AOH Cup final: Coachford against Mallow Town will be a special occasion

Munster FA Turner’s Cross Stadium will host the AOH Cup final on Friday, June 5, as Coachford A and Mallow Town come together to battle for the greatest prize of all in AUL football at 7pm.

And what a massive occasion it will be for the players on both those sides, who have fought so hard to challenge for this famous and historical AUL Blue-ribbon trophy.

Coachford A will start as hot favourites as they go for their fifth AOH Cup on the bounce.

But, in the past, we have witnessed some enthralling tales of underdog triumphs along with legendary victories so, next Friday evening, I am sure League 3 side Mallow Town will have a right go here with nothing to lose.

Let’s take a look at the pathways from both sides on the way to next Friday’s final and for Mallow Town, what a fairytale this has all turned out to be.

In the first round, it was a narrow 1-0 victory away from home to Castlebridge.

A second-round tie then saw them defeat Rylane Celtic 7-5 at home.

Things started to get tougher then and in the third-round of the competition, they had to face Premier side Village United where they came out on top 2-1 at Silverheights.

So, the quarter-final beckoned with another tough encounter to contend with against Premier side Grattan United A, but once again they produced another shock when they won 3-2 at O’Neill Park to book their spot in the semi-final at O’Sullivan Park against Cathedral Celtic.

In a closely fought contest, following a scoreless encounter after extra-time, they ran out 4-2 on penalties to reach Friday’s final.

So, as can be seen from their challenging pathway, Mallow Town have certainly earned their right to be in the final on Friday.

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After a bye in the first round, Coachford A started with a 2-0 home victory against Hibs B at the Glebe. Their next encounter was another home tie where they overpowered Sullane FC 11-1 in the quarter-final stage.

Then, in the semi-final, they were confronted with a challenging clash when they faced League 1 leaders Waterloo at O’Sullivan Park - they came out on top 2-0 here to reach Friday’s final.

It’s interesting to note that the last League 3 side to qualify for the AOH cup final was Watergrasshill United back in the 2022-23 season, when they went down 2-3 to Coachford A in extra time in what was a cracking final on the night.

Both sides will have key players on the night that certainly can turn a game, but also, there will be some very interesting battles going on around the pitch.

Let’s take a look at the Mallow Town camp first.

Between the sticks, Mallow has an excellent goalkeeper in Artur Osinski – he’s a terrific shot-stopper, very good at dealing with crosses, commands his area efficiently and has very good distribution of the ball.

In defence, Scott McCabe is an excellent defender while in the centre, Eoin Howell is an accomplished midfielder that makes things tick for this Mallow side.

Then, up front, Mark Tobin can be prolific when he strikes form as he has a very keen eye for goal.

Over in the Coachford A camp is a squad of players that need no introduction as they have proven on many occasions that they are one of the best Junior sides in Munster.

With Mark Murphy and Keith Linzell at the heart of their defence, they possess one of the most solid central defensive units around.

Then, with the likes of Matthew Bradley, Cialan O’Sullivan and Luke Casey, just to mention a few, all gunning for the target, they will be a very difficult outfit to overcome.

But, this Mallow Town side is a very vibrant and young up-and-coming team and I am sure they won’t be phased by the big occasion.