St Paul’s wary of Tyrrellspass threat

Clarke's Bar Junior 2 Football Final preview

St Paul’s will contest Saturday’s Westmeath Junior 2 Football Championship final against Tyrrellspass. It's a positive turnaround just a year after their relegation from Junior 1, which was a setback for the Clonmellon side.

Player-manager Kenny Higgins is hoping to lead the club back to the Junior grade proper and while surprised to be in the role, has found the season both very rewarding.

“It’s a big weekend for St Paul’s,” he remarked. “Coming from where we finished up last year, it’s nice to be preparing for a final. Probably a lot of people wouldn’t have expected us to be here, but we’ll try to enjoy the occasion.”

St Paul’s reached the decider after a dramatic semi-final win over Garrycastle, following a quarter-final victory against Caulry. Higgins admitted his side were relieved to hear the final whistle after a tense finish.

“We probably controlled most of it,” he recalled. “We stayed a few points ahead, but made a few changes towards the end that nearly backfired. We lost a man to a black card and then conceded a goal. We were lucky not to concede another, but one play worked out for us, and we managed to edge back in front. It just petered out from there.”

Higgins himself found the net in that semi-final, though he joked that his timing could have gone wrong. “I got the goal,” he smiled. “A few people said I brought myself on when we were winning, and if I hadn’t scored, I’d have been blamed for losing the game! I was just in the right place at the right time.”

This is St Paul’s first year competing in the Junior 2 grade after last season’s relegation. Higgins, who hadn’t planned to manage, took on the role when needed.

“I wasn’t expecting to be managing,” he explained. “I was probably expecting to finish out my time as a player, but I took it on and we rallied around together. It was more about keeping the club ticking over, getting a few lads back, and trying to build again.

“It’s important for the club. We’ve been struggling to bring young players through. Hopefully we can make some changes to our underage structure because we’ve a few lads nearly ready to come up. We just want to keep it fun and keep guys playing.”

Their semi-final victory was made even more memorable by the appearance of some familiar Garrycastle legends.

“I was shocked to see Dessie Dolan and Doran Harte togging out. Dessie whizzed past me at one stage!” laughed Higgins. “It was great to see that kind of effort from them. It added to the occasion and made it all the more enjoyable.”

For Jamie Fitzsimons, one of the side’s most experienced players, the year has been a rewarding one after a difficult start.

“At the start of the year, it was a bit of doom and gloom,” he said. “None of us wanted to be in the position we were in, but fair play to Kenny: being the great club man he is, he stepped in and took charge.

“Because we’re a dual club with Brownstown, he was able to find the right balance for everyone. We’ve about 11 lads who play both hurling and football, so we have to manage the panel carefully. We don’t have huge numbers, so avoiding injuries is vital.”

After an opening-round defeat to Tubberclair, St Paul’s found their form and haven’t looked back.

“We had a slip-up in the first game,” Fitzsimons said. “We were well up and conceded a few goals, but we got our heads down after that. We’ve been grinding out results since; some good patches, some bad. However, we’ve kept going.

“The Junior 2 is a great competition. It gives players experience and helps clubs build again towards Junior 1. The standard is very high. There’s not a lot between Junior A and Junior 2. You’ve senior medal winners, intermediates, and young lads all mixed together. You only have to look at Ballinagore last year. They won Junior 2 and are real contenders this year.”

As both a footballer with St Paul’s and hurler with Brownstown, Fitzsimons knows the challenge of being a dual player well.

“It’s tough; there’s no point saying otherwise,” he said. “You’re training three or four nights a week and playing every weekend. But it helps when the two clubs get on, and that’s been the case this year.

“With small numbers, we need both clubs pulling together. Having Kenny involved in both setups has made a big difference. It just works well.”

As St Paul’s prepare for Saturday’s final, both manager and players are determined to make the most of their unexpected opportunity, and perhaps crown a season of renewal with silverware.