Mannok Fermanagh SFC final
Belleek v Derrygonnelly (Saturday, Brewster Park, 6pm)
CAN reigning champions Erne Gaels stop the searing speed and menace of Derrygonnelly’s inspirational captain Shane McGullion and Leigh Jones when these two heavyweights square up?
And will the Harps be able to curb the pace and scoring power of Oisin, Aogan and the recently returned Ultan Kelm?
Who will win the vital midfield battle between Stephen McGullion and Tiarnan Flanagan and Ryan Lyons and Michael Óg McGarrigle?
These are just three of many questions and individual battles in this most fascinating of encounters.
On naked form the Harps have a slight edge, after coming through the group stages and knock-outs with a clean record. The fact that they did it without Ryan, Conall and Garvan Jones, who have spurred Leitrim Gaels to their first-ever Leitrim county final, is truly remarkable.
But the Harps have always been about the sum of their parts and have never relied on big names to get over the line.
They beat Belnaleck, Lisnaskea and Enniskillen Gaels before dismantling Teemore in the semi-final.
Significantly, they also won the reserve county championship with a totally different 15 to that of their senior side, as well as winning the minor Championship.
That suggests a team who could be around for quite some time. and they have also won seven of the last 10 county finals, Erne Gaels their victims in 2016 and 2023.
So the Harps have a psychological lever here.
They have a solid mobile defence where the ageless Mickey Jones, Oisin Smyth, Tiarnan Daly, Aaron Jones and Ronan McHugh are major figures.
In midfield, Stephen McGullion has been lord of the skies, while the towering Tiarnan Flanagan is an ever-improving player.
In attack, Shane McGullion and Leigh Jones are major threats, while Gary McKenna is an accurate marksman and young Conall Rasdale has been quite phenomenal.
The Harps are very well organised and extremely well- conditioned as they face a familiar foe.
In contrast, Declan Bonner’s men have had a choppy route to the final, beating Teemore but drawing with Kinawley and Ederney en route to the semi-finals.
Lady luck smiled on them against an impressive Ederney side who missed a possible five goals In a game where they were by far the better side
At times, the centre of the Gaels defence was wide open, a major concern for the champions.
Do they move the experienced Brian Mullin to shore up a perceived weakness in a rearguard where Jack McCann is a key figure.
On the plus side for the Gaels, Oisin Kelm has been having a great season, running from deep at pace and finishing with deadly accuracy.
On paper, the Gaels have a really formidable strike force in Dan McCann, Tommy McCaffrey, Barry McCann, Ultan Kelm, Aogan Kelm and Shane Rooney
All six are capable of scoring and McCaffrey’s savage pace often ends in vital frees for the Gaels.
Add in the gifted and vastly experienced Seamie Ryder, who took this team to two county finals as manager in 2022 and 2023, and you have a formidable force.
If this unit clicks, then they have a great chance of retaining the title.
So many questions, so many imponderables and so evenly matched that we might have a draw.
