St Brigid's bid to storm 'Castle and reach another All-Ireland final

In terms of local interest, Saturday's All-Ireland semi-final showdown at Pearse Park (2pm) could be billed as a 'game for the ages'. There are so many strands to it that it's difficult to know where to start. But the fact that seven first cousins - four on one side and three on the other - are involved in an All-Ireland semi-final is as good a place as any. Garrycastle's Dessie and Gary Dolan and their first cousins James Dolan and Alan Fox will be opposition to the Dolan brothers of St Brigid's, Frankie, Garvan and Darren. It adds a truly unique dimension to a contest which has captured the imagination of sporting fans both locally and beyond. There have been many parallels between Frankie and Dessie Dolan over their careers. They both have six championship medals with their clubs and both have starred at inter-county level. Indeed, back in 2001, Dessie and Frankie played in All-Ireland quarter-finals for their counties on the same weekend - Dessie for Westmeath against Meath, and Frankie for Roscommon against Galway. Such parallels have continued in this campaign. Both players were given the man-of-the-match award after their respective provincial finals. And just this week, Frankie was selected for the AIB Connacht club player award - the second time in a row he has been chosen - while Dessie was honoured with the Leinster award. St Brigid's manager Noel O'Brien has acknowledged that Saturday's clash at Pearse Park (2pm) is "an unusual sort of game and it will probably never happen again". For both teams to win their respective county and provincial championships in the same year, and for the draw for the All-Ireland series to align in such a fashion, is not something likely to be repeated. Then there is the Anthony Cunningham factor. The Garrycastle manager led St Brigid's to their first Connacht title and still lives in the parish of Kiltoom and Cam. If Garrycastle lose on Saturday, it will be Cunningham's last game in charge. Can the current Galway senior hurling manager extend his time with Garrycastle to St Patrick's Day? Both clubs have explored every avenue in their preparations. St Brigid's have even enlisted the assistance of performance coach Caroline Currid, who was involved with the Dublin footballers' Sam Maguire success last year and the All-Ireland winning Tipperary hurlers the previous year. Here we take a look at this intriguing contest under a number of headings. Experience 'You can't buy experience', says the old cliche. St Brigid's have an edge here on the basis that this is their third All-Ireland semi-final. And they have the experience of playing in last year's All-Ireland final. While this is their first semi-final at this level, Garrycastle are hardly lacking in experience. In David O'Shaughnessy, they have a player who captained his county to their sole Leinster senior championship; the Retreat native is also one of a number of Garrycastle players to have won All-Ireland U21 medals with Westmeath. Scoring power In Garrycastle's Leinster campaign, a huge amount of scoring responsibility fell on Dessie Dolan's shoulders. Dolan will need more scoring support on Saturday. The Garrycastle camp will be hoping that Patrick Mulvihill can rediscover the form he showed in the Westmeath championship; it's difficult to envisage them winning if this doesn't happen. James Dolan's pace and eye for a score also could be key. St Brigid's scoring threat is more varied which gives them an advantage. Indeed, Frankie Dolan and Senan Kilbride have scored an almost identical amount during Brigid's passage through Roscommon and Connacht to this stage. Cathal McHugh is also eminently capable of chipping in with vital scores and he was man-of-the-match in the All-Ireland quarter-final win over Fulham Irish. En route to the last four, Garrycastle have scored an average of 17.36pts, as opposed to 16pts for Brigid's. Defence Both teams have had very good defensive records on the way to the All-Ireland semi-final. Garrycastle have conceded an average of 9.81 pts, while Brigid's have coughed up just 7.11 pts. An intriguing comparison here is the contrast in the number of goals conceded. Garrycastle have conceded nine goals while Brigid's have let in a miserly one (against Strokestown in the Roscommon championship, a game which Brigid's still won by nine points). Of course, such statistics invite comparisons regrading the quality of opposition along the way, but Brigid's record of conceding just one goal is mightily impressive by any yardstick. Garrycastle will surely need at least one goal to win on Saturday. Expectation Given that this is their third All-Ireland semi-final and that they reached the national decider last year, St Brigid's are expected by many observers to win. Most bookies rate St Brigid's as 4/6 favourites with Garrycastle available at 13/8. This level of expectation could lead to pressure on the Brigid's players.Garrycastle will be determined to make the most of this chance, but they shouldn't be burdened by expectation. Bench options In the Leinster final, Garrycastle's subs played an absolutely crucial role. Aidan Browne bolstered a wilting midfield sector, Conor Cosgrove scored the winning point and the tigerish Alan Fox also impressed, while Alan Daly is a player for whom the term 'super sub' could have been invented. Garrycastle possibly have an edge here, although the fact that Rory McGowan has been ruled out of the game means an option from the bench will now become a starting player. For St Brigid's, the introduction of the physically combative Ian Kilbride was absolutely critical to the second-half renaissance against Corofin. Kilbride didn't start that game because he was just back from army duty, but he will see action from the off on Saturday. Support from the stands Managers and players generally say that supporters can't put scores on the board. And, of course, they're right. But still a bit of extra vocal support never goes astray. Garrycastle will be hoping for greater support from the rest of Westmeath on Saturday than they received in the Leinster final. The provincial decider did take place on the last Sunday before Christmas which may have caused some fans to opt for shopping over football. Garrycastle are bidding to become the first Westmeath team to reach an All-Ireland senior final. They certainly deserve support from the rest of the Lake County. St Brigid's are likely to receive huge support from their large parish of Kiltoom and Cam, and even GAA heartland areas in north Roscommon are likely to back their bid to reach a second successive All-Ireland decider. *See the 24-page souvenir supplement in week's Westmeath Independent for detailed pre-match coverage. *Contrary to previously released information by TG4 and the GAA, the St Brigid's v Garrycastle All-Ireland semi-final will NOT be televised 'live' on TG4. Instead, the other semi-final between Crossmaglen Rangers and Dr Crokes will be shown 'live', with deferred coverage of the Brigid's v Garrycastle game afterwards. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> CLOSEST OF NEIGHBOURS The teams in opposition on Saturday - Garrycastle and St Brigid's - would seem to be the closest neighbours involved in any match in the All-Ireland series of the AIB club championships since their inception. Here are some other neighbourly clashes in All-Ireland club semi-finals or finals: 1983 All-Ireland hurling semi-final: Kiltormer (Galway) v St Rynagh's, Banagher (Offaly), 14 miles approximately 1987 All-Ireland football semi-final: Clann na nGael (Roscommon) v Ferbane (Offaly), 19 miles approximately. 2008 All-Ireland hurling final: Birr (Offaly) v Portumna (Galway), 15 miles approximately.