Battle-hardened Loughrea outfit to carry the day

STEPHEN GLENNON

SO, it has come down to this. Loughrea, the old dog for the long road, up against their next door neighbours, St. Thomas’, the new kids on the block. You could wax lyrically about this one but – whatever way you look at it – this promises to be one hell of a County Senior Hurling final at Pearse Stadium on Sunday (2pm).

Team news first and aside from the long term injury to centre-half back Donal Cooney, St. Thomas’ have a full complement to pick from. As for Loughrea, they do have a concern, with corner-back Eoin Mahony struggling with a shoulder injury. On a more positive note, full-back Damien McClearn looks to be coping admirably with a long standing back ailment.

In many respects, this decider is all about the respective forward units. St. Thomas’ is built on speed and, most notably, movement while Loughrea boast a more direct style of play – the towering Johnny Maher a formidable target man – although under new boss Eamon Kelly, Loughrea have certainly expanded the perimeters of their attack.

The arrival of Johnny Coen onto the scene along with the influx of new players like Sean Sweeney, Paul Hoban, Neil Keary and teenager Jamie Ryan in recent years has afforded them the opportunity to do this and, consequently, their attack has a wonderful structure and balance to it.

Central to this has been veteran Vinny Maher, who is like a war general conducting an offensive, while the contribution of the livewire Johnny O’Loughlin and the form of fit again goalpoacher Kenneth Colleran have also been factors in their side’s return to a sixth county final in 10 years.

That said, the most impressive line, at least in the knockout stages, has been the midfield pairing of captain Gavin Keary and Emmett Mahony. Working in harmony, they have often dictated the flow of games, dropping deep into defence when required and leading the charge forward when need demanded it.

In this respect, their showdown with St. Thomas’ equally impressive pairing of brothers, Kenneth and David Burke, should be a highlight of this game. The Burkes had their finest hour together in the replay semi-final win over fierce rivals and county champions Gort, scoring two points apiece on the day.

For his part, All-Star David has been in sensational form and he has tallied a magnificent 3-9 from this sector over their nine SHC games so far. This contribution has nicely complemented the efforts of the Kilchreest/Peterswell attack, in which Conor Cooney has been in devastating form.

To date, he has amassed a whooping total of 3-56 – so installing him as this year’s championship top scorer. He has a 16-point lead on Maher heading into the decider. While his accuracy from placed balls has been fundamental to this feat, Cooney has also been a shining light from play with an impressive 3-15 to his name – and, as a result, he is also the leading scorer in the championship in this respect.

Around him, though, St. Thomas’ have also had players who have shown a keen eye for the target, particularly Bernard Burke (2-11), Richie Murray (0-16, James Regan (0-15) and Anthony Kelly (2-7).

However, the big call for St. Thomas’ manager John Burke and his selectors Jimmy Kelly and Justin Flannery will be if they should start one or both of teenagers Shane Cooney and Eanna Burke after they made such telling impacts in the second half against Gort last day out.Burke scored a neat point while Cooney rattled home one of the most memorable goals in the championship against the county holders, but the wise choice may be to keep faith with regular Gerald Murray.

Despite his poor return of just a goal in this year’s competition, Murray would be better able to stand up to the rigours of a helter-skelter opening. The young guns could subsequently be introduced when the contest settles into its own pattern.

For more, read this week's Galway City Tribune.