GAA: Cuala on cusp of history

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Can Austin O’Malley’s men complete All Ireland success against Errigal Ciaráns to go with first county and provincial titles?

Cuala (Dublin) 0-14; Coolera-Strandhill (Sligo) 0-9

For south Dublin club Cuala, all roads lead to Croke Park this Sunday as they attempt to complete a rare treble – of becoming senior football club champions in Dublin, Leinster and at All-Ireland level for the first time ever in their history.

Victory in Breffni Park, Cavan on Saturday evening against a game but slightly outclassed Coolera-Strandhill outfit from Sligo town now means Manager Austin O’Malley’s crew are on the cusp of creating their own and club history.

A win over Tyrone’s Errigal Ciarán would mean they indeed complete the rare first time treble on three fronts while also emulating Cork club St Finbarr’s who are the only club to win All Ireland finals in both hurling and football.

Man of the Match Con O’Callaghan can add to his already full honours list that includes six Sam Maguire triumphs, three All-Stars, two All Ireland SH clubs in 2017 and ‘18 but afterwards on Saturday he brushed away any talk of records which he claimed would be for contemplating on in years to come if they were to win.

The sharpshooter hit five of his side’s 14 points on this occasion, two of which came late in the game to kill off a spirited rally that the Sligo team had mounted to cut a seven point deficit to only two. His brother Niall also stood up when it counted with crucial scores and it will be an interesting side-show to see how the O’Callaghans fare against the Canavans in the Tyrone side when they go head to head in Croke Park on Sunday.

Just as Cuala depend largely on Con and Niall to get scores – they accounted for eight of the 14 on Saturday in Cavan; Errigal need Ruairi and Darragh to raise the flag for their club and between them they were responsible for 1-13 of the 2-18 they recorded over the extended extra-time showdown with Kerry kingpins Dr Crokes.

If both hit the same form, then they may cancel each other out and it will be down then to who has the stronger supporting casts to see them through.

With nine time All Ireland  winner Mick Fitzsimons a step above in man marking and defending, with midfield duo Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne and Peter Duffy more than just any old midfield combination and with Cal Dorgan and Luke Keating normally able to get their quota of scores, the odds will be slightly on the Dalkey outfit to squeeze through.

However one caveat  that O’Malley must  dwell on and iron out in his team is their habit of going asleep somewhere deep in the third  quarter and allowing their opponents back into the game.

They allowed a seven-point lead on Saturday to be whittled back to two and in earlier rounds against Tullamore and in the final against Ardee, their opponents were also given the opportunity to stage a comeback.

However even in those circumstances it must be pointed out that the players had the mettle to regroup and finish the stronger team to ease to victory.

That won’t happen automatically against Enda Mcginley’s charges who showed great character to take huge shots from the Munster champions and yet found a way to get back to parity in regulation time. 

Then when the game went to extra-time, it was the younger legs of the Ulster men which saw them kick on and win more handsomely than the three point winning margin might suggest.

The big unknown going into Sunday’s final is how much that extra 20 mins will have taken out of the Errigal legs as there were plenty of players limping from exhaustion and probably with muscle niggles by the end of the game.

It should be a great occasion because in the semi-finals, both clubs showed great heart as well as great ability and there is no doubt they both deserve to be there.

It could be a game of chess as under the old rules now almost extinct, possession is perceived as being nine-tenths of the law and as evidenced in the semis, both teams will makes needless passes until they see a chink in the defensive set-up of their opponents.

Cuala shook up their line-up with Cillian Dunne starting ahead of a captain James Power and he scored the opening point as Cuala went on to lead at half-time by 0-6 to 0-2 in a half where the Sligo club seemed to be playing the occasion instead of the game in front of them.

Keating could have killed the game off as a contest but shot inexplicably wide when a goal seemed the easier option shortly on the resumption.

However, three points in a row from the impressive David O’Dowd, Duffy and Con O’Callaghan seemed to tie things up with the Dubs 0-10 to 0-3 ahead 10 mins into the second half.

To their eternal credit of John Mcpartland’s side, Coolera-Strandhill finally got a foothold in the game and in a purple patch seven minute spell managed to reduce the arrears to two points 0-10 to 0-8.

Adam Higgins began that process with a point while Mark McDaniel, Ross Doherty, the classy Niall Murphy and captain Peter Laffey all contributed on the scoreboards.

With Eoghan O’Callaghan sideline due to a black card indiscretion, it meant the final 10 minutes threw up interesting possibilities. Could the Sligo boys keep going or had Cuala something left to fight back with?

Even with 14 men, it was the latter who showed the greater composure as the O’Callaghan brothers weighed in with four precious points to leave no doubt about the outcome.

Featured image: 11 January 2025; Con O’Callaghan of Cuala in action against Sean Murphy of Coolera-Strandhill during the AIB GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Club Championship semi-final match between Coolera-Strandhill and Cuala at Kingspan Breffni Park in Cavan. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile