Kiltale can make it five SHC titles in-a-row

Kiltale will step out onto the pitch at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday bidding for five in-a-row of SHC titles and they should have the resources to get the better of Trim suggests JIMMY GEOGHEGAN

This is a major occasion, of course, for both clubs with Kiltale going for that big five-in-a-row while Trim will be looking to win their first title since 2001.

Kiltale are favourites - and with good reason. They are the kings of the castle and there's every chance they will retain their crown. 

At the start of the long, hot summer of 2018 there would have been few observers of the local hurling scene that would have opted for the pairing that make up Sunday's showdown.

Kiltale yes. Many would have gone for them not only making it to the last two but winning the Jubilee Cup for the fifth time. Trim are the surprise packets, the team that achieved one of the upsets of the summer by overcoming Kildalkey in the last four. 

Few gave them a chance before that game yet here they are about to take on the team that is going for a five-in-a-row; a feat only ever achieved once before by Kilmessan who won six successive crowns from 1943 and 1948.  

So history beckons for this group of Kiltale players on Sunday and it seems they are destined to step up to the mark and claim their place among the greats - and they should do just that. 

There are those who might have reservations about a championship format that allows a team to lose two games and draw one yet still find themselves in a final - yet that's how it worked out for Kiltale.

Winning championship games is something Kiltale have turned into an art form in recent times so for them to lose two was certainly unusual; a shock even. 

In only their second outing Kiltale drew with Kildalkey (1-15 apiece) but that was against a team that went so close to beating them in last year's final. 

There were expressions of real surprise when, next time out, Kiltale lost to Kilmessan (0-16 to 1-15). Were the champions finally on the wane?  

Were they losing their mojo? Had the efforts of the last few years in winning four titles worn them out? Was the hunger gone? 

Further questions were raised when next time out they lost to newcomers Ratoath (0-16 to 1-16). 

Yet Kiltale showed real strength of character to recover from all that and get the show back on the road with a powerhouse performance against Killyon in their last group game.

Up next was Longwood in the quarter-finals. They too were cast aside. So also was Ratoath in the last four, Kiltale eagerly avenging their group defeat, displaying a streak of ruthlessness that all champions need.  

It says something that in their last three games Kiltale have scored 11-58 and conceded just 1-17. That stark statistic points to a team who have found their form, regained the magic, at just the right time; when it matters most.

Their sharp, hight-tempo hurling simply brushed Ratoath aside. The contest was over at the interval when David Troy's side led 3-11 to 1-8.

It was difficult not to feel sympathy for Ratoath because they faced a powerful team in full flow; a team with a point to prove. 

Kiltale have Anthony Forde back in the fold which is a huge plus. His surging runs from midfield have become a feature of this team yet Kiltale have so many other polished and consistent performers all over the field. 

From Shane McGann to Jack Regan the team contains players who have that lethal cocktail of talent, experience and hunger.

It looked like that desire to keep going was diminished by that mid-summer wobble, but recent performances suggest that whatever diminished them in the games they lost has been eradicated from the system. 

Trim though will make Kiltale work for their fifth crown. They showed what they can do by crushing Kildalkey in the last four. 

It was a credit to Neil Cole, his selectors, his players for coming up with a strategy that suffocated Kildalkey.

Trim were so fired up for this one; so singled-minded in they way they went about suffocating their opponents. Yet the signs were there in the way Trim registered a big score in defeating Killyon (0-24 to 2-15) in the quarter-final.   

Can they repeat those feats?

The element of surprise will be gone yet Trim players will work and work. Alan Douglas and Neil Heffernan add a sprinkling of magic by producing moments of real class. But do they have enough players of that quality in their team? Arguably not. 

Then, or course, there's James Toher. He played his part in the win over Kildalkey, but he's still struggling to fully recover from a lower back injury. How Trim could do with him at his best now. 

Something lit a fire under Trim before the Kildalkey game. No doubt the fact they were regarded as no-hopers, or at least as rank outsiders, was a source of motivation. That's a well they can go back to for this game. Few give them a chance on Sunday either. 

With good reason. Kiltale, on their day are a force of nature. Try hurling them off the pitch they will come up with a response. Try muscling them out of the way - they will answer that in kind too. 

Trim will need to come up with some previously unused, imaginative strategy to win back the Jubilee Cup for the first time since 2001.

Kiltale, are, well Kiltale, a team who have re-discovered their mojo and look destined to take their place in history.  

PANELS

Kiltale - Kevin Ryan, Anthony Forde, Ciaran Ennis, Shane McGann, Conor Shirren, Iarla Hughes, Philip Garvey, Brendan Dixon, Adam Murphy, Chris O'Reilly, David Donoghue, Stephen Donoghue, Ronan Ryan, Brian O'Reilly, Shane Lenehan, Padraig Kelly, John Donoghue, Cillian O'Sullivan, Fearghal McCabe,  Mark O'Sullivan, Cathal McCabe, Stephen White, James Kelly, Peter Durnin, Stephen Cummins, Ross Ryan, Jack Regan, Jack Bannon, Oliver Regan.

Trim - Cian Lee, Ryan Andrews, Charlie Ennis, Kevin Lennon, Luke Moran, Rory McGrath, Ciaran O'Rourke, Karl Fleming, Jamie Hackett, Arnie McGee, Damien Magee, Peter Farrell, Cian Walsh, James Andrews, Andrew Dinan, Mikey Cullen, Brian Dowling, David Murtagh, James Cullen, Thomas Farrell,  Sean Magee, Neil Heffernan, Ciaran Joyce, James Toher, Dimi Higgins,  Colm McGrath, Gerard Dwane, Paul Mullen, Alan Douglas.