Coppinger’s chance to shine as Keady hosts Ból-Fada festival
The festival which starts today on the Viaduct Road in Tassagh will continue through Saturday and Sunday on the Markethill Road, which hosted the second All-Ireland series over the past few years. A total of 10 scores will be played, climaxing with the Joe McVeigh Cup. Armagh District Council continues its support, which is an important recognition of the role of bowling in the culture of the region.
Coppinger finished last year’s senior championship by overwhelming his opponents in the Munster semi-final and final and then handing out an impressive beating to Ulster’s Eddie Carr in the All-Ireland final. His star dimmed at King of the Roads, so he will be anxious to restate his position in the first classic of 2011, in a repeat of the All-Ireland final against Carr.
On last year’s form Coppinger has to be fancied. But he would not want to underestimate the challenge. In last year’s final Michael Toal beat an equally well-fancied David Murphy.
Carr is a mercurial figure. On his day he can match the best, as he proved when he won the World Championship in Skibbereen. He will not carry the burden of favouritism, he will be playing on his home road with literally nothing to lose. In those circumstances, an upset is always likely, but if Coppinger is tuned in mentally and physically, it is very hard to see him being beaten.
There will be a lot of focus on the meeting of Ulster’s Martin Toal and Conor McGuigan against Gary Daly and Wayne Calnan in tomorrow’s opening score on the Markethill Road. How the road plays for the visitors will be almost as important as the result as it will tell a lot about how the seven Markethill Road scores will go.
Gary Daly beat Martin Coppinger a few weeks ago in the final of the Joe O’Sullivan Acorn Life Cup final and bowled impressively in his two senior championship outings. On that form, he is the pick of the four. Calnan lost to Seamus Sexton last Sunday in the intermediate championship, but he still looks a match for either of the opposition players.
Martin Toal can look to his wins at King of the Roads and last year’s Ból-Fada as indicators that he can beat Daly, but so much has changed for Daly in the meantime that those lines of form may now be irrelevant.
The second score between Ulster’s Fergal Donnelly and Stephen McCann and two of Cork’s rising stars Kieran Murphy and William O’Driscoll should be a cracker. Donnelly bowled magnificently in last year’s Junior A final over this road, only to lose to an exceptional Killian Kingston. McCann was more prominent a few years back, but is still a solid player. Murphy and O’Driscoll are oozing talent, but are both very young, so how they handle the occasion could be critical.
Gavin Twohig will have a lot of confidence against Ulster’s Brian O’Reilly in the third score. He beat Eddie Carr here last year and while O’Reilly is also a big player, he was not overly impressive in the Ulster senior championship recently.
The last of tomorrow’s scores is an intriguing clash between Ulster pair Cathal Toal and Seamus McKee and Cork’s David Hubbard and Michael Murphy. Hubbard and Toal are more or less on a par. McKee is a steady player, but does not have Murphy’s speed. However, neither does Murphy have McKee’s consistency.
In Sunday morning’s Charlemont Cup final, Thomas Mackle plays Anthony Gould. Mackle recently emerged from the underage ranks with a huge reputation. He can confirm his reputation by beating Gould, who is one of the old warhorses. Mackle’s recent display in the Ulster intermediate champion would suggest he might be vulnerable. Gould has had mixed results too this season, but is always highly competitive.
Raymond Ryan was brilliant in the Junior A championship on Monday night and will be in the perfect place to team up with John O’Sullivan against Mick O’Neill and Ethan Rafferty just before the Joe McVeigh Cup final. His form could prove decisive although Rafferty is also a player with a big future.
The programme kicks off today at Tassagh with what looks a well balanced double between Ulster’s Carly Grimley and Elaine McGready and Cork pair Bernadette Murphy and Lorraine Hurley.
Last year’s All-Ireland senior finalists Kelly Mallon and Carmel Ryan face each other in the second score. This is officially marked down as a double, but there are injury worries about both their partners — Pat Mallon and Tony Carey. Ryan has been very impressive this season and might have a chance to reverse the All-Ireland result.
Billy Dalton will be hoping to make up for the disappointment of last year’s Junior B final when he teams up with Sean Twomey against Brian Kinchin Stephen O’Neill. Dalton should have the speed edge on Kinchin, but Kinchin has experience. O’Neill played in last year’s Novice I championship and is well matched to Twomey.
