club championship 2018

Jesus very quiet here the week of the county final

Would a dry day suit Athy better than Moorefield...they might a bit more mobile than the Moore's?? Is there a chink of weakness in the Moorefield full back line?? Athy need a big game from Kevin & Niall.

I'd say your right on both points but I can't see anything other than a moors win.Their intensity I think will be too much for Athy.If Athy get a good start then it will be interesting

Hard to get excited about this match, Moorefield know how to beat Athy and have done so often in the championship. Athy find it hard to play their usual game when the other team tackle hard and fast. Last year it was 2-3 to 0-0 after 10 mins!
A better start is essential on Sunday and probably a couple goals as well which they haven't managed in recent games. Feely v Masterson could be a great spectacle.

Flynn v Connell could be feisty.

Feely has lined out full forward for Athy the last couple of games so might not line up v Masterson at all. Could see Athy going with a midfield of Dunne and Connell this weekend with Dunne on Flynn and Connell on Masterson.

David Hyland will pick up Eddie Heavey, this to me is a vital match up as Heavey is an excellent link man and involved in a lot of Moorefield scores.

Given Philips started the last day for Moorefield and went well, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to seeMick Foley come in for Athy to pick him up.

Mark Hyland has been playing centre forward for Athy but I think they may have to move him to defence against Moorefield in order to pick up Eanna O Connor

Killian Mulhall will take NHL and Ross Bell v Adam Tyrell

This would leave John Moran v Cian Connor

At the far end

Murnaghan will take Eaton and Murray v McGovern

McGovern has been playing great stuff, Eaton probably not as well as in previous seasons but Athy need a big game from him Sunday. Moorefield wing backs are the driving force behind the team so Athy need to put them on the back foot.

With Mark Hyland going to the backs, I reckon Cian Reynolds will start centre forward and Durney will be on him. Durney tends to drop off and cover the full back line rather than man mark so Reynolds should be able to get on plenty of ball after that he has to make good use of it.

With Mark Dempsey more than likely out, Sean Healy will probably be given the task of Niall Kelly who I thought was excellent in the semi final. Healy spent the summer in America and has only played 1.5 games this year but was very impressive last year and has played well in the 2 games this year.

Liam Healy v Feely Athy need a massive game from Feely whether at FF or midfield, I don’t think I have ever seen Healy get roasted so if he curbsFeelys influence it will go a long way towards victory for Moorefield.

Barry Kelly v Liam Callaghan 2 of the lesser heralded players in their teams but both do very effective jobs.

The most impressive aspect of Moorefield play against Naas was their ability to press the Naas kickout and take away all the options, naas will have to have a plan to counteract that otherwise it will be curtains for them as they won’t get their hands on enough ball to win.

Hard to get excited about the 2 best teams in the county final? Really looking forward to it. Kelly decided the league final, he'll be closely watched. Good point re Flynn, Connell..love to see someone stand up to Flying 'tactics'. On current format, Masterson better than Feely who will probably play more at 14 than 8. David Hyland and Mcgoveran flying but you would still fancy Moores to get on top around middle and get over the line just. Don't rule out the draw either which would be a bit of a headache for Kildares representative in Leinster.

Excellent post topcat and if you remember league final, Moorefield completely destroyed Athys kickout in second half but Athy and Kelly were able to score off scraps when it counted but unlikely to happen again.

I think Athy will win on Sunday I think the league win has really helped them and wont be afraid of Moorefield looking forward to a good game and hopefully the weather stays settled

Moorefield team for Sunday will be a lot different to the team that took the field for the League Final so you couldn't read a lot into that result. That said I think Athy can give Moorefield a game and shouldn't be found wanting in the physicality stakes. Hopefully it will be a good game as there haven't been too many decent matches in this year's Championship.

Glavin funny in Leader talking about how Athy like to foul and slow games down. He reckons an open game of football suits Moorefield much more. Sure thing Ross.

Good post tc but if what you say happens regarding Athy switching players to nullify moorefield then I think they will be playing in to the moors hands.Athy Imo should pick their best 15 or 20 in their best positions and take the game to the moors

Does anyone know will we see McCarron back for Athy?

Next year maybe Seanymac, I believe he done his cruciate so he won't be togging out Sunday anyway!

Ohh, I wasn’t aware he done his cruciate. I heard he discolcated his knee. If so we won’t see him this year so. Would be some boost to Athy to have him. I still think they might pip moorefield this weekend.

Athy to cause a shock!

Let's hope, but Moorefield's stronger bench and Athy's reliance on Kelly may be crucial. Athy need a huge game from Feely if they are to win. Think he is wasted at full forward from what I have seen so far. He is far more involved and influential at midfield.

Agree murof.. should be a cracker.. really looking forward to this one.

Meltdown of all meltdowns. Athy, discipline... Yeah.

Athy were bad. Moorefield were ok. Shocking stuff.

And another thing. My Jesus moorefield are cynical. And they get away with it. If I pulled down shorts of a player and was seen no doubt I would be booked..... so why wasn't o Connor booked?

Ref was literally a homer. That's how they get away with it.

Very poor stuff...Moores did what they had to. Glavins comments midweek about Athy being cynical is truely hypocritical. They were at it today again and last year they did it against Celbridge.

lomond wrote:

Very poor stuff...Moores did what they had to. Glavins comments midweek about Athy being cynical is truely hypocritical. They were at it today again and last year they did it against Celbridge.

Yeah the final scoreline flattered Athy, two of the softest goals ever to bring them back into a game they were never really in, yeah the sending off didn't help but Moorefield were already well on top anyway, Moorefield played within themselves, no point bombing forward when we have it pretty much in the bag, then two fluky goals from haymaker long balls, not sure what the ref saw from the halfway line, but then again its almost in their nature to give the losing team everything which he pretty much did second half.

Moorefield could barely buy a free second half!

Pretty much what I expected, Moorefield with aggressive tackling and 2 goals settled the game early on, just like last year. Athy's full back line and goalkeeper were truly awful.
Moorefield are miles ahead of every team in Kildare and have a good chance of retaining their title. I don't like their cynical side but they get away with it often. Tyrell was very good today, hit some lovely points.
2nd half of minor was great entertainment with 5 goals scored.