Moorefield (Kildare) v St Loman’s (Westmeath), O’Moore Park, 2.00

IT is 11 years since Moorefield broke through Leinster’s glass ceiling, but their failure to push on from there is a source of some frustration. Daryl Flynn, their former county midfield star and current captain, did not pull any punches this week when he claimed that not making it back to a final in the interim was not good enough, given the talent that the Kildare champions possess. This is their fourth time competing in Leinster since that breakthrough win and they might just come to view it as lucky too. Just like 2005, when they were confronted by Offaly champions Rhode, they find that there is no Dublin club — the trophy has gone to the capital six times this decade — in their way. Added to that, they find their Kerry recruit Éanna O’Connor (above), who has racked up 1-13 (1-5 from open play), is in the form of his life and is more than ably assisted by Niall Hurley-Lynch. There are scores in this Moorefield team, but there is also a discipline issue which needs addressing. O’Connor’s brother, Cian, misses today’s final and is their third player — Flynn and David Whyte the others — who has had to serve a suspension in this campaign. They will need to keep their heads as they take on their former manager Luke Dempsey — who won back-toback Kildare titles with them before leading St Loman’s to three-in-a-row in Westmeath — and one of the most powerful players in the game. The Westmeath team are much more than a one-man team, but John Heslin is key. He has racked up 3-19 in his last three games, while his influence extends far beyond even the mammoth figures he regularly registers. True, Loman’s unhealthy reliance on their main man means that there is an obvious prize if Moorefield can find a way of shackling the 25-year-old, but thus far this winter that has amounted to wishful thinking rather than an actual game-plan.

Verdict: St Loman’s