AIB Ulster Club Senior Hurling Championship final: Robert Emmets Slaughtneil (Derry) v St Joseph’s Ballycran (Down) (Tomorrow, Corrigan Park, 1pm)
SADLY, it’s an accepted feature of GAA life that no-one really addresses the gaps between the county championship and the provincial stage.
Take tomorrow’s Ulster finalists. Derry champions Slaughtneil had the luxury of a semi-final face-off with Antrim champions Dunloy last weekend and look primed to win their fourth Ulster title in six years.
By contrast, Down champions Ballycran won their county championship back in Halloween and received a bye into tomorrow’s provincial decider at Corrigan Park because there was no senior opposition available to make up four semi-finalists.
How can Ballycran be expected to bridge that seven-week gap against a well-oiled machine like Slaughtneil?
Once Jamie Fowler and James Henry’s side wrestled the Jeremiah McVeagh Cup from the stubborn grip of Portaferry in Newry on October 31 they were immediately placed behind the black ball.
After coming off the popular round robin Down SH Championship, game after game, week after week, Ballycran were flying fit.
On Wednesday’s AIB zoom call, Conor Woods couldn’t have been more candid.
“I love the way the Down Championship is structured, whereas before you would play maybe one game and you were into a final, and then you were straight into Ulster and I just don’t think the Down teams were up to that level.
“But it’s seven weeks since we won the county championship. We’ve had in-house games but it’s difficult because whenever you’re playing week on week in the county championship, as a player, you know exactly where you are.
“So Slaughtneil definitely have an advantage having that game against Dunloy. The long lay-off doesn’t help us, especially with no semi-final.”
Nevertheless, Ballycran’s experienced centre back sounded a defiant note ahead of tomorrow’s showdown, intimating that they will be a very different puzzle to the one Dunloy set Slaughtneil in Armagh last Sunday.
Dunloy undoubtedly had their tactical struggles, but they probably didn’t have the tools to start off with to overcome the Derrymen who have held the upper hand on the Cuchullain’s in their three provincial meetings.
December is no place for Dunloy’s fleet-footed forward line.
Ballycran certainly wouldn’t win a lot of foot races against the Antrim men but they do carry a significantly greater physical threat – and that’s what they’ll be banking on tomorrow afternoon.
“We would probably have that bit more weight about us in defence and up front [than Dunloy],” Woods said, who has finished a provincial runner-up on three occasions.
“We would probably approach it a bit differently.”
In other words, Ballycran are promising to meet Slaughtneil head on – and they do have the tools to trouble Michael McShane’s men in that regard.
A glance at their half-back and half-forward lines would tell you as much. Brett Nicholson, Conor Woods and Michael Ennis make for an uncompromising, experienced half-back line.
Given that muscular presence, Brendan Rogers can expect a few more roadblocks down the centre of the pitch – an avenue where the dual ace did untold damage to Dunloy six days ago.
Along their three-quarter line, Ballycran have similar physicality in Liam Savage, Stuart Martin and Niall Breen. Of course, Savage could be tasked with doing a man-marking job on Rogers - something that the 'Cran management will have to consider.
Martin plays a bit of rugby and is one of several bright young players coming through the senior ranks this year while Breen can hold his own and bagged 0-3 from play in the county final.
On the puck-outs, Stephen Keith is expected to go longer than Ryan Elliott did because Slaughtneil are adept at winning turnovers in the opposition’s half of the field and mining majors out of them, as they did against Kevin Lynch’s and Dunloy.
Ballycran were also the last team to beat the Emmets on the provincial stage in a 2018 semi-final. That day the Down men were 9/1 outsiders. The bookmakers give them a slightly better chance tomorrow at 11/2, with 11 of that ‘Cran side featuring in the county final win over Portaferry seven weeks ago.
Dunloy couldn’t punch holes in Slaughtneil’s sweeper system, played supremely well by Gerald Bradley.
Ballycran will be less precise in their attack. They will leave it in and test Slaughtneil and will fancy their chances of winning a fair share of rucks.
But have they enough to unsettle the Derry champions? Their team-sheet says they do. Their lay-off says they don’t.
But even if it was a shorter bounce from the county final to tomorrow’s Ulster final for Ballycran, they would still be up against it.
Slaughtneil are a team comfortable in their own skin and seem intent on winning an All-Ireland semi-final some day soon.
Shane McGuigan and Chrissy McKaigue formed an awesome midfield last Sunday. They were touch-tight in everything they did and also offered a scoring threat.
Brian Cassidy at full-forward is a really resourceful target player too and Cormac O’Doherty is a man for all seasons from placed balls.
To upset the odds, Ballycran need to unsettle the triumvirate of Rogers, Cassidy and O’Doherty and curb Gerald Bradley’s runs from the back.
They have the stick men, the physicality and renowned fearlessness that's in the peninsula's DNA – but Slaughtneil possess exactly the same traits.
It’s hard to look past another provincial title for Slaughtneil whose star is showing no signs of dimming; the opposite, in fact.
