PREVIEW: What will separate these worthy opponents in this weekend's county final replay

FBD Insurance Senior Hurling Championship Final Replay

Thurles Sarsfields vs Kiladangan

Sunday, October 29th in FBD Semple Stadium @ 3pm

We were spoiled with the level of excitement and fervour during the drawn county final two weekends ago, and there is very little evidence to suggest that this Sunday’s replay won’t be just as enthralling.

Looking back on the drawn game, you can’t for a second suggest that one team or the other has the upper hand going into this game, and given that there is so much at stake both sets of playing personnel and management teams will be loathe to be on the losing side and everything will likely be left on the field of legends on Sunday evening.

The build-up to a final of such importance can’t be underestimated with regard to the preparations in physical terms, but even more in psychological terms as there would have been no forethought past the drawn game, and the two-week break is a long time to come down from the massive high of that incredibly tight finish two Sundays ago.

Thurles Sarsfields were so close to doing enough to get their hands on Dan Breen for the first time since 2017 but what they will have realised is that they will need to put away their chances when they pop up, as this Kiladangan team will not let the pressure get the better of them, and in reality, the north side has more exposure to these games over the last number of years than Thurles Sarsfields.

Where will the changes come though for either side?

In the case of Sarsfields, it is hard to argue for anyone to lose their place or for someone to come in from the start. They were the better team in certain patches of the game and looking back, they missed some chances that would have given them the breathing space required to possibly see out the game.

It is no surprise to anyone at this point that when Ronan Maher was dominant in the first half of the drawn game, that Thurles were the better team and he will be key once again.

The second team went down narrowly in their replay to Lorrha last weekend which will have disappointed the players and management team between the two setups, but what it does do is give them more options in the likes of Michael Cahill, Jack Lanigan, and co, who could make an impact from the bench if required.

On the other side of the coin, Kiladangan probably have more room for improvement as they were chasing the drawn game, for the most part, the last day, with a number of players like Tadhg Gallagher, Bryan McLoughney, and Billy Seymour fairly subdued, and with Willie Connors surely in line to start from the first whistle, they have the potential in reserve to win this game.

This looks to be the definition of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object once again, and will likely come down to a puck of a ball again, and I wouldn’t rule out penalties either!