Mullahoran to upset the form-book in Sunday's final

Paul Fitzpatrick It has the makings of a classic. Strength versus speed, pace versus power. Kingscourt are favourites with the bookmakers but can Mullahoran force the issue? It all depends on how they react on the big day. Mullahoran have been up there with Cavan Gaels as the most consistent team in the county in the past two decades and that experience will stand to them against Kingscourt. They won't look to turn it into a dogfight as many have predicted; if they enforce their game on Kingscourt, that's the only thing it can be. A team whose greatest attribute is physical power will always revel in a tight, hard-hitting, close match which is decided by on-on-ones. Think of the great Armagh side of the early years of this century - they rarely hammered teams and made their name eking out results, which was the only way they knew to win. It was far from a fault, either - what greater compliment can a team be paid than to say that if it's tight, they will probably win? Kingscourt, on the other hand, are all about speed and movement. They don't mind a physical game - the spine of their team, from Wakely though Clarke, Smith and McCormack are as powerful as they come - but their preference will be to utilise the pace of men like Philip Tinnelly, Barry Reilly, Barry Tully, Keith McCabe, Joe MacMahon and Co. They'll play to their strengths and if they can get on top, like Cavan Gaels of recent years and the Tyrone vintage of 2003 to 2008, they can crucify teams. Pace can do that; power cannot. Of course, we're looking at it in black and white - Mullahoran are far from lumbering carthorses and have their fair share of fast forwards in the likes of Enda O'Reilly and, if he starts, Ray Lynch, but their greatest asset is their strength. So, to use a cliché, who will win when the irresistible force meets the immoveable object? The form-book says it has to be Kingscourt but when that form is examined, it's possible to argue that Mullahoran have beaten sides with more pedigree in Ballinagh, Killygarry and Gowna. Kingscourt have overcome Lavey, Drumgoon and Denn and saw off a disappointing Castlerahan but the only team they have met with a hardcore of championship winners this season - Cavan Gaels - beat them, albeit in a dead rubber match. Much will depend on the match-ups and whether Mullahoran can get their tactics right and stop the Stars - who are averaging five green flags every two matches - scoring goals. That won't be easy. Goals are, as we have written before, the poison in Kingscourt's bite and they can get them from all over the field - Joe Dillon, Colm Smith, Joe MacMahon and Barry Reilly have all been rattling the net with regularity. Then again, the only match this season in which Kingscourt failed to goal was again Mullahoran. And then, yet again even, Kingscourt won that game, by 0-7 to 0-5. Mullahoran must keep it tight and hope to be there and going well on the home stretch. A nervous start would surely see the Stars shine. Kingscourt showed in 2010 when they came from four down at half-time in the final, however, that they can overcome adversity too. It has all the makings of an epic, with a draw a real possibility. The imponderables - will Dermot Sheridan, for example, be fit to play a full part? - make this a tough one to call. It won't be free-scoring and if it's a wet day, it will suit Mullahoran. A huge amount depends on referee Noel Mooney. The Gaels man is a good young whistler but this is a big assignment and the neutrals (and, probably, Mullahoran) will be hoping he lets the match flow and doesn't blow for soft fouls, which could ruin the match as a spectacle. We wish him luck. There are less question marks about Kingscourt, whose main men are in form, while Mullahoran are hoping some of theirs find their best form (which they could well). And yet. The Dreadnoughts have the look of a team playing with the hand of fate on their shoulder this season and, having, in many ways, limped this far, one huge performance could see them do it. Buckle up. Verdict: Mullahoran by one