Eslin peaking at just the right time but can Bornacoola make the most of their close shave?

Stats and results normally tell us a lot about what will happen in a Final but next Sunday’s Fresh Today Junior A Championship decider between Bornacoola and Eslin in Cloone (1 pm throw-in) occupies that rare dimension of nobody knows exactly how that will go?

You’d have thought that Bornacoola were roaring favourites, beating Eslin and topping their group on their path to the final but their extra-time heroics against Cloone in the semi-final, as inspiring and uplifting as that was, was also a real escape from the jaws of death, victory snatched from defeat.

Eslin accounted for both Glenfarne Kiltyclogher and Glencar Manorhamilton in the knockout stages with increasing ease and a level of performance that suggests that they are coming to the boil at just the right time.

On past form, Bornacoola are the reddest of hot favourites - they’ve beaten Eslin in their last four meetings but interestingly, the margin is closing. Indeed, the group game this year came after the Bors had hammered Gortletteragh and Cloone had handed Eslin a pasting in the first games but Bornacoola had to work very hard for their 3-9 to 1-16 victory.

Indeed that scoreline would have been expected to be the other way around - Eslin grabbing goals to stay in contention but it was the Bors who needed them. And since they’ve hit the knockout stages, Eslin have hit 2-13, 2-14 in their games so their scoring power is formidable.

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The trap we all fall into when talking about Eslin is to concentrate on the Beirne brothers and  Conor in particular - it is impossible not to, Conor's scoring rate, physical power and sheer determination mean that any team at this level finds it almost impossible to hold the former county star.

His brother Tomas is playing some great ball around the middle of the park but it would be a mistake to think Eslin are a two man show - James, Niall & Tom McNabola, Aongus & Blaine McCrann have injected youth into the set-up while Ronan Reynolds, David & Eamonn Stenson have experience and physical power in defence.

Brian Higgins adds to the experience and power quotient in Eslin’s ranks as they looked like a team that has timed their championship run to perfection - the one fly in the ointment was the dismissal of manager Sean Pierson during the semi-final and that could be a big loss come Sunday.

Much of what is said about Eslin could be said about Bornacoola - Damian Moran is their talisman, Jason Conroy the leader of their defence, Allan Croghan a midfield dynamo and lots of running power and enthusiasm in the Mulligan brothers. You also had Gary McCloskey coming off the bench in the semi-final to help guide his team to victory.

Question is: did their narrow escape against Cloone boost their confidence or expose serious fault lines? Hard to tell - Cloone shutdown Bornacoola’s avenues of attack quite effectively and it was only sheer stubbornness and a bit of good fortune that got them through.

Many teams who have ridden their luck in semi-finals have gone on to lift the big prize and Bornacoola are fit and motivated but there is probably also a concern of how are they going to handle Conor Beirne? Not an easy problem to solve and maybe the trick is not in trying to shut him down but to manage the damage he does.

On paper, Bornacoola are the better team, they're playing at a higher level in recent year  and looked poised to make the step back up to Intermediate but the rate of improvement of Eslin, even over this championship, and the ability of the Beirne brothers to potentially turn this game in an instant, gives me pause for thought.

My head definitely tells me Bornacoola will have too much but the drama of their escape and the closeness of the previous game between these two has me wondering if we're going to be in  for a shock. So much so that I think that Eslin may, ever so slightly, be favourites but nothing would surprise me next Sunday!