Bellew hoping to utilize full panel as Ardee look to end 27 year famine

Not surprising to anyone that has had the pleasure of watching them this season, Ardee St Marys are back in the Senior decider, one match away from ending a 27 year wait for the Joe Ward Cup.

After cruising through much of the championship, they earned their place in the final via a win over the reigning champions Naomh Mairtin. In their manager Cathal Murray’s eyes, there was no better way to make it there.

“When the draw was made people said that was the toughest draw you could get, but if you want to win a competition you have to be able beat any team that is in it” he exclaimed. “And that’s the way we approached it.

“It was always going to be a tough challenge as they are an outstanding team, but we kept going until the end. The challenge was being at the top of our game as we needed to play as well as we possibly could to beat them.

“You could see it with both teams, the breeze had a major effect on the game, as it was very strong, but we kept plugging away at the end and crucially got over the line.”

When you look at the programme before any Ardee match, what boggles the mind is a panel list that seems to go on and on. Often 40 men are named, despite all those names being able to officially tog out.

While the likes of Daire McConnon, the Jackson brothers and Donal McKenny were unavailable to Murray for much of the year, this has allowed others to step up to the plate.

He knows all involved can make an impact if required, with just the fight for a spot in the matchday panel spurring the whole group forward.

“Looking back to as far as the Sheelan Cup, I think we have used some 40 players throughout the three competitions this year. That shows the number of great players we have here in Ardee at the minute.

“The split season made things a wee bit disruptive in that our county players didn’t come back until the last few weeks of the league, when we were down to the top six. It was only then we got out strongest team put together.

“But the players that had gotten us to the top of the league have played their part and a lot of those players are coming and closing games out. It shows the strength depth we have here.

“You can only tog out the 30, but everybody is putting in the same shift, so making that matchday panel is just adding to the competition within the team.”

Speaking about the opposition on Sunday, the Newtown Blues, the former Down player has plenty of praise for them.  He has worked with many of them in the past, giving him an interesting perspective ahead of the final.

“A lot of these guys have a couple of medals in their back pocket, a number of them have county experience, so we know there is real pedigree there and they are playing very well right now, particularly as a unit.

“From my previous times in Louth Football I would have worked with Andy McDonnell, Fergal Donohue, Emmet Carolan and Ciaran Downey. So I have a fair idea what to make of them, what they can do and how good they are. It will clearly be a huge challenge for us on Sunday.”

As the competition’s highest scoring outfit, people might expect an open and entertaining afternoon of football in Clan na Gael Park this Sunday (Throw in 4PM).

However the Ardee manager was keen to stress that the layout of the Dundalk pitch may lead to a much more tighter and controlled contest then people would have hoped for.

“It is hard to know what to expect as this is a final” he admitted. “You can go gungho and all of a sudden you are leaving yourself wide open with gaps at the back.

“I think it could be a cagey enough affair. I’ve watched the Blues a few times and seen their strengths and what they are good at. Like any other game, you have your own strategies and then you also try to do what’s best on the day to get over the line.

“The Clans pitch is a bit tighter than others we’ve played on, so that might have a bearing on the game as well.”

Both sides' recent record in county deciders couldn’t be more mixed. The Blues were the kingpins before Sam Mulroy and the Martins took over in 2020 and 2021. They have been champions as recently as 2019 and are of course the county’s most successful side.

Meanwhile Ardee lost out on many finals since last lifting Joe Ward back in 1995, the bitter pain of the 2020 loss bound to be still in the minds of supporters, club officials and players alike.

Murray stated that was a very young group that lost that final and they are much wiser and fitter outfit ahead of the 2022 decider, while also adding the favourites tag put on them will mean very little.

“You can see both sides of the coin” he answered when asked was it better to come with the experience of winning or the hunger to finally get over the line as raging favourites.

“I’ve been told that a lot of the 2020 group were 18 year olds, 20 year olds. A lot of growth has occurred in those two years. They’ve come on enough in that space of time to make a big difference now, compared to the experience they had in that previous final.

"We know what we are up against, we know the position of being favourites as we have lived it in other games. That tag is only what pundits think. I see very little between the teams at the minute and it really is going to come down to who performs on the day.

“A simple thing, like a missed ball, shot or tackle, all those variables come into it. The favourites tag means nothing really, delivering on the day will be key.”