Moynalvey bidding for historic Leinster title

THE flags and bunting have been out in and around the Moynalvey area in anticipation of one of the biggest days for the club for some time - the Leinster JFC final against Rochfortbridge on Sunday. Moynalvey manager PJ Cummins has expressed his concern and disappointment that the game will be held in Rochfortbridge"s home ground. He says that this will be the fourth time the Westmeath side have had home advantage in the competition. Cummins feels that for a final, a neutral venue should be the number one consideration. After all, there is hardly a shortage of venues to choose from at this time of the year. 'A team playing in their own pitch in a final just dosen"t seem right. Rochfortbridge are a big team, they"re strong down the middle and that pitch obviously suits them. 'It"s a big pitch and maybe it"s worth two or three points, I don"t know we"ll have to wait and see,' he said as the countdown continues to another big occasion in what is turning out to be a truly memorable year for the club. Already the Meath JFC and the u-21 C titles have been bagged. Can they make it a hat-trick? One source of encouragement for Cummins and his players is that they have already proved to be a team who can travel away from home and grind out a result as they did against Donabate in the quarter-finals. The fact that Moynalvey overcame their opponents from Dublin in that encounter suggested that they would easily account for Kilkenny side Mooncoin in the semi-final. After all, Kilkenny football teams carry little threat once it comes to the business end of provincial competitions. At least that"s how the theory ran. The reality proved to be a lot different as a less than impressive Moynalvey side on a freezing day in Pairc Tailteann struggled to deal with the awkward questions posed by a limited, if willing Mooncoin side. Moynalvey did enough to win, 2-9 to 1-3, the scoreline, and especially the two goals, hiding the reality that the Meath side struggled to find the type of form they displayed earlier in the summer. Cummins is hoping that his team got their bad display of the campaign out of their system, preferring to look upon it as a 'wake up' call ahead of the dangers that await them on Sunday. Over the past week or so Moynalvey have been training in Dunganny and Kiltale working on the aspects of the game that they felt needed to be sharpened up to a level required to win a ground-breaking Leinster crown. One big plus for Moynalvey is their formidable combination of youth and experience with the likes of Cathal Sheridan and Damien Dixon complementing the youthful talent of players such as Mark O"Sullivan. This year Moynalvey have played with a spirt and confidence that has brought them far. Rochfortbridge have as their main threats the midfield combination of David Mitchell and Damien Gavin and the holders of the Matthew Ginnity Cup will need to be alert to any breaking ball in the vital central section. Moynalvey have a full bill of health. They may need all hands on deck if they are to overcome their Westmeath opponents - especially on their own patch.