AT the full time whistle of last year’s intermediate championship final, the St Paul’s players slumped to their knees and winced on the wet ground, devastated that another opportunity has passed them by.
For the fifth time in six seasons, that green, white and gold flag will flutter behind the band on county final day. St Paul’s are still chasing their first championship crown since 2014. It’s well documented at this stage that they have lost four of the last five finals.
There’s been so much heartache and despair in the last half a decade. Clan na Gael and Cullyhanna were admittedly too strong. One-point defeats to Shane O’Neill’s and Carrickcruppen were particularly hard to swallow.
But a new year offers fresh hope and another chance to rectify those mistakes. While St Paul’s started their championship journey on the backfoot, losing to Grange in a thrilling shootout on the opening day, they have been in flying high ever since.
St Paul’s main men
Shane McConville’s men have coped brilliantly well without sharpshooter Eoin McConville, the managers son. Andrew Murnin has really stepping up and quite literally playing the role of two men at times.
McConville rattled off an incredible haul of 1-25 during the three group stage encounters. He suffered an ankle injury in their convincing playoff triumph over Whitecross and has been out of action ever since.
Antoin and Niall McParland are others that have helped to fill the void in the forward line. Niall McCorry’s versality, often used at full forward or in midfield, has allowed Murnin to roam freely around the field.
Sarsfields don’t carry that same big day baggage and they have already taken care of their very own hoodoo this year. That had never won a game in the newly developed BOX-IT Athletic Grounds before their semi-final date with Grange.
High Moss hoodoo
They changed that record with aplomb. Paul McGeown, the competitions top scorer, rattled off 1-8, with his goal being set up by older brother Eamon, who was extremely influential around the centre of the park.
Tommy McAlinden has returned from to full fitness. Young guns Luka Donnelly and Conal McCann have added a freshness this year. The strength of their squad has also been key with the likes of Kevin McAlinden and Michael Stevenson being held in reserve.
Skipper Niall Kerr gave a man of the match display the last day out. He went toe-to-toe with Ethan Rafferty. He could be the man given the daunting task of shadowing Murnin for the day in an attempt to limit his influence.
Sarsfields are unbeaten throughout the entire campaign. They topped their group with three wins from three before securing knockout victories over Keady and Grange to book their place in the 2025 showpiece.
Evenly matched
Sarsfields and St Paul’s locked horns twice during the Division 2A league earlier in the year. They finished second and third respectively in the table and they each recorded an away day victory over the other.
It’s 15 years since the High Moss men last tasted championship gold. There would be no better way to mark the occasion than to bring the Atty Hearty Cup back home to Derrytrasna.
No one could begrudge St Paul’s a bit of success following all the near misses of recent times. But it’s the winners who write the script and McConville’s crowd won’t want to be remembered as nearly men.
On paper, there’s very little to separate these two teams and it could be decided by the finest of margins. If the championship to date is anything to go by, then we could be in for an absolute classic.