Crossmolina to leave Michael's feeling the heat
Crossmolina’s Jordan Flynn and Moy Davitts’ Cian McHale collide during Round 2 of the Mayo IFC. Flynn will come up against Fionnan Cruise of St Michaels in the Connacht club IFC semi-final. Fionnan is the brother of McHale's Moy Davitts teammate Fiachra. Picture: David Farrell Photography
Both teams will be back playing in the senior ranks of their respective county championships in 2025 but only one of Crossmolina or St Michaels will have a crack at the Connacht intermediate championship final.
After a long wait in intermediate, the Maroon and White are back at the top table after beating a much-fancied Moy Davitts team a play a fortnight ago and the new generation is making an impact.
Half the team who played that game were part of the club’s under-21 ‘B’ triumph last year. Among them are the three Coggins brothers, Aaron, Diarmuid and Niall, sharpshooter James Maheady, Darragh Syron, Matthew Gortdetsky and Diarmuid Walsh.
When you put that with men in the prime of their careers such as Fionán Duffy, Conor Loftus and Jordan Flynn, as well as winning an U16 ‘A’ title and reaching the U17 ‘A’ final, where the ceiling is for this team of the next five years is up to them.
It may - or may not - reach the golden era of the late 90s and 2000s, which saw them win six Moclair Cups, three Connacht SFC titles and the holy grail of the 2001 All-Ireland title (as well as a final appearance two years later), but the potential is clear.
After a tough group stage, they came to life when beating The Neale in Cong before an extra-time epic over Ballinrobe. Nothing could separate Crossmolina and Moy Davitts on the first day but Niall Coggins’s late goal in the replay ensured one of Crossmolina’s finest days in recent memory.
St Michaels, like Crossmolina, are certainly battle-hardened but whether they can go to the well against just six days removed from their extra-time replay win over Caltra will be crucial. In addition, this will be their fourth consecutive weekend the Galway city-based club will be out competing. In addition to their two games against Caltra, they also had to play Oranmore-Maree in the semi-final and St Gabriel’s. While the games against Oranmore-Maree and Gabriel’s were comfortable, playing four weeks in a row at this level in the autumn/winter conditions must be taxing.
Gary Higgins is the chief scoring threat for St Michaels and Loftus may be tasked in keeping him quiet. Former Galway under-20 star Conal Gallagher may be picked up in the middle by Flynn while there is a Mayo connection on the Michael's team, with Fionnan Cruise a brother of Moy Davitts defender Fiachra.
St Michael’s have been to the wars, and then some, over the past month. Coming up against a Crossmolina team who will have had the benefit of a two week break, all signs point towards a north Mayo victory in Castlebar.
