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Intermediate Football Championship Final
Corofin v Kildysart @ Cusack Park Ennis, Saturday 2.45pm (Niall Quinn, St Joseph’s Miltown)
A THIRD championship showdown in the space of 15 months between these clear favourites for the Intermediate honours has looked likely from the outset.
However, while the spoils have been shared evenly so far, the stakes couldn’t be any higher this Saturday.
All because winning is simply a prerequisite for both, a conundrum that brings it own pressure and heightened tension for what could be a cracking final if they can play to their undoubted potential on Saturday.
Both have been down this road before with Corofin having to wait over twelve months to try and rectify their second half slump in last year’s final against St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield.
The need is even greater for Kildysart with this being their fourth intermediate decider since 2016 as they look to finally banish their final hoodoo.
Kildysart, led by talisman Emmet McMahon, will need to quench their opponent’s early enthusiasm as they were sucker-punched by a blistering Corofin start that reaped 1-6 inside the opening ten minutes in last year’s semi-final clash between the pair.
Corofin’s attacking triumvirate of the Cahill brothers Gearoid and Diarmuid along with Jamie Malone combined for 1-11 of their 1-15 total that day and with an average of three goals per game so far in this campaign, confidence certainly won’t be an issue especially in the wide open expanses of Cusack Park.
To their credit, Kildysart have only leaked an average of seven points per match thus far but their miserly defence will certainly be tested to its optimum on Saturday.
Whichever way the pendulum falls, it will be a historic occasion as Corofin look to get back to senior level for the first time since 2019 while it’s actually 18 years since Kildysart last captured intermediate silverware.
Verdict: Corofin
by Eoin Brennan
