Bookies say Sarsfields, but Maynooth have their reasons to believe
Sarfields full-back Cian Hughes tries to get away from the challenge of Maynooth's Liam McDonald during the group stage clash between the teams Photo: Sean Brilly
They say you’ll never meet a poor bookie so a glance at the odds at the time of writing suggests Sarsfields are nailed on to bring home a 17th Kildare senior football title (or a 26th if you are of the persuasion that credits them with the successes of their predecessor club Roseberry).
Odds of 1/4 for Sarsfields versus 10/3 for Maynooth suggest the turf accountants believe the Crom Abús from North Kildare can be satisfied with merely reaching a first final since 1916 rather than fussing over a potential first title since 1913 and only a second ever.
If you want an omen Roseberry beat Maynooth in the 1915 decider (0-6 to 1-0).
But those odds seem a tad disrespectful to Ross Glavin’s charges surely? After all they not only ran Sarsfields close in the group stages (losing out to late scores in a six-point defeat, their only one to date), but is it not Maynooth who ended the championship campaigns of last year’s two finalists, champions Athy and runners-up Naas, in the last two rounds?
The argument might be that Sarsfields are the ‘old dogs for the hard road’ and their experience will get them over the line. Yes and no. Only four of the starters from the Newbridge club’s last final in 2021 also started in the semi-final a fortnight ago against Celbridge (Shea Ryan, Colm Harnett, Con Kavanagh and Barry Coffey) though Daragh Ryan and Cian Costigan from that defeat to Naas also came on as subs two weeks ago and Karl Hartley, one of their stars of this campaign was a substitute in 2021.
A similar number of the current panel won winners medals in 2019 under Davy Burke’s tutelage but there’s been a fair amount of water under the Liffey Bridge since then.
Sarsfields do deserve the tag of favourites, though. They have been there or thereabouts most of the last decade and came within a whisker of a final place last year, losing out in agonising fashion to Athy.
The introduction of youngsters such as Cathal White, Conor O’Donovan, Ryan Kearney and Luke Mahon has added a fresh dimension to a Sarsfields team that often felt overly dependent on Ben McCormack’s mercurial talents in the past, a burden that often proved too much for a player with his injury misfortunes.
This year Sarsfields have progressed impressively to this stage largely without McCormack’s influence while county breakthrough star Ben Loakman has been another absentee. It appears unlikely that either would be available to play any significant role against Maynooth.
A look at the scoring records of both teams also suggests the bookies are right to favour Sarsfields. Their scoring difference of +44 significantly outranks Maynooth’s +18 and their powerful demolition of Celbridge in the second half a fortnight ago reflected confident team in front of the posts.
Maynooth, despite having one of the top scorers in the championship in the impish Paddy Mahoney and a breakthrough forward in Liam McDonald, have not been shooting the lights out in similar fashion, but what they have brought to the table is a defensive solidity that is the hallmark of any team managed by Glavin, the former Moorefield manager who brought titles to his home club in 2017 and 2018.
Glavin has been blessed with a return to form of goalkeeper Mark Donnellan this year and perhaps it is worth Brian Flanagan having another look at ‘The Don’ for 2027. Niall O’Sullivan is another who has been around the Kildare panel and is one of the best trackers in the county at club level. Cathal McCabe’s return to football action in recent weeks is another big addition, and it was he who got forward for the crucial goal against Naas two weeks ago.
The midfield battle will be intriguing. Gavin Anderson has put in some serious shifts for Sarsfields alongside the experienced Matty Byrne, a link with the 2019 winning team, but Maynooth have a powerhouse pair of their own in Matthew Diamond and Ciaran Flanagan.
The fitness of Neil Flynn is possibly more of factor than the injured Sarsfields attackers. If he was available to Maynooth he would bring cleverness to a playmaking role similar to the one Barry Coffey plays for Sarsfields.
What Galvin has done for Maynooth should not be underestimated. The level of consistency he has brought to their game in this championship is notable considering they struggled to find that in previous years, frustratingly so.
But it has been their ability to grind out those extra-time wins against Athy and Naas that makes a compelling case for Sunday’s final being a lot closer than the bookmakers seem to think. Some will argue Naas could have been ‘out the gate’ had they their shooting boots on in the first half the last day and that’s a fair point.
But Maynooth have a man for the big occasion on the sideline. Apart from his titles won as manager, Glavin played in five finals against Sunday’s opponents Sarsfields, winning four and drawing one, captaining Moorefield to the 2013 title win over their great rivals.
Sarsfields manager Vinnie Walsh has a title of his own with Athy of course and won’t take any Ross Glavin managed team lightly.
This could be a lot closer than people think. Whether big match nerves prove a factor for the newcomers Maynooth remains to be seen. Sarsfields get a tentative vote from this observer, they just seem to have the greater spread of scoring options. If Maynooth can keep it tight, it could get interesting, though.
This weekend also sees the first ever Joe Mallon Motors Senior ‘A’ Football Championship final, and either Eadestown or Clane will be the first club to have their name etched on the new trophy.
Both sides had their hard luck stories in the group stages and could very easily have qualified for the knockout stages of the main competition, particularly Clane. They let a win slip from their grasp in the opening round when conceding an equalising injury time goal against Johnstownbridge. They bounced back to beat Allenwood and were level in injury time against Celbridge but conceded a last gasp point to Aaron Brown and that put paid to their chances.
In the ‘A’ Championship, a storming display by Brian McLoughlin, scorer of 1-8, saw them edge past Carbury and they then beat Clogherinkoe in the semi-final.
Eadestown beat Clogherinkoe in the opening round of the group stages before putting in an impressive first-half display against Naas but ultimately succumbing to a heavy defeat. That left them in a winner-take-all battle against Moorefield in the final round but a Mark Murray goal in the final quarter saw that game go against them.
Emmet Bolton’s men have been part of two very exciting games in the ‘A’ Championship so far. First off, beating Kilcock by 0-20 to 2-12. Their season looked over when two points down against Sallins in the semi-final but Eoin Conneff came up with a goal with the last kick of the game to book their final place.
A number of Eadestown’s key men, the Boran brothers and Harry Carroll in particular, have a lot on their plate at the moment with commitments to Naas hurlers and how they cope with that might decide how successful they can be here, and probably makes Clane slight favourites going into the game.
It’s the game that nobody wants to be involved in but by Saturday evening, either one of Allenwood or Kilcock will be confirmed as an Intermediate club for next season.
It’s a second year in a row in the final for Allenwood after beating Confey in last year’s final, although they are unlikely to be able to rely upon Johnny Doyle pulling them out of the fire again.
There is no doubt that have played well in patches of some of their games but haven't been able to do that across a full 60 minutes and they have lost all five of their Championship matches this year. Results would suggest that they are favourites for the drop.
There must be a part of Kilcock wondering how they have ended up here. They were excellent for 50 minutes against Athy in the opening round, and then beat Raheens in their next game. They then lost three close games in a row against Sallins, Eadestown and Caragh, games they could easily have won, and winning just one would altered the direction of their season.
On this season’s form, Kilcock must be favourites but relegation finals are rarely about who is the best team, they are about who has stomach for the battle. Whoever does get the win, it’s unlikely to be straightforward.
