IT’S the game Gaels in the Mourne county have been waiting for. Two big hitters aiming for that knock-out blow and there have been few fiercer rivalries in recent years than Burren against Kilcoo.
The Magpies are on course for their fifth Down Senior Club Championship in-a-row and, in many people’s eyes, Burren are the only team capable of stopping them. Already this season, the St Mary’s men recorded an early round win over Kilcoo, but history tells us that means little when it comes to the serious business. The Frank O’Hare Cup won’t be presented on Friday night, but the winners will go into the final as favourites, regardless of who proceeds from Sunday’s clash between Bryansford and Clonduff.
Ryan Johnston is expected to make his first start in almost 12 months and his return will be a massive boost for Kilcoo. His brother Jerome should be named on the bench and, if he is fit, then Magpies manager Paul McIver will not hesitate to introduce the Down star.
The brothers were among the subs at the start of the championship against Saval, but McIver had little intention of using the duo until the knockout stages. The enforced absence of the injured Johnston brothers has been a loss to Down football at club and inter-county level and, for the good of the game, their return will be welcome.
Of course, that’s true if you are not from the St Mary’s club, but Burren boss Sean Ward will have his own scoring injection should he choose to play Donal O’Hare, who has yet to feature in the Down championship as he spent the summer in the USA.
O’Hare offers Burren an extra scoring dimension, but this Burren side won’t be found wanting should they have to plan without the Down star. They seem to have a lot more steel about them this season, with Conor Toner, Gerard McGovern and Dan McCartan having an exceptional year in the green-and-white jersey and Burren boss Ward is content his side have a clean bill of health.
“We have no major worries or injuries so, ultimately, our focus now is on Kilcoo,” said Ward.
“But it’s going to be very, very tough. They are the reigning champions and they are not the reigning champions for nothing. They are tipping away rightly and have a few men to add to their team that is going to make life very difficult for us. But hopefully we can get a performance against Kilcoo that will put us in the shake-up.”
Unsurprisingly, the rock solid Kilcoo defence is likely to be bossed by the Branagan brothers - Aidan, Darryl, Aaron and Eugene - with Darragh O’Hanlon encouraged to make runs down the wings. The slippery Conor Laverty needs no introduction, but few teams have been able to curb his influence as, if he is not scoring, then he is creating space for players such as Paul Devlin, Ceilum Doherty and Gary McEvoy to exploit.
The stakes are high - so expect fireworks.
