St Gall's ready for final step

ALL-IRELAND CLUB SFC FINAL: St Gall's v Kilmurry-IbrickaneWERE IT not for the epochal hurling final this would be a worthy main event for St Patrick's Day. The interest in the clubs is only partly because they come from counties unused to the exposure. Both have made their way this far impressively.

Kilmurry have the disappointment of losing narrowly to eventual winners Ballina five years ago to fuel them, albeit it isn’t as high-octane as what’s driving Gall’s. The memory of how they let the 2006 All-Ireland slip away in the freezing cold against Galway’s Salthill must have haunted them every step of the way back to today’s chance of redemption.

In the controversy that shrouded Kilmurry’s semi-final win over hot favourites Portlaoise, one salient possibility was lost – the Clare team might have won the match anyway even had the Laois champions not suffered that opening-seconds red card.

Nonetheless the dismissal was a definite assistance, particularly to the team’s game plan of launching a high-tempo offensive from the start. Their tactics were clever and their finishing efficient (1-7 from the full-forward line of Michael O’Dwyer, Johnny Daly and Noel Downes) but there’s no doubt the loss of a defender created disorientation in Portlaoise’s normally tight rearguard.

St Gall’s had a searching examination of their own in the semi-final, as Corofin recovered from a bad start to push the match into extra-time.

It was the second time in the campaign the Antrim champions had to go the extra 20, as Cavan Gaels had also pushed them hard, requiring the Belfast club to overhaul a six-point deficit in a tempestuous Ulster quarter-final.

Central to expectations of this afternoon is familiarity with the big day. Traditionally this hasn’t been a championship that has rewarded losing experience but for a team that had the winning of the final four years ago, this is a great opportunity not to repeat those mistakes.

Gall’s have demonstrated great composure in the championship to date. The big win over Loup in the Ulster final was an aberration and they have been well-tested by Cavan Gaels, Clontibret, as well as Corofin. Their ability in the semi-final methodically to stitch together their short, support game when under pressure was striking, especially the sang froid of the move that led to corner back Paul Veronica’s point towards the end of the match.

The attack is varied, even if CJ McGourty has got most of the attention but his brothers Kevin and Kieran played significant roles in the semi-final and that was with Fermanagh’s Rory Gallagher having been forced off early with a hamstring injury.

This will be the cockpit of the match. Kilmurry’s defence has been tight as a drum, conceding an average of six points a match. Martin McMahon did a fine job on Paul Cahillane in the semi-final, whereas Enda Coughlan and Evan Talty are capable, perceptive half backs.

Their main challenge is St Gall’s can play it any way. The free -scoring rout of the Ulster final doesn’t mean the Ulster champions can’t play it tight and Aodhán Gallagher gives them a conventional focus at centrefield.

That flexibility as well as the demonstrated unflappability of the campaign to date puts them in the driving seat this afternoon.