Ulster Club Junior Hurling Championship final:
Ballela (Down) v Eoghan Rua (Derry) (Sunday, Owenbeg, 12.45pm)
EOGHAN RUA manager Pádraig Ó Mianáin describes Sunday’s Owenbeg showdown as “a venture into the unknown”.
It’s true these sides have never met before and neither has played in an Ulster junior final previously, but Ó Mianáin’s side have twice been provincial finalists at intermediate level. They contested the first ever Ulster decider at that grade in 2004 and, last year, lost to Antrim’s Rossa, who went on to win the All-Ireland.
The Coleraine club alternates between intermediate and junior level, with Derry’s Na Magha (who won this title last year) in hurling and around two-thirds of Sunday’s starting line-up – the five McGoldrick brothers, Niall Holly, Ruairí Mooney and Conor Carey – alternate between football and hurling. Their focus was fixed on the big ball until the Derry final defeat to Slaughtneil two weeks ago.
“The way the Derry football championship was packed into consecutive weeks, it was just impossible to get any proper training done,” Ó Mianáin explained.
“Boys were just recovering from one game and getting ready for the next football match. Really, we took our hurleys out of the closet maybe a week before the first game against Naomh Colmcille (Tyrone) two weeks ago.”
Last weekend, Eoghan Rua beat Donegal’s MacCumhail’s 0-16 to 0-8, but their manager says his players are still rusty.
“The performance wasn’t great, but we’re trying to get up to speed with sharpness and touch again and we’re building a wee bit of momentum going into the game on Sunday,” he said.
“We don’t know much about Ballela, we’ve never played them before, so it’s going to be a venture into the unknown on Sunday.”
While he doesn’t know the Ballela players, Ó Mianáin knows all about their championship run this year – replay wins over Newry Shamrocks and Rasharkin and a late, late victory over Armagh champions Seán Treacy’s.
“We have been playing in these Ulster club competitions the last six or seven years and, whenever you meet a team that’s actually won a championship to qualify, you get a tough game,” he said.
“They have beaten two teams that won their county championships – they beat Rasharkin, who had momentum after winning the Antrim championship, and then they went on Seán Treacy’s, who won Armagh. They’ve had a harder run-in but, at the same time, we know we have quality players in our team. We have a number of boys who would have played for Derry and they’re very fit after training for the Derry football championship.
“The challenge for us is to try and get our stickwork up to speed because there’s not much point in getting a pile of possession if you can’t put the ball over the bar. We know we’ll be able to match them physically and fitness wise, but it will really come down to who’s sharper on the day and who can take their chances.”
In Anton Rafferty, Seán Leo and Barry McGoldrick and Niall Holly, Eoghan Rua have seasoned inter-county players who will bring a wealth of experience to Sunday’s final.
Ballela manager Martin McCusker said: “We’re expecting another big battle.
“It’s a 50-50 match, that’s the way we’ll be looking at it. Whoever battles the hardest and maybe gets a bit of the rub of the green will win it.”
His side has shown remarkable reserves of character to get to this stage and that, their workrate and the scores of Kelvin Magee, Johnny McCusker and Malachy Magee, a sweet striker from sideline cuts, will always give them a chance.
Eoghan Rua’s lack of competition, match practice and training is a concern for their supporters, but there are deeper reserves of quality and experience in the side and that should give them the edge on Sunday.
