Corofin need the game of their lives to topple champions

FRANCIS FARRAGHER

THERE’S a longing out Corofin way and it’s one that hasn’t gone away for the past 17 years. Football blood is pumped straight from the heart in places like Cummer, Ballinderry and Belclare and they all badly want to add another club title to their sole success of 1998.

That victory in the ’98 final against Dublin side Erin’s Isle is, rather surprisingly, Corofin’s only appearance in a club decider – their problem game in the series over recent years has been in the All-Ireland semi-final.

Four times over the past 23 years, Corofin have lost out at the penultimate stage of the competition: to Dr. Crokes in 1992; Laune Rangers in 1996, Kilmacud Crokes in 2009 and St. Gall’s in 2010.

That’s a trend that Corofin will want to put a stop to on Saturday in Tullamore’s O’Connor Park (2.0) but they do face one huge task in attempting to dethrone reigning All-Ireland champions, St. Vincent’s of Dublin, a team that last year blew the final challenge of Castlebar Mitchels out of the water on a 4-12 to 2-11 scoreline.

With Corofin having stormed through Galway and Connacht in 2014, and with St. Vincent’s doing likewise in Leinster, then it surely is the case of the unstoppable force versus the immovable object – it really is difficult to figure out, who or what, will give way first.

Corofin will be hoping that they have added a level of maturity and calmness to their game after being desperately disappointed to lose out to Castlebar Mitchels in last season’s Connacht club championship. Since then though, they seem to be a far leaner and meaner footballing machine.

There are many students of the game who believe that both St. Vincent’s and Corofin could hack it with most inter-county teams across the country, such is the depth of talent coming through from their under-age ranks – for the Galway and Connacht champions, getting the balance right in the starting fifteen could be a key issue.

Corofin manager, Stephen Rochford, reports a clean bill of health for Saturday’s tie and admits that some tough calls will have to be made when he sits down with his selectors to pick the team.