Kiltimagh to edge Balla in intermediate decider

MAYO IFC FINAL VERDICT: by AIDEN HENRY

BALLA and Kiltimagh go head-to-head in this coming weekend's Mayo intermediate championship in what promises to be a cracking decider between two sides that look evenly balanced.

Although it is a west Mayo versus east Mayo fina, in reality this is as close as a derby clash as you will get, with the two clubs bordering each other.

This adds that little bit extra spice to this intriguing decider, which will throw in at 8 p.m. this evening (Saturday) at Elverys MacHale Park.

On recent form, both Kiltimagh and Balla will go into the final with more than a little confidence of winning. They are two well-balanced sides with plenty of experience, which makes predicting the winner here extremely difficult.

While I just give Kiltimagh the nod to come out on top, it would not surprise me one bit to see Balla winning.

In their opening championship game, Kiltimagh didn’t look a side that was going to make a bold bid to win the title.

Indeed, they were lucky to come out of the encounter at home to Swinford with a share of the spoils. It put them under a fair amount of pressure to come out of their group.

From there on, however, they showed a remarkable improvement, getting better with each game.

They topped their group and dispatched a fancied Crossmolina in the quarterfinal, but still entered the semi-final encounter with Hollymount/Carramore as underdogs.

However, this was a test they came through with flying colours, and now only Balla stand in their way of winning the title. The marked improvement over the course of five games means they are now favourites to life the title.

Balla won't mind this, of course. They have already proved the pundits wrong on one or two occasions this year, beating tough championship campaigners Parke in a must-win final group game when the pressure was on.

Up next for Balla was a quarterfinal meeting with near neighbours Mayo Gaels, who were very impressive in winning all their three group games.

Again Balla sprung a surprise, coming out on top – and a fully deserved win it was too.

This set up a meeting with Ballinrobe in the semi-final. Balla showed great character and battling qualities before putting in a brilliant last quarter to come out on top.

Both Balla and Kiltimagh have reached this intermediate final on merit. Both were asked some serious questions along the way and both came up with all the answers.

They both like to play fast, open football, which should guarantee us a rip-roaring and exciting county final. The fact these two teams are close neighbours makes it that more intriguing.

Of note in Kiltimagh’s victory over Hollymount/Carramore was the way they played as a unit. They just fought tooth and nail for every ball and never panicked when their opponents enjoyed their purple patches.

In defence they are very solid, they have a good midfield pairing in Paul Kelly and Sean Walsh, and up front they have plenty of forwards, led by captain Eoghan Lavin, who are capable of turning good possession into scores.

Balla are well-balanced too, however. In front of experienced goalkeeper Matthew Flanagan is a hard-working and strong defence, while we can expect Barry Duffy and J.P. Reilly to more than hold their own around the middle. In attack they have many forwards who can be the match-winner on the day.

Both teams have both plenty of talent on the bench too, as we saw in their respective semi-final victories.

Conor Mallee came on against Hollymount/Carramore for Kiltimagh and kicked three great points, while Val Roughneen assisted greatly coming off the bench for Balla's semi-final win.

Going by Kiltimagh's last two performances, I give them the nod to come out on top.

Having said that, it would not surprise one bit if Balla crossed the finishing line in front.