Another trip for St Ultan"s

FOLLOWING months of sustained effort the St Ultan"s players could be forgiven for feeling more than a little leg weary as the year draws to a conclusion. It has been a long year, with a lot of football played. The Mattie McDonnell Cup has been picked up along the way and now they seek to add the Leinster IFC title to their trophy collection when they face Ballyroan-Abbeyleix in the provincial final on Sunday. Despite the packed schedule of recent months, St Ultan"s selector Padraig Travers says there is little sign of fatigue among the troops. If anything, they are displaying an increasingly sharper hunger, the more they progress in the provincial championship. 'The lads are mad for football. At times we have tried to tone down training and have a rest maybe one night out of the week,' explained Travers. 'This week we were going to let it run until the weekend, but then they demanded training at the weekend. 'To be fair to the players, this year they are very, very disciplined. They are disciplined in their own training and they are disciplined off the field. One of the big positives we have is their commitment, they have really answered the questions we"re posing.' St Ultan"s have done that, been there before. Two years ago they claimed the Matthew Ginnity Cup before making it to the Leinster JFC final were they were defeated by another Laois team, Park-Rathiniska. The experience gained on that occasion is sure to be a big factor as they travel to play a Ballyroan-Abbeyleix side who are backboned by one of the most promising players on the current GAA scene. Michael Tierney is still at the foothills of a richly promising career. Even as an under-age player he was touted 'as the next big thing" in Laois football. A young man with a rich array of skills. His value to the Ballyroan-Abbeyleix combination is seen in the way the club brought him back from the Far East for the Leinster IFC semi-final clash against Offaly side St Brigid"s. He had gone on his travels after the Laois IFC title was picked up. Tierney duly did the business against the odds notching 2-5 of the 2-7 Ballyroan-Abbeyleix registered on their way to victory. That stark fact alone gives an indication of how dangerous he can be in front of the posts and St Ultan"s are fully aware of his threat. Another talented young player in the ranks of the Co Laois side is Scott Conroy who has turned out for the Laois senior team and is well capable of stepping up to the mark when required. Like St Ultan"s, Ballyroan-Abbeyleix is an amalgamation of clubs that joined forces in the 1990s and enjoyed considerable success as a result. They won the Laois SFC title a few years ago before subsequently falling through the relegation trapdoor. After a spell rebuilding they bounced back to the top flight this year. Before the amalgamation, Ballyroan was a club with previous experience when it came to Meath football as they were defeated by Drumree on their way to a Leinster JFC title in the mid 1990s. St Ultan"s have displayed a mixed bag of form during their run to the Leinster championship final. They started off against Templeogue Synge St and took some time to get into that game. They trailed by 0-1 to 1-3 after just eight minutes and looked to be heading for a right old thumping. Then the pattern of the game changed. They put in a sustained spell of pressure to win by 2-11 to 1-10 despite missing a penalty. Louth contenders Dreadnots were next to fall in a lacklustre display from the Meath side before Kilkenny side James Stephens were roundly defeated in the semi-final. According to sources, St Ultan"s put together some scintillating spells of football in that game; they also missed good opportunities and will be looking to improve on that aspect of their game on Sunday. When they move the ball at pace St Ultan"s are a real threat with players such as Eugene Brady, Cian Rennicks and Kevin Rogers well capable of punishing opposition defences. Declan Galligan, Darren Mallon, Paul Murray and Brian Mulroe are just some of the others who can help to turn the tide in favour of the Royal County representatives. Selector Travers admits that playing in Laois will be a big factor in favour of their opponents. St Ultan"s are, he said, looking on this as just another challenge. The boys in green and black are just anxious to play football, at home or away.