Cross team to beat, says McConville

CROSSMAGLEN may have to wait five more days before discovering their eventual opponents in the AIB All-Ireland Club Football final but Oisín McConville believes the Ulster champions will be “the team to beat” regardless of their final opponents.

The Dr Crokes-Moorefield semi-final replay has been scheduled for next Saturday in Nenagh at 2pm. The referee will be Maurice Deegan of Laois. And while the victors will have an extra game to prepare for St Patrick’s Day, McConville believes his side have the ideal mix of youth and experience needed to offset any problems that might cause.

“It will probably be a help to the other teams because they will have an extra game and more match practice. At the same time, you can pick up injuries and suspensions. It’s hard to know. We’ll have to wait and see.

“We can go to the replay now and have a chance to see just how good the other teams are. The thing is, it’s an All-Ireland final so we know the other team will be good. As a team, we will concentrate on ourselves and let the management worry about the opposition.”

He certainly feels Cross have plenty to work on despite their three-point win over St Brigid’s in Mullingar, describing their performance as being alright “without setting the world on fire”.

“It looked as if we were in control for most of it but we just couldn’t get that four or five-point lead that it takes to fend off these teams. We stuck it out to the end and a lot of our young players came through for us.

“They were stiff opposition, very strong in the middle of the field. I thought we did well there, we broke even and any game we break even in midfield we usually win. That’s the way it worked out.”