Fermanagh SFL Division One final: Erne Gaels v Kinawley (tomorrow, Brewster Park, 4pm)
The long wait will end for one of the teams contesting tomorrow’s Fermanagh SFL Division One final.
Erne Gaels last won the title back in 1996 but for Kinawley it has been 85 years since they last claimed the Division One crown so there will be no shortage of motivation for either side when the ball is thrown in at Brewster Park.
It is the Belleek men who will go into the decider as favourites after coming through the league unscathed with nine wins out of nine, including a resounding victory over the Brian Borus a couple of weeks ago.
In that game Erne Gaels netted four goals as they finished up 4-14 to 1-07 victors, but Kinawley were missing some key personnel through injury for that encounter and with those players now returning this contest should be a much closer affair.
Seamus Ryder’s Erne Gaels have carried a real goal scoring menace in recent weeks, hitting 14 goals in their last four games, and Kinawley will know that they will have to restrict this threat if they are to come out on top.
The Belleek outfit are big and athletic in the middle third with Michael Og McGarrigle, Ryan Lyons and Brian Mullin influential figures.
They then break forward with pace and power with the strong running of county man Ultan Kelm from the half back line a key feature in their attacking play while forwards Tommy McCaffrey and Barry McCann can be expected to chip in with scores.
Kinawley, with the experienced Dom Corrigan now in charge of his home club, hit a bit of a wobble in the league with back-to-back defeats to Erne Gaels and Enniskillen, but they bounced back well to win their final two games against Ederney and Derrylin to leapfrog Enniskillen and seal their place in the final.
Defensively, former Fermanagh player Niall Bogue, Paddy McGovern and Conor Murphy are steady performers while they too have plenty of scoring prowess in their ranks.
Sean McManus and Eoghan McManus provide them with a physical presence in attack while the managers sons, Tomás and Ruairi Corrigan, are important players.
A close game is expected with the first silverware of the year up for grabs while both sides will also be keen to carry momentum forward into the championship which gets underway in two weeks' time.
