Evan Hoey (Castletown) looks to escape from Moynalvey’s Cillian O’Sullivan and Ciaran Harnan in the IFC quarter-finals. Hoey & Co will be hopeful of reaching the final.

Castletown face daunting task in showdown with O’Mahonys

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Evan Hoey (Castletown) looks to escape from Moynalvey’s Cillian O’Sullivan and Ciaran Harnan in the IFC quarter-finals. Hoey & Co will be hopeful of reaching the final. Paula Greif

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Duggie Dillon can create openings and take scores for O’Mahonys. David Mullen

Jimmy Geoghegan

Published: Fri 4 Oct 2024, 12:22 PM

Winning games consistently depends on a lot of factors. One of those is the ability to take the chances that come your way. Take your chances and somehow prevent your opponents from making the most of their opportunities. It's a simple formula in theory but devilishly difficult in practice.

Castletown found the right combination to unlock the Moynalvey defence enough times in their quarter-final clash to ensure they made it through to face O'Mahonys in Sunday's semi-final showdown at Pairc Tailteann, 2pm.

But will the team in green and gold be able to do the same against the Hoops? It's doubtful. O'Mahonys showed in THEIR quarter-final victory over Bective they are a side with a formidable momentum behind them; a tailwind that could carry them to victory here as well. Arguably the shock defeat O'Mahonys suffered in their opening round joust against Walterstown was just what was needed to spark them into life. They recovered and topped their group before overcoming Bective, 1-14 to 1-6, in the last eight. That leaves them with a scoring difference of plus 19 from the four games played. It's good going.

Few teams at this level move the ball from defence into attack as quickly as O'Mahonys - and they have the players to finish off moves consistently well. Robbie Keelaghan, who scored 1-3 against Bective, is one of the those who has performed consistently well in open play and when it comes to taking scores - but he's not the only one. Aodhan Mallon, Duggie Dillon, Oisin O'Brien, Ronan Clarke and Ivo Fitzherbert are others well capable of punishing opposition defences. The Brews Hill outfit can vary their play, quickly changing the point of attack. Apart from errors in that Walterstown game O'Mahonys have been strong and assured in defence. It's another reason why they are so difficult to contain.

Castletown are also a side hitting form at just the right time. They showed that in the way they overcame Moynalvey last time out.

Moynalvey were expected by some to end their brief spell in the intermediate grade by winning the title but once in the second tier it can be difficult to get out again. Very difficult.

Castletown can still draw on the bulk of the players who made it through to the All-Ireland Club JFC semi-final early last year such as Killian Price, Rian McConnell, Darren Finney, Declan Cribbin and Kevin Ross. Players such as Darragh Kelly and Adam Matthews are others well capable of finishing chances.

They didn't make an impact in the 2023 IFC but this time around Castletown look re-invigorated as was shown in the way they topped their group before finding the necessary energy, organisation and craft to hold out against Moynalvey.

O'Mahonys, however, are a different proposition. They can take a giant stride to securing a place in the final by securing victory here.

Verdict: Navan O'Mahonys.