Saturday’s clash promises more than Moclair glory

The arrival of Storm Ashley almost felt like a blessing for Mayo, an opportunity to exhale after the chaos of an unforgettable club championship. Winds howled, rain bucketed down, the entire county was brought to a standstill. But it was all merely a prelude ahead of the real storm which is set to unfold this Saturday night in MacHale Park. Nature just needed a chance to clear its throat. For this Saturday will bring a maelstrom of thunderous drama, feral passion and a wild style of football. Francis Beaufort never accounted for the impact of local rivals colliding in a county final when devising his eponymous scale.

Saturday's meeting between Ballina Stephenites and Knockmore has most of the ingredients needed for a riveting affair. Both teams know exactly what's required to win, with both clubs having won the Moclair Cup in recent years – Ballina won the title for the first time since 2007 last season, while Knockmore won back-to-back titles in 2020 and 2021 having not won the title since the 1990s.

The nature of the local rivalry, with the distance between both clubs being no longer than a leisurely Sunday walk, intensifies the spicy local flavour to proceedings. And the manner in which both teams appear to have left plenty in the tank ahead of the decider suggests they have both potentially perfected their timing. Neither side can be accused of winning their county final before the big day. And neither of the clubs will be overawed by the sense of occasion – both will devise a plan that they will rigidly adhere to as the championship draws to a conclusion.

Knockmore’s path to the final wasn’t without its potholes. In some ways, the side staggered there, leaving plenty of scope to improve as they went. Even their semi-final performance left plenty on which to work. Aiden Orme, to take just one example, had the game in his hands in the final moments of ordinary time, when he was presented with the ideal opportunity to drive his side into another county final within the 60 minutes of action. Knockmore wouldn't have wanted the ball in any other player’s hands when that moment arrived. They had done everything right in that passage of play up until that point.

But the forward’s shot drifted outside the upright, sending the game to extra-time. As if that wasn’t dramatic enough, the North Mayo club soon found themselves down to 14 men for a short period as Breaffy set their eyes on another county decider and a chance to finally land the Moclair Cup. And yet, almost miraculously, Knockmore didn't allow the disadvantage to beat them into submission. They hung in and when Breaffy were also reduced to 14 men, the rural club came alive, bagging two vital goals in quick succession to set them on their way. That resilience will stand to them when they come up against the reigning champions this weekend.

For most of the championship, Breaffy had been the team to watch, playing like a side that finally had destiny on their side. Knockmore, however, allowed their experience to emerge and peaked at the most opportune moment. It's a sign of a great team. They thrived amid the chaos – and there will be chaos aplenty when they head back to MacHale Park on Saturday night.

Ballina Stephenites’ road to the final had its own twists, too. In a rather bizarre situation, they also had to endure the uncertainty of extra-time in the curtain raiser semi-final at MacHale Park earlier this month. Much like Knockmore, they also looked like they had the game at their mercy in ordinary time as they marched towards yet another county final. But they handed Ballaghaderreen a lifeline, conceding a late free that levelled the game and forced an additional 20 minutes of high pressure football. For a team already ravaged by injuries, many will have felt that extra-time would've suited the East Mayo club and that the pendulum would eventually begin to swing in their favour as the day progressed deeper into the afternoon.

As it happened, the reigning champions dived deep into their reservoir of experience, producing the required grit to secure a spot in their third county final in a row. That sort of attitude is ingrained in the heritage of the club. Luck hasn't made them the most successful club in Mayo football, with a total of 37 titles. They were far from perfect, but they had the mental sharpness to find a way to survive and thrive when the dial of the pressure cook was turned all the way around.

History has a habit of repeating itself when these local rivals meet on the most consequential day in the Mayo sporting calendar. Whoever comes out on top this weekend could very well end their season with much more than the Moclair Cup in their clubhouse cabinet. Back in 2004, Ballina Stephenites drove past Knockmore in the county final and rode that wave all the way to the All-Ireland title on St Patrick's Day in Croke Park a few months later. Rewind to tape back to the previous decade, and it was Knockmore who got the better of their neighbours, marching all the way to an All-Ireland final against Crossmaglen Rangers.

The satisfaction that comes with winning the county title is unlikely to satisfy either of these clubs from next Sunday morning, especially since both sides have already won county titles in recent years.

While the county title is prestigious, both sides will have ambitions that stretch beyond Saturday’s final whistle. There’s no telling where the journey will end for either club, even if neither side have allowed their imagination to drift that far forward just yet. It would be immensely foolish given the storm awaiting them under the floodlights this weekend. But history still suggests this may only be the beginning of the journey for one of the clubs.