moran and Shane Fitzmaurice have lots of experience around the middle, while at the back the Feeneys Alan and Richie should be fit to marshal the rearguard and try to get to grips with the Knockmore attack. Up front the wily old Kevin Filan has shown there is plenty of life in his legs yet. And despite being on the winning side last year in the semi-final he will have another score to settle after getting sent off near the end and missing the final through suspension. Neil Douglas and Danny Kirby will pose a lot of questions for the Knockmore defence in two very different ways on Saturday afternoon, Kirby nailed the two goals that effectively saw off Crossmolina in the last eight, while Douglas is always good for a few scores a game. Mitchels look like they have exactly what you need to win a county title, but they have to make sure everything clicks on Saturday, because if it does not, Knockmore have more than enough class of their own to sack the county town representatives.
Ballina may have won this competition 35 more times than their opponents Ballintubber, but they are the outsiders this year. Ballintubber have been almost unbeatable over the last three years putting together an amazing run in both league and championship. In fact they have only been beaten as many times as Mayo have won the All Ireland Senior Championship over their last 41 games. A record like that is the reason they are the defending champions, but like their fellow west Mayo men in the other semi-final this will not be an easy one for Anthony McGarry’s men. Ballina were taken to a replay by Breaffy in the last eight, and in many people’s eyes were lucky to get through to this stage after Breaffy kicked wide after wide in that contest. But they do have quality and experience throughout their team which will make this a tough contest. Players like David Clarke, Ger Cafferkey, Pat Harte, Ronan McGarrity, and Ger Brady will not fear Ballintubber, while newer players like Evan Regan and Austin O’Toole have made a big impact in this year’s championship so far.
Ballintubber only saw off Shrule Glencorrib by three points in the last eight, but there was a far bigger gulf in class than the scoreboard showed at the end. Alan Dillon is of course the main man for his side, and Ballina will have to figure out a way to curb his influence. Even if they do manage that they will have to deal with Cillian O’Connor who has more than enough ability to torture any defender in the county, while Alan Plunkett and Padraic O’Connor are no poor players either and will want close watching. The middle of the park will be decisive, Jason Gibbons and Mícheál Hoban will have to be on top of their game against whoever John Healy pairs with Ronan McGarrity. While in the half back line Tom Early and Danny Geraghty will be a formidable stumbling block for any potential Ballina attack. On all known form Ballintubber will win this game, but Ballina will make this a very tough examination for Anthony McGarry’s men. When the sides met in the competition last year, Ballintubber only got out of the last eight clash by a point.
