Exciting Junior final looms

TF Royal Hotel and Theatre Mayo Junior Football Championship Final

West Mayo rivals go to post in exciting final duel

Parke v Islandeady, Sunday, October 10, McHale Park, Castlebar

Throw-in 3.30pm, Referee: Liam Devenney

It was picked from a long way out as a potential decider and one very much to look forward to. And, despite some tough obstacles en route, so it has turned out that West Mayo rivals Parke and Islandeady will go toe to toe in Sunday's Mayo Junior Football Final.

It really is a game for not only both clubs but many neutrals to be excited and intrigued by. Both clubs will feel they have shown they are capable of playing at a higher level - indeed there's a good possibility both will be playing in Division 1B next year, with senior and intermediate clubs. And both have been eyeing up a Junior title with some relish. For Parke, it is all they've wanted since they were relegated back to the Junior grade in 2008. They came upstuck at the semi-final stage last year against Ardnaree - a team they beat after a replay in this year's quarter-final - and now find themselves sixty minutes away from returning to the Intermediate grade. It can be pointed out that they are hoping to bridge a gap going back to 1997 for their last Junior title. But the reality is they've had Intermediate football to nourish and sustain them in the intervening period. In fact they came mightly close to winning an Intermediate title in 2007, losing the final in heartbreaking circumstances.

For Islandeady the sense of longing at Junior level is all the more acute.
It was 1985 when they last won the Junior championship and they've been stuck at the Junior grade for over 20 years since. They won the old West Mayo Junior in 1990 (beating Parke in the final) but fell at the semi-final stage to Ballinrobe. They also came close on a couple of occasions in the mid 1990s while there most recent daliance with glory was in the 2007 final where they were pipped by Achill.
They've been doing well ever since though and have been slowly building towards a Junior title. Their league form has been impressive - they are still in with a decent shout of retaining their Division 1B status - and they've had decent underage success too to help sustain them.
But the Junior title, have no doubt, is their holy grail.

And so to Sunday. Both teams have players who will be familiar with each other through their involvement with West Mayo in this year's Senior championship. Parke brothers Simon and John Cloherty were regulars as were a large number of Islandeady men such as brothers Martin, Ollie, Vinny and Noel Feeney, Brian and Niall McCormack, Peter Collins, Paul Ruane and Cormac Gordan amongst others. That level of strength would indicate advantage Islandeady but it would also appear that not every Parke player put their name forward for selection on the team.

Aside from these players knowing each other, the clubs have had several encounters over the years and at underage level too while many of them would have played schools football together in Castlebar.

Their most recent clash of note was last year's Junior quarter-final - a game famous for the fact that it was the 32^nd minute before we had a score - Peter Collins giving Islandeady an incredible 0-1 to 0-0 lead at half-time. Parke upped it in the second half and reeled off 1-5 without reply to triumph. It wasn't a game for the ages and that scoreline might scare away a lot of people for Sunday.

But, while both teams struggled to score that day, there was an undoubted edge to the game, it was real championship fare. And both sets of forward lines have improved considerably since. Islandeady's Vinny Feeney is enjoying a fine year with excellent scoring exploits while he'll be assisted by Liam Joyce (pictured receiving his Man of the Match award after Islandeady's recent Under 21C final win), Cormac Gordan and, if fit to come off the bench, Paul Ruane.

For Parke there are a plethora of options. Incredibly for a Junior club four of their forward line have played county minor - Niall Dunne at centre-half forward and the entire full-forward line of Dwayne Flynn, Seán McHale and Darren Durkan. The years they played minor - 1997/98, 2000, 2004 and 2010 respectively - show their various levels of experience and Dunne's return to the club has been an undoubted bonus. Add in the fact that another forward - Simon Cloherty - has been one of the most consistent club performers in Mayo in recent years and you see that Parke certainly have the potential to score freely.

They'll have to do it against a very strong Islandeady defence though. Ollie Feeney earned rave reviews for his performances at full-back for West Mayo. For Islandeady he's arguably an even greater presence at centre-half back. His brother Martin is an attacking wing-back while Niall McCormack and Noel Feeney have impressed in the full-back line.
Parke, for their part, have looked solid in defence too. John Cloherty may get the unenviable task of sticking to Vinny Feeney while Mervyn Marley and Tom Walsh have been impressiv e. Midfield should be a decent crucible too. Islandeady are without the injured Brian McCormack - a huge loss - so Peter Collins and Shane Heraty will need big games to get on top of James Gillespie and Declan Neary. The middle could be a decisive factor as could whether Parke will be able to contain Vinny Feeney.
Whatever way you look at it, all points to a potential thriller. We think this one could be well worth the admission fee. Seconds out . . .