Never mind
the nineties. It’s time for Passage to grasp the nettle. In the here and now,
they possess the forwards, the fitness and the strength in depth to hoist the
News & Star cup just before five on Sunday.
To take the next step, they will have to answer the following queries. Will Noel Connors shadow Gunners’ director Pauric Mahony around all afternoon? Will Owen Connors or Eoin Kelly stand over the placed balls? Should Sean Hogan or Thomas Connors start after making a lasting impression last time around? Can they sustain their effort over the full hour after enduring barren patches in both the quarter final and semi final? All of these issues will have occupied the mind of Peter Queally in preparation.
The Gunners played within themselves during the semi final. They shot eleven wides and couldn’t kill off their opponents conclusively. They lean heavily on Pauric Mahony as creator and scorer. He is responsible for almost half of their scores in this year’s championship (47 per cent). Their full forward line can produce more and if either Brian O’Sullivan or JJ Hutchinson catch fire, Passage will seek shelter. The inside line only threw in 1-6 in the last two games. The two corner men are the most likely candidates for first goalscorer. The quality of their defending in the knock out rounds meant that they didn’t have to overextend themselves up front. They conceded 15 points to De La Salle over eighty minutes and just eleven to Abbeyside in the semis. Stephen O’Keeffe has also kept back to back clean sheets. He stops attacks and starts attacks. His distribution and puck out strategy are crucial elements to Ballygunner’s success. Barry Coughlan suffocated Patrick Hurney and held him scoreless. Another steady sixty will alert the next inter county manager. The half back line offer both protection and a launch pad. Only four goals have gone by this Ballygunner sextet. Numbers eight to twelve (Philip Mahony, Harley Barnes, Shane O’Sullivan, Pauric Mahony and David O’Sullivan) are all crisp in keeping possession and orchestrating scores. They hold the upper hand in terms of astuteness in this sector.
Passage hold the guns to blast through the bullet proof vest. 14 goals from eight different sources suggests that they carry an array of threats. Eights different players raised a flag in the quarter final and that rose to nine on semi final Sunday. Owen Connors, Killian Fitzgerald and Conor Carey contribute a couple of scores from play and they may keep recently returned Thomas Connors and county minor Sean Hogan in reserve. Incredibly, Eoin Kelly has only mustered one point from play in the last two games and Owen Connors assumed the free taking duties in the second half of the semi final. He retreated to midfield that afternoon but his goal scent must be used at number fourteen. Kelly can rise to the enormity of the challenge. The pacy Mark Wyse and the composed Noel Connors glue together the defence. Their attacking approach does result in some spaces appearing at the other end however and at times, the forwards can neglect to muck in defensively. Passage concede an average of nineteen points per game. They do tend to hold their discipline however. They conceded five from frees against Mount Sion and six in the previous encounter against Ballyduff Upper and those figures are acceptable at this stage of the season. John Whitty offers the engine around the middle and he keeps plugging away no matter what way the cards fall for him.
The start should be frantic and fascinating. Passage settled against Sion with 1-3 after just six minutes. Ballygunner will want to set the seed of doubt in their minds that this final will prolong the famine. Either way, the stamina of the underdogs (attributed to the work of Fergal O’Brien) will keep their supporters shouting in the last ten minutes. After tossing and turning, a mean looking Ballygunner defence backed by one of the best goalkeepers in the land can decide this neighbourly dispute.
Betting: Ballygunner 1/2 Draw 9/1 Passage 15/8
Prediction:
Ballygunner
No comments:
Post a Comment