PJFC: St Finbarr's looking for consolation but high-flying Kilmurry won't be easy

THIS year’s Premier Junior Football Championship final marks the first, with the competition established ahead of this season to match up the the structure for both codes. This year’s finalists, Kilmurry and St Finbarr’s, have had varied fortunes in recent years.

St Finbarr’s suffered relegation from Intermediate A last season, although admittedly, they were very unfortunate. Four teams were relegated to support to creation of the Premier Junior Grade, and though they won a game and finished level on points with Dromtarriffe – who advanced to the knockouts.

They finished bottom of their group on scoring difference, and subsequently faced relegation along with Millstreet, St Nicks and Ballydesmond.

Their opponents, Kilmurry, triumphed last year to win the Muskerry and county Junior A Football Championships after their wins over Aghinagh and Cobh, and earned promotion to Premier Junior alongside seven more teams.

QUALITY

They’ve got quality in their squad with the likes of Lawrence Aisling, William Ronan, Sean Warren and Joe Ryan. All have impressed over the course of the season, but what stands out for the Muskerry side is the momentum they’re bringing to Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

St Finbarr’s won’t make it easy though. They have various key players with a combination of youth and experience. Denis O’Brien has excelled this year and pointed three times from play against Urhan in the semi-final, while Eoin Comyns also boasts experience with the senior team.

Michael Shields brings intercounty experience and real footballing intelligence. Cian Madden has also featured heavily for the Barrs second team and has impressed this year as they’ve won four games from four.

Since the change from straight knockout to a group stage format in 2020, the Barrs have had no luck at Intermediate A, and failed to make it out of the group in any of the past three seasons.

With the old format in 2019, they were eliminated in round one, suffering a four-point defeat to Glanworth. In recent years, their best run was in 2018, when the Barrs second string made it as far as the semi-final, before losing out to Aghabullogue.

There’s no doubt that second teams struggle to achieve success in the top grades of Cork club football – the last title win was for Nemo Rangers’ Intermediates in 2004, 19 years ago.

There were just three second teams competing in the top five grades of football this year, Nemo Rangers, St Michael’s and the Barrs.

Nemo made it to the quarter final before losing out to Bantry Blues by nine points in Premier Intermediate, while St Michael’s were relegated from Premier Junior after taking three defeats in three and losing to Kinsale in the relegation playoff.

While a pattern of second teams struggling in the football championships have been established in recent years, St Finbarr’s have thwarted that this year with their run.

No doubt the city side are still hurting from their Premier Senior disappointment against Castlehaven, and the news of Paul O’Keeffe’s departure has certainly put them under the microscope once again.

But they still have a Premier Junior football final to contest, and who knows, it might just restore some pride to a club that could certainly use it.