Clann and Pearses go head to head for place in Roscommon decider

DESPITE the recent elimination of reigning champions St Brigid"s from the 2008 Roscommon SFC, hopes remain high that the Fahey Cup could still find its way to South Roscommon this year. And followers of Roscommon senior football will be a little closer to knowing the identity of this year"s senior county champions following the meeting of South Roscommon"s two remaining teams, Clann na nGael and Padraig Pearses, in the semi-finals at Kiltoom this coming Sunday (throw-in: 4.30pm). Both Clann na nGael and Padraig Pearses sealed semi-finals positions last weekend with replay wins over Elphin and Kilmore respectively. Clann boast an incredible 19 county titles but have fallen on harder times in recent years, however, manager Enon Gavin - a former All-Star recipient - is now just two victories away from guiding Clann to a first county success since 1996. Eamonn Mahon"s Padraig Pearses stand in the way though, and will be eager to go one step better than last year"s semi-final appearance. In the other semi-final, Castlerea face Western Gaels (St Brigid"s conquerors) on Saturday evening at Elphin (throw-in: 6pm). Clann manager Enon Gavin is looking no further than the challenge of Padraig Pearses. Speaking this week, Gavin said: 'We"re looking forward to the game; it"s a local derby and anything can happen. But Padraig Pearses have been one of the county"s top teams for the last few years, so it"s going to be very difficult for us. We"ve shown a bit of character during the championship and hopefully we can perform well on Sunday. We are making a bit of progress this year and the players have reacted well and are enjoying it - that"s the main thing. But we"re under no illusions going into Sunday"s game and know we have to improve several aspects of our game to stand a chance against Padraig Pearses.' Enon Gavin is also reporting no injury worries at this stage of the week. Before beating Elphin following a replay last weekend, Clann na nGael emerged from a three-team qualifying group including St Faithleach"s and Western Gaels, while Padraig Pearses came through a group containing Elphin and St Aidan"s. Young forward Donie Shine has been Clann"s scorer-in-chief throughout the campaign, notching a total of 13 points in the two quarter-final clashes against Elphin, while Padraig Pearses will look towards the likes of Ja Egan, Sean Fahy and Athlone Community College based school teacher Niall Finneran for scores on Sunday. Niall Finneran, who is bidding to shrug off the affects of the flu to take the field on Sunday, said Padraig Pearses are determined to make up for last year"s semi-final defeat to St Faithleach"s. 'We"ve now reached back to back semi-finals but we need to do much better than last year"s showing against St Faithleach"s,' said Finneran. 'It"s great to have a local derby in the semi-finals, particularly for the older members of each club. I don"t think there"s anything between us and Clann na nGael, so it"s almost impossible to know what might happen. We let ourselves down in last year"s semi-final, so we can use that as extra motivation on Sunday, but Clann na nGael are going to be very difficult opponents,' added Finneran. Pearses also have doubts over the fitness of Gerry Kelly (flu) and John Whyte (ankle). Padraig Pearses have never won a senior football county title in their history and last reached the final in 2005 when they lost to St Brigid"s.