Trim face massive test of title credentials

It's a path well travelled by Meath intermediate champions and next Saturday Trim will attempt to emulate the achievement of St Colmcille's by reaching the All-Ireland Club IFC final.

Meath sides have won the Leinster Club IFC title on three occasions before Trim's win ov er Clara, but only once have the Royal champions advanced to the final with St Colmcille's getting there in 2016.

Ratoath in 2015 and Wolfe Tones in 2004 lost out at the All-Ireland semi-final stage, while Ballinlough (2014), Nobber (2010), St Ultan's (2008) and Donaghmore/Ashbourne (2007) all lost out in Leinster finals.

Standing in Trim's way of a trip to Croke Park on Sunday 6th February are Roscommon and Connacht champions St Faithleach's and Saturday's game at The Downs, Westmeath is anticipated to go right down to the wire.

St Faithleach's have plenty of experience of going right to the bitter end before showing their determination to succeed.

They produced a sensational late goal to stun Naomh Anna of Leitir Mor Galway after extra-time in the Connacht final and they also needed extra-time in three of their previous four games to secure passage.

Their main man Diarmuid Murtagh came to their rescue against Fuerty in the Roscommon IFC quarter-finals and while they strolled into the final with an easy semi-final win over Castlerea St Kevin's they needed extra-time again before being crowned champions with a 1-8 to 0-7 extra-time win over St Dominic's.

In the provincial semi-final they needed late points from Diarmuid Murtagh, Jonathan Hussey and Darragh Hussey to see off Sligo champions St Farnan's by 1-12 to 1-11 after extra-time and in the Connacht final Mikey Cox, who had been sent-off in the semi-final win, came up from full-back to punch a late winning goal at the end of extra-time to stun Naomh Anna 2-14 to 2-12.

If ever proof was needed of St Faithleach's never-say-die spirit, obvious quality and supreme fitness then a glance at those results will cause enough tension amongst the Trim supporters ahead of Saturday's All-Ireland semi-final.

While they have been pushed to their limits on several occasions St Faithleach's have class acts in the Murtagh brothers Ciarain, Brian and especially Diarmuid, who is a key man for the Roscommon seniors.

St Faithleach's quality doesn't end with the Murtaghs' either as Cathal Gunn, Connell Kennelly and Jonathan Hussey are also very potent attackers, while in midfield Dave Rooney is a significant danger.

St Faithleach's have been notably miserly at the back with Cox steering a steady ship and those troops around him capable of making life very difficult for any attacking unit.

There was some cause for concern for St Faithleach's when they lost Karl Nerney to a black card against Naomh Anna and the Galway men punished them before they settled again, but with their full complement in defence St Faithleach's are notoriously difficult to breakdown and Trim will have to be patient and ruthless with the few clearcut chances they will be presented with.

The prevailing mood from Ballyleague is that after surviving several cases of Covid in their camp prior to their Connacht final there is more to come from St Faithleach's, but they will have to be at their best against a Trim side that have won all 18 games they have played in this campaign.

While St Faithleach's have shown a tremendous will to win and hunger to keep going, Trim have been all-conquering in their march to three trophies this term.

After ending a 17 year wait for first team silverware Kevin Reilly's side have claimed the Corn na Boinne, Meath IFC and Leinster IFC in sensational fashion and won games along the way in a variety of different styles.

Trim proved against sides like St Patrick's in the Corn naBoinne final and Clara in the Leinster decider that when they need to dig deep they have the necessary resolve.

They showed against others like Walterstown and Oldcastle that they can manage games to near perfection and they also exhibited against some of the other weaker opposition that they are not prepared to take anything for granted.

Manager Reilly has set standards for his team to meet, regardless of the opposition. If those expectations are not met then Trim will not win next Saturday - it's as simple as that.

However, so far Trim have not been found wanting in that department and while they are most likely to be without influential captain Alan Douglas, following his harsh red card in the Leinster final win, it is their strength-in-depth and team work that has set them apart in the last eight months.

Three of the leading scorers in the Leinster Club IFC were Trim men, Aaron Lynch, Mikey Cullen and Douglas. Lynch is the second highest scorer across all grades of the club championships and he will be the go-to man once again for Trim.

However, Trim have ability and craft all over the field.

Goalkeeper Peter Farrell offers an excellent platform from between the posts and with each passing game he is proving to be a revelation and an inspiration to the tigerish rearguard in front of him.

Rob Bourke is another who just keeps getting better and better and he will be one of the key men if Trim are to get the better of the Roscommon side.

The ultimate prize of a place in an All-Ireland final in Croke Park awaits the winners of Saturday's clash and while it will undoubtedly be a very different challenge for Trim it is one they are capable of passing, if they bring their 'A' game.