'A different type of pressure': Mallow and Éire Óg coming in cold to white heat of Championship

Having won their respective semi-finals on September 27 and October 4 of last year, neither side expected to have to wait eight and a half months for this Páirc Uí Chaoimh decider

Conor McGoldrick, Eire Og in action against Sean McDonald, Mallow when the side's met in the group stage of the competition back in August. Picture: Jim Coughlan.

After a myriad of false dawns, the footballers of Éire Óg and Mallow will finally meet in the 2020 Cork Senior A final Saturday evening at Páirc Uí Chaoimh (7pm, IrishExaminer.com livestream).

Having won their respective semi-finals on September 27 and October 4 of last year, neither side expected to have to wait eight and a half months to step back inside the whitewash for the concluding fixture of last year’s county Senior A football championship.

Where their respective 2020 seasons were equal parts condensed and hectic as both clubs balanced dual commitments and the relentless week-to-week nature of championship games from late July until the plug was pulled in early October, Éire Óg and Mallow head into this evening’s game as undercooked as one can be entering a county final.

Although back training since May 10, it is only since June 7 that club teams have been permitted to play games. Éire Óg squeezed two League fixtures into this tiniest of windows, overcoming both Kiskeam (1-11 to 0-10) and Nemo (3-20 to 1-12) in Division 1, while Mallow, operating a tier lower, came off second best against O’Donovan Rossa (3-11 to 1-15).

This lack of games activity in the weeks preceding the final means there are many more “unknowns” than would typically be the case ahead of a county final, says Mallow manager Keith Moynihan.

“Normally when you are going into a county final, you are going in at the end of a long campaign with a good number of games behind you. Because of that, there is going to be fatigue and injuries. Dual players are bruised and battered. Then there is the pressure that a county final brings.

“This time, there is a different type of pressure, a different type of unknown. We are looking at bodies not knowing how they are going to react because of the long layoff. Hopefully fellas are able to go out and do themselves justice and we don’t have a scenario whereby fellas are going down with injuries and it’s affecting the momentum of the game.”

The Senior A football final is a bit of an outlier in that it is the sole non-junior Cork final still outstanding from last year that is being played before rather than after the 2021 inter-county season.

The Premier SFC, Premier IFC, Intermediate AFC, Intermediate AHC, and Lower IHC finals have all been given provisional dates in early August and while Moynihan is not complaining about the mid-June throw-in for their game, it has brought challenges.

“What complicated matters was the decision that games of any nature couldn’t be played until June 7. That meant you had an absence of eight months whereby you couldn’t play games and then, all of a sudden, you were allowed to play games on June 7 and your county final is 12 days later.

“That is obviously the most difficult hurdle, trying to get the balance right in what you were doing during that six week period where you were allowed to train collectively but in the absence of challenge or League games.”

Reflecting on lockdown number three and level of contact he maintained with his players at a time when there was no return to playing in sight, never mind a county final date, Moynihan said he was very conscious not to demand too much of his charges.

“In a complete lockdown like we had in January, February, and March, with numbers as serious as they were, you had to be very careful that you weren’t treading heavily on the toes of anybody that might have a loved one or themselves were affected. Everyone’s circumstance and situation was different.

“Different things about mental health and wellness had to be considered. You had to be very mindful of the fact that you needed to look after your players, not put any excess pressure on them, and offer them assistance or guidance if they wanted it. Overall, the lads were happy with the distraction of getting out and exercising and knowing that their friends were doing the same thing.”

It was towards the end of this lockdown when Mallow forward Cian O’Riordan — who top-scored in each of the four championship games he featured in en-route to today’s final, including the group win over Éire Óg — told the Echo that this would be his last game for the club after 23 seasons lining out at adult level. Is there a more perfect departure than to exit with a county medal in the pocket and to have lent a hand in Mallow’s ascension back to the top table of Cork football.

“Cian has been a phenomenal servant,” said Moynihan. “We have one or two others in the same boat, as well. If it is to be [his last game], it would be great for him, and all the rest, to finish a 2020 season that has been dragging on since November of 2019 on a high note.”

Match preview: Éire Óg can start season with a title

Strange to be previewing a game that was supposed to take place on the second weekend of October last year and features two teams who have played three competitive games between them in the intervening eight-month period.

Seeing as we have very little to go on, let’s set out what we do know.

Éire Óg won both their Division 1 League games — against Nemo Rangers and Kiskeam — following the resumption of games activity on Monday week last, whereas Mallow lost to O’Donovan Rossa in Division 2.

Éire Óg will be without Ciarán Sheehan as a result of the knee injury he sustained while on inter-county duty against Clare on May 30.

His old Cork teammate James Loughrey announced his inter-county retirement in April and so has been training exclusively with Mallow since May 10.

What benefit this has been to Mallow remains to be seen.

Key players for Keith Moynihan’s side include Cork half-back Mattie Taylor, top-scorer Cian O’Riordan, Ryan Harkin, and Kieran O’Sullivan. For Éire Óg, the influential players are John Mullins, Ronan O’Toole, Daniel Goulding, and Cork’s Colm O’Callaghan. It is next to impossible to pick a winner when we know so little about where either side are at and who has bounced back quicker after the eight-month pause on collective training.

Yes, Éire Óg’s league results are impressive, but the counter side to that is the loss of Sheehan and to what extent they will feel his absence when the finish line comes into sight and cool heads are called for.

Verdict: Éire Óg.