St Fechin’s eyeing IFC glory against St Mochta’s
WHEN an early-season training session was momentarily interrupted by the news that St Mochta’s had drawn St Fechin’s in the intermediate championship, Darren McMahon and his teammates allowed themselves a quick shrug of the shoulders before getting back at it.
The sides seem to clash on an annual basis in the group stages, but little did they know on that cold and dark March evening that they would be facing off in Sunday’s IFC decider.
‘I think the Fechin’s would be the team we’d be the most familiar with in then whole county,’ reveals St Mochta’s captain Darren McMahon. ‘We’ve played each other 13 or 14 times in big crunch games since the junior final of 2009. We didn’t even listen to the championship draw this year because it just seemed inevitable that we’d get them or Hunterstown and we got both!
‘But this is a final and it will be interesting playing them in the last game of the year and with so much at stake. We’d have a good relationship with them, it’s never nasty or dirty and there’s no grudges or anything once the final whistle blows.’
They’ll park that mutual respect for 60-plus minutes at The Grove, but aside from knowing where the dangers lie, Darren insists the Mochta’s camp will be concentrating on their own strategy.
‘We wouldn’t be massive on singling lads out and trying to stop them playing, it’s more about the system. Obviously, Ronan Holcroft will have to be marked and Bevan will bring loads of energy at midfield, but those guys are going to play well, because they’re great players. It’s what you do when you have the ball that counts and we feel if we continue the form we’ve been showing we’ll go very close. It’s about the consistency and producing it on the big day.’
With four sets of brothers on this year’s panel, including Darren and his brother Ciaran, there’s a real family feel to the Mochta’s quest for IFC glory and with the U-16s and Minors also in championship finals, it’s creating a big buzz around Louth Village.
‘The flags and bunting are up and you’re reminded of it every time you go through the village. There’s more people coming down to training to watch and with the 16s and minors in the final too it’s great. For me, and the players around my age, we were too young in 2009 to really remember it. For most of the panel it’s the first time in a final.’
St Mochta’s probably wouldn’t have been most people’s firstchoice to reach the final at the star of the campaign, and nor would St Fechin’s for that matter, but Darren knew this day would come eventually.
‘To be honest, over the years you’d be sitting in the dressing room in December or January and looking around at the talent in the room and saying to yourself we could and should be doing much better.
‘We were there or thereabouts for a few years and the semi-final we lost in Darver to Mattock a few years ago was very hard to take. A few things didn’t go our way and we just felt a little hard done by. But we knew the talent and ability was there, it’s just about the consistency.’
A big ingredient in this year’s progress has been Declan Byrne’s form at full forward, but it was Darren and Eamonn O’Neill’s blossoming partnership at midfield that allowed manager Seamus McGahon and his selectors to experiment with the Louth star.
‘It seems to have worked out with Decky inside. We were probably trying to find the best spot for him and against the Fechin’s last time he played centre half back. Myself and Eamonn seem to complement each other well at midfield so that has allowed us to play him inside and obviously he’s a huge threat in there.’
While St Mochta’s were linked with a couple of well-known managers over the winter months, it
was local man McGahon who got the nod in the end and Darren feels that appointing from within was a shrewd move by the club.
‘Seamus is there this year and we’ve had Glen as well, and it just seems to work for us because maybe it’s just that sort of the club and the village is a bit insular. He knows the players inside out and he’s a really good man-manager, he’s a great talker and he’s great at pulling lads aside and giving them a bit of advice and confidence.’
It wasn’t all plain-sailing as a poor start in the league left everyone harbouring doubts, but they came good when it counted.
‘At the start of the year when we were really struggling you’re contemplating a relegation battle, but we just seemed to turn the corner and we had a great win over the Finbarrs and I think we were the only team to beat O Raghallaigh’s in the league.
‘That got us on track but we are a bit more experienced as a squad and as individuals now and you do learn how to deal with certain situations better. But it’s still a young team, half the starting team would be younger than me.
‘That’s testament to the work that was done at underage level, guys like my dad [Martin], Billy Lawlor, Brendan Byrne and James Doherty, taking a team through to minor and then going back and starting again. Because of that we’ve won a few Division 2 titles at under-16 and, while we’ve always brought through some good players, that wouldn’t really have been done before.’
One of the biggest names ever to come through the ranks at Pairc Mochta is Ciaran Byrne and whatever role he plays on Sunday, Darren is delighted to have his best mate back in the camp.
‘Ciaran is shaking off the rust and he’s definitely getting better. You have to remember he hasn’t played this sport for three or four years, it’s a bit like a lad who plays gaelic football going back to play soccer, it takes a bit of time to get tuned in again.
‘But it’s great to have him back, especially for the likes of myself and Andrew English who grew up with him and fingers crossed he can make a difference on Sunday. He got a big roar the last day and he did say that made him very nervous running out, but that’s behind him now and he’ll be the better for it,’ he adds.