I expect a low scoring, very close game where defences will be on top this Sunday

A wonderful weekend for Baltinglass, AGB, Ashford and Knockananna who all claimed football championship final victories.

With the exception of the Senior final we had thrilling and nail-biting finishes to the Intermediate, Junior ‘A’ and Junior ‘B’ finals with the results in the balance right down to the very last kick.

These results show just how difficult it actually is to win a county final no matter what the grade.

There were some heart-breaking defeats and hopefully the hurt experienced in losing will drive these teams on harder to get back to the final in 2017.

Don’t think this is going to be easy as there are some strong teams who have been relegated in all grades which will make the competitions even harder to win.

A very impressive and colourful crowd of spectators attended Aughrim last Sunday which was great to see and certainly added to the occasion.

Following their relegation this year from Division 1A to Division 1B very few predicted that this Baltinglass team would bridge a nine-year gap to capture the Miley Cup.

They were worthy winners last Sunday and after their first half goal brilliantly executed by Sean O’Brien they virtually controlled the game.

Joey Kelly’s seven points was a massive contribution and despite competition from his teammates Murphy, Kelly and McGrath he was deservedly awarded man-of-the-match.

To lose three finals in a row is total devastation for St. Pat’s and one has to feel extremely sorry for this group of players. In truth, the loss through injury of Tommy Kelly was a game changer and must have dampened their confidence leading up to the match. Despite the early promise the forward section for St. Pat’s never really got going thereafter.

The over reliance on Stephen Duffy who contributed 1-05 highlighted the under-performance of the Pat’s attack.

Another County Senior hurling final is upon us which will see a repeat of last year’s final between Bray and Carnew. Let’s hope all hurling supporters in the county will descend in Aughrim in large numbers for what promises to be an intriguing game.

Sunday’s final is two weeks behind schedule and it will be interesting to see if this delay will have had any bearing on the result. Hopefully the weather on the day will be conducive to good hurling and the surface of the pitch will also hold up.

Unlike last year’s final this one is significantly harder to call. Carnew are certainly a much improved outfit under the management of former county manager, Casey O’Brien.

Casey has made some interesting changes to this year’s team and many of Carnew’s younger and exciting players have been given their chance and have proved that they have the necessary qualities to play at the top level.

Carnew could well start with possibly nine players under the age of 23 which shows, regardless of the result on Sunday, that the future is very bright for their club.

Bob Fitzgerald, Oisin Furlong and Jack Doyle have forced their way on to the starting fifteen where they are joined by fellow under-21s Conal McCrea, Andrew Hughes, Enda Donoghue, Wayne Kinsella and Padraig Doran. The development of these players is as a result of the excellent work undertaken at juvenile level in the club.

Last year Carnew won the under-14, under-16 and Minor ‘A’ championships which was a wonderful achievement and one that probably didn’t get the plaudits it deserved.

Probably one of the finds of the year from a Carnew perspective has been Oisin Furlong.

I first saw Oisin play in a Spring League game early in the year and I was immediately impressed. He has all the attributes necessary to be an excellent cornerback and will probably be one of Carnew’s main man-markers on Sunday.

Andrew Hughes and Martin O’Brien are now starting to show their undoubted value to the Carnew defence. Wayne Kinsella missed out on the closing stages of last year’s championship and his return has also added a new dimension to the Carnew attack and at full forward he and county player, Padraig Doran, can be Carnew’s danger men on the inside.

There is very little that hasn’t been said about the great Timmy Collins and he has again been excellent this year. The manner in which he executed the first Carnew goal in the semi-final against Glenealy showed the collection of skills he has in his armoury.

The diminutive Timmy plays the game with a huge heart and is an immense example both on and off the field to the younger generation of players. Timmy is one player who won’t be found wanting in the heat of the battle on Sunday.

Carnew’s victory over Bray in the group stages of the championship will have given them great confidence as they approach the final.

Bray are now heading for a three-in-a-row of titles which is a wonderful achievement considering where Bray hurling was in the Noughties. Though not playing with the same fluency as last year they will need to reach the high standards they have set for themselves if they are to see this one out.

I believe they have the strongest panel out of all the Senior hurling clubs in Wicklow and this was reflected in the fact that they could call on such high calibre players such as Paul Cunningham and Padraig Doyle when their semi-final game was in the melting pot.

Their experienced manager, John Henderson, will no doubt be aware that improvements will be needed to win. He will have some selection dilemmas ahead of finalising his starting 15.

A fit Daire Henderson will certainly come into contention while both Cunningham and Doyle will have hoped to have done enough on their introduction in the semi-final to force their way onto the starting team.

In attack much responsibility will rest with top forwards Christy Moorehouse and Mikey Lee who will be looking for greater support from their fellow attackers.

Casey O’Brien will no doubt be aware that if Carnew can nullify Bray’s accomplished twin threat they will be within touching distance of bringing the O’Donoghue Cup back to Carnew for the first time in seven years.

As I said at the start this is a hard final to call. Carnew have improved and Bray will be aware of this.

I expect a low scoring, very close game with defences on top. Don’t be surprised if it will take another game to find a winner. Thankfully the Leinster Intermediate Club Championship is not due to start until November 5 allowing adequate time for the winners to celebrate. The only question at this stage is where will these celebrations take place?