O’Mahony’s eyeing first ever SFC title
GAA LOUTH SFC FINAL
A bumper crowd is expected at the Gaelic grounds on Sunday (4.00) as Sean O’Mahony’s and St Mary’s clash in a novel Louth SFC final showdown.
With the recent powerhouses of the Louth club scene out of the picture, O’Mahony’s will be bidding for their first ever Joe ward crown, while St Mary’s will be looking to bridge a 21-year gap to their last SFC success in 1995.
O’Mahony’s are straight back in the decider after last year’s defeat to Pat’s, who ironically alos beat the Mary’s in their last final appearance in 2003.
Brian Keenan played in those two games 13 years ago, but he’s manning the Mary’s line now and he concedes that a lack of experience is an issue for the Ardee men.
‘Any time there’s a big gap between finals you lose experience, but we’re fortunate to have a few lads who experienced a county final and we have a few lads on the line who also have experience of the big day and I’d be confident those lads will help the younger ones to get through what is quite a big occasion.’
Keenan paid tribute to the players for reaching the decider in what has been a tumultuous year with high-profile manager Jack Sheedy departing mid-season.
‘This group of players have done everything we’ve asked of them on an off the field. The character these men have shown over the last number of weeks would fill me with plenty of confidence, notwithstanding the fact that it’s another huge hurdle on Sunday.
‘The O’Mahony’s are a battle-hardened team and you underestimate them at your peril. They’ve been there on big days and they’re confident in what they do. They’re a really good unit and they’re a team we watch and admire.’
In the O’Mahony’s camp, however, Alan Craven was talking up St Mary’s chances, insisting their semi-final performance against Dreadnots possibly even makes them favourites.
‘If you were a neutral watching the two semi-finals you’d come away saying Ardee were the team everyone has to beat.
‘We’ve watched them a few times recently and I think if you look closely at their results since about June, they’ve been the form team in the county.
‘They were very impressive beating Cooley in the Sheelan final and they were equally impressive in their champinship group games and they’re just after knocking out many people’s favourites, the Dreadnots. They showed great character to win that and came back from two early goals.’
In terms of his own team the O’Mahony’s boss insists he has been lucky enough to be able to continue the work of other people.
‘We’ve just built on the work done over the last couple of years. Other people have brought this team to where it is and we just want to get it over the line on Sunday.
‘It’s been building over the last three or four years. I think if you go back to the three Joe’s games a few years ago, that was the turning point and the team has become used to winning tight games and that builds character and strength. We just hope we have one more in us on Sunday now.’