All eyes on Abbeylara
December 05, 2008
Saffron county club, Gort na Móna will bid for All-Ireland glory tomorrow (Saturday) when they take on Mayo kingpins, Ballaghaderreen in the Open Interclub Final at Abbeylara, Longford.
The Mayo side is aiming for a fourth consecutive 40x20 All-Ireland Open Club title but the Antrim men will have a lot to say about that when they take to the midlands alley. This showdown is a rematch of last year's thriller where the Connacht men took a 97-76 victory and most of last year's outfit will be in action again tomorrow.
The team from the West has dominated 40x20 club proceedings in recent years and recorded a comprehensive win over Glenbeigh (Kerry) in their semi-final. Their Saffron County opponents defeated a strong Meath outfit to book their final spot and will confident that this tight affair will stand to them against the Mayo favourites.
Led by hard-hitter, Dessie Keegan, the Ballaghaderreen team is well balanced with a strong doubles partnership in Vinnie Moran and rising young-star, Stephen Cooney; last singles player, Joe McCann adds further depth to the team's abilities.
"I think our main strength is the fact we have no major weakness in any of our players - that's key," said Moran, brother of Mayo football star, Andy.
Keegan will face the familiar figure of the talented Ricky McCann in the first singles and the pair will no doubt fight out another exhilarating battle. In last year's final, the first game proved to be a thriller between the two aces but Keegan shaded proceedings with a 21-20 victory. McCann went on to take the second, 21-13, so this meeting will be a heated affair.
Gort na Móna's seasoned campaigners, John McGarry and Eddie Mallon, will most likely face Moran and Cooney in the doubles and this should also provide some top handball. The final pair to enter the alley will be McCann and Gort na Móna's Paddy Crothers, who recorded an impressive victory over Kell's Gary McConnell in his side's All-Ireland semi-final win. Action gets underway at the state of the art facility in Langford at 3pm.
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