Kilmessan bidding for a final ticket

The home of the Roscommon hurling team - the GAA pitch in Athleague - has become a familiar hunting ground for players from the Royal County down through the years. On Sunday next Kilmessan will be seeking to scupper the ambitions of Galway side Cappataggle in the All-Ireland Club IHC semi-final at the venue. The Meath champions travel to Athleague looking to continue in their ground-breaking adventures in the competition with the Galway side making up a sturdy obstacle towards further progress. Kilmessan haven"t lost a championship game since their defeat by Kiltale in the SHC final in the autumn of 2007. They know they will have to be close to their best to overcome a Cappataggle side that have also displayed character and a strong mentality in recent times. Cappataggle experienced their share of travails on their march to the Galway and Connacht IHC crowns. They were hammered by 15 points in one of their early games in their native county. They circled the wagons and turned things around, putting in a sustained run that brought them to better days. Kilmessan go into Sunday"s game with memories of one of the club"s greatest ever days still fresh in their minds. The 1-7 to 1-6 win over Kilkenny side Erin"s Own last November was a truly special occasion for a club well accustomed to success on the domestic front. 'We were beaten by a better team. There can be no cribbing,' said Erin Own"s manager Donal Dunne afterwards as the hurling world appeared to go mad, for an afternoon at least. Since then, Kilmessan have kept themselves busy with a series of challenge games in recent weeks, against Wicklow, Crumlin and a Meath selection. Not content with just maintaining their fitness, they have sought to retain their match sharpness. They have found out that the challenges they face at provincial level are different to what they come up against on the domestic front. Against Erin"s Own they were able to play the kind of fast game they like. While the contest was demanding it didn"t descend into a dogfight as so often happens on the domestic front when they face teams they are familiar with. The game against Erin"s Own carried with it a particular mental as well as a physical challenge and on both counts Kilmessan proved up to the mark. Part of the reason for Kilmessan"s success over the past eight months has been the display of Stephen Clynch. Since moving to centre-back his talents have blossomed. He has added an extra dimension to Kilmessan"s overall displays and in both the drawn SHC final against Kildalkey and the replay he was imperious. His displays have encouraged his colleagues to improve their standards and this has injected the team with a forceful momentum that has carried them a long way. Clynch"s display in the drawn Meath SHC final was one of the reasons why Kilmessan did not lose out to Kildalkey. Another five-star performance in the replay ensured Kildalkey"s stubborn resistance was finally quenched. Still feeling that the team has yet to perform to maximum level, manager Martin Curran is looking for the players to take another step up in standards for the Athleague assignment. 'We want to be in Croke Park,' he told the Meath Chronicle as he continued with the preparations for another big day out for his club. He points to 'a new hunger' among the older players that has partly powered the team to county and provincial titles. 'We have a good team, if we can perform to our potential, we can do well,' added Curran with confidence. David Donnelly, Clynch, Ger O"Neill, Anton O"Neill, Nicky Horan and Martin Horan have seen it all before and make up a hardcore of experienced performers. The youth is provided by players such as Malcolm Doyle, Kevin Keena, Joey Keena and Peter Farrell. The old and the young have joined forces to make up a formidable looking combination. Cappataggle will be acutely aware that they cannot concede too many frees close to their own posts. If he has his usual game Nicky Horan will punish them with impunity from placed balls. There are times, as they showed in the drawn final with Kildalkey, that Kilmessan can lose their way in games. They have also displayed the ability to play their way out of trouble and deliver a knock-out blow. It"s a quality that could prove the difference on Sunday, at the home of Roscommon hurling.