Can Ballysaggart rise early once more? – All Ireland junior club final preview

Creggan will have the sandbags stacked in the event of another first half flash flood from Ballysaggart on Saturday. It simply occurs far too frequently to categorize it as a freak event.

In their last seven matches, Saggart have held the upper hand at the midway point. Furthermore, they have recorded the first score in four out of their last five outings. These thunderous downpours are often accompanied by the flash of a green flag. Feenagh/Kilmeedy momentarily slipped ahead in the Munster final before Stephen Bennett smashed a sixth minute goal. He had landed the opening punch for six games in succession until the All Ireland semi final when Shane beat him to it. Stephen is available at 11/2 for the first goal on Saturday.

They force teams onto the backfoot and often catch them with a tactical twist. The management hold room for manoeuvre in the forward line. The front six serve as moveable pieces of the attacking jigsaw. Stephen Bennett pops up on the wing if full forward proves too stuffy, Ronan Walsh interchanges between positions twelve and fourteen and Shane Bennett also hops between both lines. As always, the management will arrive with a plan prepared. After consulting with Fullen Gaels and doing the research, Adrian Meagher, Pat Ryan and Pat Bennett land at Headquarters well briefed. They will want to use their mobility to exploit the full width of Croke Park and avoid the physical confrontation. 

They are scoring freely, averaging 2-16 per game. Over the course of thirteen outings, they have managed 26 goals. Those three pointers make up the key ingredient to the jump starts they have enjoyed up to now. Their opponents surveyed the semi final in Tullamore and know what’s coming.

Creggan reached the Ulster final in 2011 and lost to Burt of Donegal before making the breakthrough in 2013. All three of their provincial championship games were settled by a puck of the ball. One points wins over Kilclief and Coleraine was followed by a slightly more comfortable three point triumph against thirteen man Craobh Rua of Armagh in the decider. They recovered from four in arrears to defeat Fullen Gaels by five (2-10 to 1-8). Their starting fifteen could contain five McCanns. Oran scored seven points in both the Ulster final and All Ireland semi final. Conor represented the county under 21 team in their shock All Ireland appearance last September. Half back Martin Johnson plays with the Antrim senior footballers.

The Ballysagart defence are holding teams to around 14 points per game. They have conceded 12 goals and kept two clean sheets in a row. While the focus will be placed on Oran and Conor McCann, Conleth McGrenaghan and Conor Small can pinch goals. They lean once more on the steadiness of Matty Meagher at number one and Eugene O’Brien at number six.

Management have successfully shielded the hype up to this point. The performance levels are yet to dip. They take the business of winning this competition very seriously. Even with prior notice, their opponents cannot seem to find shelter from the shower of goals and points in the opening half. Even if Creggan muster a relief effort on final day, Saggart appear unlikely to hit the panic button. All the meticulous planning on and off the field shouldn’t go to waste.

Ballysaggart’s half time headway

Ballysaggart 2-7 Modeligo 1-7
Ballysaggart 2-6 Colligan 0-5
Ballysaggart 1-10 Tramore 0-5
Ballysaggart 1-5 Grenagh 0-4
Ballysaggart 0-6 Knockshegowna 0-2
Ballysaggart 1-8 Feenagh/Kilmeedy 0-9
Ballysaggart 3-10 Calry St Joseph’s 0-2

Likely line-ups

Ballysaggart: M Meagher; B Ryan, K Fennessy, D Devine; B Murphy, E O’Brien, C O’Gorman; C Murphy, K Bennett; K Cashell, D Meagher, R Walsh; Shane Bennett, Stephen Bennett, T Bennett.

Creggan Kickhams: B Prenter; D McCann, A Maguire, D Carey; F McAuley, T McCann, M Johnston; S Maguire, A McKeown; K Rice, O McCann, C McGrenaghan; C Small, J Dougan, C McCann

Odds: Ballysaggart 1/4 Draw 11/1 Creggan 3/1