Mayo team in good position to book Croke Park final spot

Kiltimagh will bid to book a place in the All-Ireland Junior Football Championship final when they play Tyrone and Ulster champions Clogher Éire Óg in the semi-final at Heartland Credit Union Páirc Sean MacDiarmada, Carrick-on-Shannon, tomorrow (Saturday), with throw-in at 12.30 p.m., writes Aiden Henry.

They carry the hopes of the county into this semi-final as they are the only club from Mayo to advance beyond the three provincial championships. They secured a magnificent victory over Leitrim champions Aughavas in the Connacht decider, which was also played at the Carrick-on-Shannon venue.

If Kiltimagh can reproduce that display, especially the opening half performance, against the Ulster champions, then they must stand a great chance of booking their place in the final, which will be played in Croke Park on the second weekend of January.

Kiltimagh’s journey so far this year has been remarkable. In the group stages of the Mayo junior club championship, their performances were anything but good. Indeed they only scraped into the knockout stages and were regarded as outsiders to win the county title.

We should have known, however, that when it gets down to the serious business in the championship, Kiltimagh are a different team, as they have shown on numerous occasions in the past.

After getting through their quarterfinal, they came up against the favourites to win the title, Ardagh. In what was a rip-roaring contest, Kiltimagh produced their best display of the year and came out on top. They carried this form in the county final where they easily accounted for east Mayo rivals, Eastern Gaels.

It was then on to the Connacht championship. In the semi-final they accounted for the Roscommon champions before setting up a decider against surprise packets Aughavas, the Leitrim champions. Aughavas were widely regarded as the best junior team to come out of Leitrim in years, and copper-fastened this view by defeating the Galway champions rather easily. For Kiltimagh, it was never going to be an easy game, especially as it was played in Carrick-on-Shannon.

However, it was in the Connacht final that we saw Kiltimagh produce their best performance of the year. Having to line out without the influential Brian Gallagher (there is every hope he will be able to play some part in tomorrow's game), Kiltimagh started the final like an express train, building up an early lead. Indeed, such was their overall dominance in the opening half that they went in for the interval break seven points in front, 0-11 to 0-4.

On this occasion they were never going to allow their opponents get any sort of momentum in the second half and in the end ran out the easy winners by eight points. Overall, it was the kind of performance we had seen on many occasions in their glory days.

DIFFICULT

Kiltimagh are now they just 60 minutes away from a big day out in Croke Park. Standing in their way are Ulster champions Clogher Éire Óg, and there is little doubt this Tyrone side will prove difficult to beat.

In winning their first ever Ulster title, Clogher Éire Óg defeated Monaghan's Emyvale in the final. Unlike the Connacht final, this was a very close affair. Indeed, with the sixth minute of injury time almost played, the sides remained deadlocked. However, one last-gasp effort from Clogher's star player, Conor Shields, gave them the win on a scoreline of 1-12 to 0-14.

By all accounts, Clogher are a very strong, physical side with strength in depth all over the field. As we have seen with Tyrone teams down through the years, if they get a sniff of qualifying for an All-Ireland final they prove difficult to beat. We can be sure they will be ready to give everything in trying to beat Kiltimagh.

Nevertheless, Kiltimagh manager Mick Regan will have his charges geared up for this big game. He was very pleased with his side's performance in the Connacht final.

“I think our full-back line of Mattie (Cummins), Kevin (Mulderrig) and Evan (Cosgrove) were superb. They kept the best full-forward we have come up against at bay. But the defence as a whole were brilliant,” said Regan.

“Our two boys won the midfield battle, and our forwards were on fire, especially in the first half. They were patient and waited for the right time to have a go at getting a score.

“We were also able to give a number of players the opportunity to come on and prove their worth, which they did. Eoghan (Lavin) had just come on when he scored a magnificent point. It was great to get a run into Aidan Cosgrove, who has recently come back to us.”

The manager said the focus is all on Clogher now. “We have worked hard in order to try and win this semi-final,” said Regan.

A very close, tough game can be expected, but Kiltimagh are on the up and I can see them coming out on top here. They are strong in every position of the field and will give it their all in the pursuit of victory. I think they will win with a few points to spare.