Will Ballymore get the better of Killoe in the Longford Junior final?

The curtain-raiser to the clash of Clonguish and Emmet Og in the senior final promises to be a cracking contest and Ballymore will be very wary indeed in view of their poor record in county finals down through the years.

Apart from the hurt of losing to Legan Sarsfields (2021) and Young Grattans (2022) in the battle for the Junior crown, Ballymore also had to settle for second best in a few Intermediate finals and their solitary success in the second tier championship was back in 2004. 

While the time has surely come for the progressive north Longford club to claim the Junior title for the first time since 1995, the current Ballymore team would appear to be facing a tough task against Killoe.

When the clubs clashed in the group stage, Emmet Og came out on top by the minimum of margins (2-10 to 2-9) and another close encounter is probably in prospect.

Killoe are seeking to win the third tier championship for the sixth time and their previous success in this grade was in 2018. They also reached the Junior final the following year and almost sprang a surprise against a strongly fancied Kenagh side who were fortunate to succeed by a single point.

Commanding the central defensive positions on the present team are Emmet Toher and Gary Connell, with a competent goalkeeper in Brian Carr,  while the midfield pairing of Cormac Harte and Niall Finneran are well  capable of making a big impact. 

Leading the charge in the Killoe attack will be the McManus brothers Oisin and Shane who clocked up 10 points between them in the comprehensive 0-18 to 0-5 win over Legan Sarsfields in the semi-final while David Mimnagh and Ger Carberry can also make their presence felt for Gary Fenelon’s charges. 

Colmcille clubman Dermot Murphy is the manager of the Ballymore team who learned little in the landslide 7-15 to 0-3 victory over the Junior ‘B’ champions Abbeylara (second string) in the other last four clash. 

It was just target practice for Ballymore and particularly prominent in the scoring stakes was the influential Ciaran Reilly who registered a total of 3-4.

Damien Monaghan, Donal McElvaney, Padraig Kavanagh, Sean Brady, Glen Kelly and former Longford star Bernard McElvaney provide the experience for the solely Junior club along with the youthful exuberance of David Reilly, Oisin Flynn, Gavin O’Hara, Cian O’Hara and the Boyle brothers Padraig and John.

 Ballymore look to be the better-balanced team in their bid to cross the final hurdle in the chase for Junior Championship glory but will need to be at their best to overcome Killoe.

Prediction: Ballymore