Novel pairing will add more interest to football decider

ONE OF the main attractions of the Tom Doyle Supplies Senior football championship is the fact that repeat pairings are so rare when it gets to the final stage. Indeed, the last time the same two clubs met in back-to-back deciders was as long ago as the 1989 to 1991 era when the great Duffry Rovers side of the time inflicted heartbreak on Glynn-Barntown three years on the trot.

Ever since the final line-up has been different from one season to the next, and that trend will continue next Sunday when Shelmaliers and Kilanerin lock horns at this stage for the first time ever.

It’s not a pairing that would have been predicted by many forecasters at the outset, but both have qualified entirely on merit and it’s going to be a special day for whichever teams gets over the line.

This is only the eleventh year for Shelmaliers to be a Senior football club, and they finally managed to clear that semi-final hurdle last time out after coming up short on six previous occasions.

As for Kilanerin, they endured a couple of lean years after being relegated in 2014, but things really clicked last season when they followed up a thrilling extra-time Intermediate final win over HWH-Bunclody with a Leinster title - a first-ever for a Wexford club.

That momentum has carried them all the way to this decider, and if they win it will be the third time for the Wicklow border outfit to claim the Senior crown at the first attempt.

With seven championships won between 1974 and 2008, their history looks better than their rivals, but does the past really count on a one-off county final day?

And given that Kilanerin haven’t got to this stage since their 2010 defeat to arch-rivals Castletown, it’s going to be a new experience for a lot of their players too.

The clubs have only met on three previous occasions in Senior football, with the Shels laying down a big marker in the 2009 quarter-final - only their second term in the top flight - when they defeated then holders Kilanerin by 0-13 to 0-10 after extra-time to reach a second successive penultimate round.

The wounded animals from north of the county had revenge on their minds when they were pitted together again at the same stage twelve months later, and they were worthy winners by 1-14 to 1-7.

Since then, there’s just one game to recall, a group clash in April of 2013 when the Shels made it 2-1 in their favour in terms of headto-head meetings on a 2-9 to 1-7 scoreline.

With no meeting between the sides in the past five years, this game will have a novelty value that will hopefully translate into an entertaining encounter.

Sub-plots abound when it comes to county final day, and one worthy of note is the delight many neutrals - this writer included - will experience when Brian Malone eventually gets the chance to grace the big occasion.

An outstanding servant of Wexford football since his Senior debut in 2006, and one of the best players the county has produced in the modern era, it would have been an absolute travesty if he had gone through his entire career without playing in a final.

His partnership with Eoghan Nolan at midfield gives the Shels an abundance of athleticism in this vital area, and if they can get the better of the two Nialls, Hughes and Breen, they will give their team a significant edge.

Simon Donohoe and Glen Malone are also capable footballers in the half-back line, while corner-forward Craig McCabe is scoring freely under the astute guidance of his father and team manager, Benny, who boasts a very impressive record in charge of club under-age teams.

The big question, though, is a simple one: how will they stop the great Matty Forde? He’s getting on in years now, and was joined by four nephews in the course of the semi-final win against St. Martin’s, but he’s still the best forward in Wexford without question.

It would be the crowning glory of a great career if he can capture another medal, and there’s no denying that Kilanerin have a chance.

I feel Shelmaliers won’t blow this opportunity though, after waiting so long to get there in the first place, although it should be a tight game.