PREVIEW: Cuala Bid For First Leinster Football Title Against Ardee St Marys

By Conor Martin 

After becoming Go-Ahead Ireland Dublin Senior Football champions for the first time, Cuala now have Croke Park glory on their minds as they take on St Mary’s Ardee in the AIB Leinster Club Senior Football Final on Saturday afternoon (5.40pm). 

Cuala were impressive on the way to the Dublin crown and topped their group with a points difference of +42 before progressing and beating Castleknock and Ballymun Kickhams to reach the Senior 1 Football Final. 

They then came up against Kilmacud Crokes in the final- ending Kilmacud’s long reign on the throne of Dublin football with a dogged display. 

Their Leinster journey so far has seen them beat Naas and advance into the final with a win over Tullamore in the last four. 

In that clash, a goal in the 10th minute from Peter Duffy helped Cuala lead 1-3 to 0-3 at the break after a first-half that favoured defences rather than the two teams' attacks. 

Con and Niall O’Callaghan and Luke Keating kept the scoreboard ticking over from a Cuala perspective while Michael Fitzsimons, Duffy and Charlie McMorrow made sure Cuala could put a day out at Croke Park in the diary.

The O’Callaghan brothers, Keating and Fitzsimons, provide a nice mix of attacking and defensive threat and will be crucial this weekend to Cuala’s ambitions as this talented side look to lift the Seán McCabe Cup.

St Mary’s Ardee have been kings of senior football for the last three years in Louth- and just like Cuala, they’re looking for a first provincial crown. 

The 13-time Louth Senior Football champions were almost faultless on their way to a third title in-a-row. Their only defeat came in their second game against Newtown Blues, but they would have the last laugh when they beat Newtown by 10 points in the semi-final. They would win the final in an incredibly low-scoring game, winning 2-2 to 0-4 over Naomh Máirtín. 

They overcame Abbeylara and Rathvilly in the preliminary round and the last eight before meeting St Loman’s Mullingar and advancing to the Leinster final with a one-point win. 

Ciarán Keenan top-scored with four points himself and Tom Jackson was a livewire in a highly entertaining game, as the teams answered each other blow for blow until Sean Callaghan scored the winner in the third minute of injury-time. 

Tadgh McDonnell, alongside All-Star nominee Donal McKenny, will look to frustrate Cuala’s forward-line while Keenan and Jackson will do all they can to spoil the Cuala party.

It’s all to play for; either way, there will be a new name on the Seán McCabe Cup come Saturday evening.

You can buy tickets here.