Attack versus defence clash of styles in fascinating Smith Monumentals IFC Final

A clash of philosophies and styles as much as a physical clash between Melvin Gaels and Annaduff will be on show next Sunday in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada in an intriguing and highly anticipated Smith Monumentals IFC Final.

In the public perception, Melvin Gaels hold the mantle of defensive gurus, a team with a highly disciplined defensive set-up that invites teams to break themselves upon their rearguard before hitting them on the break. Annaduff are the high scoring  freewheelers, most happy in a shootout as they go on the front foot and attempt to outscore whoever is in front of them. 

But like any cliches, there is both truth and deception within cold hard stats or else how do you explain Melvin Gaels running up a total of 2-15 while defeating Annaduff in the final round of group games, a tally only surpassed by three teams in the entire competition?

Mohill stop St Mary's two in a row bid to reclaim Fenagh Cup with superb second half display

MOHILL 2-10 ST MARY'S KILTOGHERT 0-14

But one of those teams was Annaduff in last Saturday's epic 4-10 to 0-18 victory over Division 2 champions Allen Gaels and I'm sure the Melvin Gaels brain trust will have been closely watching to see how the Drumshanbo men scored 18 points, more than enough to win most games.

For years, I'd have said Annaduff were themselves defensively minded, utilising the evergreen Ray Cox to get them across the line but in recent years, they've become a more freewheeling, high scoring team and in young Darren Cox, they possess a genuine game changer.

It is a huge burden I'm reluctant to put on a player a year out of Minor but Cox possesses something that gets football fans up out of their seats and you can be sure that Melvin Gaels will have a plan to restrict the youngsters' impact next Sunday.

Melvin Gaels have their own youth prodigy in Joseph McGloin, a quality forward that can make things happen out of nothing and even if new addition Gary Clancy is attracting most of the attention, young McGloin also has that ability to turn a game on its head.

Clancy is, of course, a huge addition for a Melvin Gaels side still reeling from the loss of Darragh Rooney. You could only imagine what they'd do with the now St Jude's player in their ranks but Clancy and McGloin are quite a deadly double act.

Melvin Gaels have something like 15 players in their squad under the age of 21 so they are a coming team but they are also reliant on the experience of  Cillian McGloin, Peter McGowan and Conor Sheridan. McGowan and Sheridan were members of the Gaels team to win the Senior Championship title back in 2012 so there is real leadership and hard earned experience there.

McGloin leads the defensive unit from centre back but with his pace, expect to see him cause real danger when he breaks upfield, the pace the Leitrim star brings to the table a potential game changer, particularly with Melvin Gaels' counter-attacking style - finding someone to match McGloin stride for stride isn't going to be easy for Annaduff.

Much of the talk of Annaduff will revolve around Darren Cox but Melvin Gaels are sure to keep close tabs on him so Joe Cox's men will need to come with alternatives if they are to prevail next Sunday.

Daniel Bosquette, Niall Quigley, Jason Ward and the seemingly ageless Ray Cox are all capable of landing vital scores but they'll find it tough with space at a premium with Melvin Gaels' strong defensive alignment.

If anything, Melvin Gaels style is reminiscent of Jim McGuinness' All-Ireland winning Donegal where they were renowned for their defensive ability but they racked up big scores, most usually as a result of seeing  the opposition break on their defensive unit and hitting powerfully on the break after frequent turnovers.

There are two schools of thought on how to do that - either adopt the Dublin strategy of holding onto the ball for prolonged periods before  carving out scoring opportunities  or go headlong into attack.

Where Annaduff do hold an advantage is that they possess quite a few footballers comfortable at attacking in direct lines, at speed and with intent - no matter how good a defensive unit is, nobody likes hard runners coming straight at you and that can often lead to frees.

One also wonders how much tradition plays a part - the Gaels have been relegated three times in the past 15 years from the Senior ranks and each time, they've bounced straight back to win the Intermediate title the following year - they may have a young team but that's an incredible tradition and one that inspires confidence.

Annaduff back in final as Cox inspires victory over Allen Gaels in epic shootout

ANNADUFF 4-10 ALLEN GAELS 0-18

For Annaduff, including this year, they've reached four of the last six finals and the semi-finals in the years they didn't. They're an incredibly consistent team which is amazing considering the player turnover they've endured in recent years but they're getting sick at this stage of losing on finals day.

Just how much that drives them is hard to know? Are they any more motivated that they were last year against Aughnasheelin? I think not so the question is have they learned the lessons of those defeats and how do they cope against the Gaels defence, a system they'll admit themselves they've struggled with this year.

There is an American sports saying that proclaims offences win games, defences win championships. Going on that, you've got to think that Melvin Gaels are favourites and I do. They are a formidable side yet I think there is a big performance in this Annaduff team. I'm tipping Melvin Gaels but don't rule out a surprise on Sunday.