St Mary's favourites but Mohill pose stiff test in Intermediate Final
Yet another meeting of St Mary's Kiltoghert and Mohill in a County Final but this time it is the Carrick women who start as strong favourites for Saturday's Gotham Dry Wall LGFA Intermediate Championship Final at 1pm in Carrigallen.
St Mary's set themselves out as the pre competition favourites when they shocked Dromahair to win the Division 2 League title and nothing since then has altered that idea as Declan Bohan's team have marched to the final in impressive fashion. Yet their first outing in this competition will have them wary for they took on Mohill and were slightly flattered by a 4-10 to 1-9 scoreline with Mohill unable to convert a host of good chances that would have made the game a good deal closer.
But there is little doubt that St Mary's have been the form team this year - St Brigid's and Drumkeerin ran them to five and six points respectively as the went through the group undefeated.
In Elise Bruen, they have a powerful engine in the middle of the park while her sister Kasey is the leader of a defence that is mobile and tight marking with Jasmine Maye another to impress. Enya McWeeney and Emma Clarke are a strong midfield pairing while upfront, Sarah Reynolds, Aisling Leahy and Roisin Kelleher are all capable of running up big scores.
For Mohill, Charlene Tyrell remains their heartbeat and driving force and much of her team's hopes lie with her tireless energy around the middle of the park. Caoimhe Canning, Sarah Boyle, Niamh Beirne and Saoirse McWeeney are all capable of getting the scores Mohill need.
But for Mohill, much of the build-up will revolve around if Dearbhaile Beirne is available on Saturday. The one-time Irish international faces a fixture clash with title chasing Peamount United taking on leaders Wexford Youths at 5.20 next Saturday.
With the game taking place in Dublin, it would mean a very early start for the Ladies Final if Beirne was to make both games and with a throw-in time of 1 pm on Saturday for the Ladies Final, it is hard to know if Beirne will be available for Mohill's title tilt.
Beirne made a big difference in two big Mohill wins this year - the first a 8-8 to 2-5 destruction of Drumkeerin while she played a key role in Mohill's recovery from a five point deficit in the semi-final against St Brigid's as Mohill ran out 0-16 to 2-9 victors.
That was a huge shock as Brigid's would have been favoured to advance so you can see why Mohill would be desperate to have the dual sports star in their ranks for Saturday's showdown.
Beirne's absence would be a huge boost to St Mary's chances but the Carrick women look like a team on the mission this year. They overcame a very strong Dromahair in the Division 2 Final, a team loaded with attacking talent that took them to the limit.
Mohill will need to stop Carrick getting in a flow because when they do, they rack up the scores very quickly. On form, St Mary's are hot favourites and hard to go against that but they will get a stern examination from Mohill next Saturday.