Battle of Leitrim's young guns may be a sign of things to come

Strange to think of a semi final as a pointer for the years ahead as the here and now is very much in the thoughts of Fenagh St Caillins and St Mary's Kiltoghert next Saturday. But there is a nagging feeling that these two teams could become the dominant forces in Leitrim club football in the years ahead.

Fenagh St Caillins are probably a little bit older than their Carrick rivals but what leaps to mind when looking at both these teams is the youth involved on both starting line-ups. Both teams have their share of late 20s-early 30s players but the engine room is driven by players just about hitting their peak or yet to even get going.

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With ten players aged 21 or younger starting some games in this year's championship, St Mary's may seem a bit young to challenge this year but youth is fearless and this is a crop that have been used to winning at every level all the way up.

The same applies to Fenagh - they may be a slight bit older than the Carrick men but two or three fantastic underage crops are gelling together and hopes are growing that they could lift the appropriately named Fenagh Cup for the first time since 1932! 

No more than the other semi-final, it is hard to get away from the notion that Ryan O'Rourke's performance will dictate the outcome here. The Leitrim star has been every bit as impressive as Keith Beirne and creates so much havoc in opposing defence, his sheer pace and dogged obstinacy often getting him scores when he seems bottled up.

St Mary's Jack Casey in action in the quarter-final against Aughawillan Picture: Willie Donnellan

Stop Ryan and stop Fenagh? Not quite - Riordan O'Rourke and Oisin McLoughlin may not get the headlines of Ryan but they are truly outstanding footballers capable of torching any defence. Add in scores from Donal Wrynn and Fergal McLoughlin and you quickly see why Fenagh were the top scoring team in the group stages, scoring 24 points more than Leitrim Gaels over three games.

The interesting thing is that the team with the best defence is St Mary's Kiltoghert, conceding just 11 points per game compared to 15.25 for Fenagh. Where Mary's have had problems is in landing scores as their 66 points over four games is the lowest of the four semi-finalists.

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But signs are that St Mary's might finally be finding their shooting boots - 2-15 and 2-16 against Aughawillan and Gortletteragh mightn't scream forward power but they seem to be finding their range at just the right time.

Some will dismiss those results but much of Fenagh's impressive scoring stats come from big wins over Aughawillan and Dromahair and after a debilitating loss against Mohill in the first round that seemed to halt their momentum and puncture their confidence, St Mary's have been quietly building up a nice head of steam.

They've been here before - last year to be precise when an impressive quarter-final win was followed by a demoralising and flat semi-final - have they learned the lessons from that game?

Paul Keaney remains their attacking focal point but the performances of Mark Diffley, Conor Farrell and Nicholas McWeeney are the bedrock of their hopes. 

Fenagh lost their last group game against Leitrim Gaels but they were already in the semi-finals so they might not have been 100% focused on the game.

There is talk that Ryan O'Rourke has been battling  an injury and that will cause concern but of greater concern is the three week layoff since their last group game. A place in the semi-final is nice but championship action is the best teacher of all and St Mary's might have an advantage there.

The midfield battle will be interesting - most people would say Fenagh have the edge in that department but Mary's successfully negated the influence of Pearce Dolan in the quarter-finals and nobody, not even Fenagh in a 3-16 to 0-13 first round win over Aughawillan, managed to do that!

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There is a thought that St Mary's youthful forward line can't match up to what Fenagh possess but many believe St Caillins defence could be exploited - their average concession of 15.25 points a game in the group stages is the joint highest of the four semi-finalists.

The form book is hard to read - these teams haven't met since 2020 in the championship when Fenagh had three points to spare. Fenagh have the momentum and are further along in their development, they get a tentative nod but St Mary's will test them to their limits.