Connacht Gold Leitrim SFC Final preview: History beckons the winners
Old foes have met in six previous finals with Ballinamore leading 4-2 while Mohill have never won back to back championships as our Observer sports editor finds it difficult to predict who will prevail on Sunday
Hard to look at Sunday’s Connacht Gold Leitrim SFC Final with any great degree of certainty as to what the outcome may be as defending champions Mohill and 2021 winners Ballinamore Sean O’Heslins do battle in front of the TG4 cameras to see who will lift the Fenagh Cup in 2024.
Sunday’s Final is only the second final since 1963 not to take place in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada with the County ground out of action at the moment with a new pitch being opened, giving Ballinamore Sean O’Heslins a rather unique opportunity to win the title on their very home patch.
That’s a tantalising prospect for everyone in Ballinamore but remember, the one final that didn’t take place in Pairc Sean over the last 61 years was held in Cloone back in 2006 and a team by the name of Mohill shocked the heavy favourites St Mary’s Kiltoghert to lift the Fenagh Cup for the first time since they defeated Ballinamore in 1971.
If you let it, the history of the occasion might overwhelm you - Mohill have never won back to back titles but Ballinamore have never won the Cup on their home ground, even when the finals were played at Ardrum Rock (thanks to Sean O’Suilleabhain for the nuggets of information).
Mohill and Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins have clashed six previous times on County Final day - everyone will remember the epic encounter two years ago that won universal admiration from the TV watching public but there is a rich history behind this fixture with the very first Leitrim Senior Final contested by Sunday’s same opponents away back in 1890.
Mohill won that day 134 years ago but Ballinamore won the next three times they met in the final in 1913, 1922 and 1930. Mohill won in 1971 as Ballinamore were in the middle of a run that saw them win six titles in nine years, Ballinamore hitting back the following year to get their revenge over Mohill.
So what exactly does all history and tradition that tell us? Not a lot - except both these teams have a history of winning and contesting Finals and while this edition of the Ballinamore Sean O’Heslins team may lag behind Mohill in terms of final appearances in recent years, Sunday being their third in five years while Mohill have five in a row, the big occasion won’t bother either of them.
The Semi-Finals, with the exact same scoreline and both teams winning with injury time winners, confuse the picture somewhat - it is not that we don’t have pointers as to what might happen on Sunday but rather the pointers are somewhat muddled!
Mohill looked champions in waiting in the first half but were hanging on for dear life against Fenagh near the end while Ballinamore twice dug deep to wipe out a St Mary’s lead and they always looked the more likely down the stretch to hit the winner, such was their energy and enthusiasm.
Yet both Mohill and Ballinamore could have lost just as easily as they won, such were the fine margins but when the game was there to be grabbed hold of, our two finalists did that - underlining the motivation and self-belief that are inherent in both sides.
What conclusions can we draw from the semi-finals? The feeling is that Mohill are unlikely to set up the way St Mary’s did, although Eamonn O'Hara is not adverse to springing a surprise. Ballinamore will look to invite Mohill onto them and break quickly, posing a very different to the challenge to Fenagh.
There is a feeling out there that Mohill’s strength in depth may not be as strong as it was in previous years but the core remains strong - Shane Quinn, Keith Keegan, the Harkins and Mitchells, Ryan Bohan, Fiachra McGuinness and the returned Jordan Reynolds and Keith Beirne are a formidable spine but impact off the bench may not be quite the same.
You’d also think that Beirne & Reynolds will have come on immensely from the semi-final, having so little to no championship action to their name this year - in a way, that applies to Mohill as a whole.
Their path to the semi-final featured only teams who ended up in the relegation zone and rather than lift you, it can drag you down a level.
So what Eamonn O’Hara’s side came through against Fenagh was immense, not only in terms of that battle, but now Mohill know exactly where they stand. They produced wonderful football in the first half, lost their way but somehow managed to eke out a victory that saw them into the Final.
With a League Final just a week before the championship started, Ballinamore were well tested by St Mary’s, Leitrim Gaels and Fenagh St Caillins on successive weekends. They learned a lot in those games and they’ve been building a nice head of steam ever since, a team building momentum and belief.
Flashback to 2021 - Ballinamore's Tom Prior is tackled by Mohill's Evan Harkin Picture: Willie Donnellan
The final two years ago was open and fast paced, I have the sneaky suspicion that next Sunday won’t be quite as free-flowing. Mohill showed last year that they can adapt quite quickly between semi-final and final and Ballinamore have employed more of a deep lying strategy this year, safe in the knowledge that Tom Prior, Paul Honeyman and Paul Moran can do damage.
Can Ballinamore restrict Jordan Reynolds and Keith Beirne? Mohill have lost their safety blanket that was Ronan Kennedy but Fiachra McGuinness has stepped up nicely while young Matthew Murphy has a fair bit of potential. Reynolds and Beirne are proven big game performers and their semi-final endeavours will bring them on tremendously.
But as it always does, it may just come down to who wins the battle in the trenches - Shane Moran, Liam Ferguson, Wayne McKeon and Michael McKiernan are big ball winners for Ballinamore, Shane & Conor Quinn, Domhnaill Flynn and Keith Keegan do the same for Mohill and I wouldn’t like to predict that one.
In fact, I don’t have one iota how this game is going to go - Ballinamore have momentum I feel but then, Mohill will have learned so much from the Fenagh game, both mentally and physically. Mohill have recent history but Ballinamore turned them over two years ago with the pressure of ending a long drought on their shoulders.
Ballinamore have the advantage of playing at home but that can also be a burden, Mohill more than happy to come into Pairc Sheain Ui Eslin and take the Fenagh Cup back home with them. If anything, home advantage might be a double edged sword with all the attendant hype, excitement and pressure.
Throwing all that into the mix, I’m in the dark as much as anyone - nothing would surprise me in regard to this final. I hope we get a repeat of the final two years ago where Darren Maxwell, to my mind, was the game’s most influential player with three wonder saves to deny Mohill certain goals. Mohill score those goals they win, they don’t and Ballinamore hang in and strike at just the right time to take the title.
That’s how finely balanced Sunday's contest is - I don’t expect it to be open and free-flowing but one moment of magic is all is takes to see who will be crowned Connacht Gold Leitrim SFC champions for 2024.