Kilcavan seek rare final appearance in neighbours showdown
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THE first of this year's Intermediate Football Championship semi-finals takes centre stage this evening when parish neighbours Mountmellick and Kilcavan go head-to-head in the LOETB Centre of Excellence with a place in the county final on the line.
Mountmellick enter the contest with recent experience of the latter stages of the competition. The side reached the 2024 final before falling to Crettyard and will be determined to go one step further this year. However, the club's wait for Intermediate glory stretches back two decades, having also suffered final defeats in 2018 and 2021.
Their route to the semi-final has been straightforward. Victories over Annanough and Ballylinan secured qualification and have afforded them a five-week break since their last championship outing. While that rest may prove beneficial, questions remain as to whether the lay-off could leave them short of match sharpness.
Kilcavan's journey has been more demanding. They opened with a win over Ballyroan-Abbey before suffering defeat to fellow semi-finalists Ballyfin in Round 2. That setback forced them down the back-door route, where they overcame Annanough to secure their place in the last four.
History is also within touching distance for the club. Kilcavan have never played senior football and have not appeared in an Intermediate final since 1962, just 16 years after the club's foundation in 1946. A victory on Friday would see them reach only their third ever final at this grade.
There will also be an added sense of motivation in the Kilcavan camp after last year's heartbreaking semi-final defeat to Arles-Kilcruise. On that occasion, they looked destined for the decider when leading by six points with 20 minutes remaining, only for their opponents to mount a dramatic comeback and snatch victory by a single point.
Recent success suggests Kilcavan are a club on the rise. Their Junior A Championship triumph in 2024 was followed by an impressive Leinster campaign that ended narrowly short of a provincial final appearance.
With Mountmellick's experience balanced against Kilcavan's momentum and hunger, all the ingredients are in place for a tense and closely fought local derby. Fine margins are likely to decide it, but Kilcavan may have just enough to edge through and book their place in the final.
