Ulster Club Intermediate Football Championship semi-final: St Mary’s, Banagher (Derry) v Mullahoran Dreadnoughs (Cavan) (tonight, Athletic Grounds, 5pm)
IF it’s high-scoring and entertainment that you’re searching for this weekend, then chances are you will be rewarded if you take in Mullahoran’s clash with Banagher at the Athletic Grounds this evening.
These teams have really brought an attacking verve to their respective championship campaigns with some of their best shooting displays coming on the Ulster stage.
Between them they have played 16 championship games this season and the only time a green flag wasn’t raised was when Banagher drew with Foreglen in the first round in Derry.
Since then the Oakleaf outfit have hit 13 goals in six games and have eased past Belnaleck and Glenfin to reach the last four.
There has been a tidy pattern to Mullahoran’s goal-scoring as the games have gone by too – 111112223. If they can add another three to the end of that then they will almost certainly have secured a final date against Tattyreagh or St Enda’s.
Tradition certainly favours the Breffni club heading into this clash. They have won 12 senior titles in Cavan with manager Seanie Smith featuring on the last side to lift the Oliver Plunkett Cup back in 2012.
Banagher came mighty close to earning a shot at their first senior title that very same year only to be denied a spot in the final by some magic by their current joint-manager Enda Muldoon.
His glorious pass to set up Raymond Wilkinson for the game’s only goal was the highlight of the day as the Shamrocks edged through by a point.
Muldoon, who takes the side along with Declan Mullan, has repaid his debt, and then some, in recent months.
Mullahoran may have a rich history of winning championships but Banagher’s Derry success last month was their first championship title in their current guise with the last victory coming 66 years ago under the Feeny banner.
Many of the side that suffered heartbreak to Ballinderry six years ago remain, the likes of goalkeeper Darrel McDermott, Ruairi McCloskey, Paul Cartin, Martin Lynch and Shane Farren.
They have stuck it out and the addition of some new blood has helped them to finally get over the line. Attackers Tiarnan Moore, who has 2-3 from play in their two Ulster games, and Conor Feeney are two of the fresher faces making a real difference.
With the exception of that draw with Foreglen, no team has managed to get within four points of Banagher, but the Dreadnoughts have had a trickier path to the semi-final.
They lost to Bailieborough in the Cavan group stages and needed a replay to get past Belturbet in the quarteer-final.
Their hardest encounter, however, came in their Ulster quarter-final against Bredagh.
They had to play the second half with 14 men following Philip Brady’s dismissal, but they managed to get through to extra-time where they went back up to the full compliment.
That seemed to be more of a hindrance than a help as they found themselves four points down in the first half of extra-time, but goals from Enda O’Reilly and Paddy Brady saw them emerge with a 3-12 to 2-11 win.
Teams from Cavan have struggled in this competition in recent years and you have to go all the way back to 2009 for the last time a club from the Breffni county reached the final when Lavey lost out to Cookstown.
Admittedly the county does seem to have its strongest representatives in a long time with Enda O’Reilly ably assisted up front by the likes of Cormac O’Reilly and Philip Brady. Midfielder Killian Brady also needs little introduction after his county exploits.
They are facing an excellent Banagher side though with class right across the pitch.
An indication of how high-quality this tie should be comes from the fact that the victor will almost certainly carry favouritism into the Ulster final.
Neither side has had a provincial final to look forward to before, but Banagher may just change the record this evening.
