Killavilla v Harps set up for final day classic
By Gary Culbert
Barring a complete disaster when Killavilla United travel to Sallypark in their penultimate league game this Wednesday evening, the premier division title race will go down to the very last game this Sunday.
Spectators should arrive early to Villa Park outside Roscrea for the 11.00am kick-off this Sunday morning, as although parking is plentiful, it is expected that cars will have to park in overflow carparks in nearby grounds and walk to Villa Park for the title decider between defending champions and second placed Killavilla, and long time league leaders BT Harps.
These two teams and indeed towns are the fiercest of rivals in any normal game, but there is even more than a league title on the line this Sunday.
The worst kept secret in local soccer is that Killavilla United may be leaving the NT&DL for the CCFL (Combined Counties Football League) at the end of the season. The Roscrea side have been the top team in North Tipp for some time now, but since the turn of the year BT Harps have made a good case for a changing of the guard in that matter.
If they do end up leaving for the CCFL, ‘Villa will want to go out on a high – preferably with the quadruple. Conversely, Harps boss Henry Newman has been battling this club for years, first with Nenagh Celtic and now with the Templemore side, and you can be sure that he and Mid Tipp town would only love to knock their noisy neighbours off their perch, providing bragging rights for many years to come.
The last time these sides met, Harps were rightly branded the favourites due to home advantage and their red-hot form, however due to injuries and a flip in the home advantage, Villa are coming into this one as slight favourites.
An important element to this game though is the fact that a draw would be enough for Harps to secure the title. We saw recently how important that was when Shinrone held out against Moneygall to a scoreless draw to clinch the first division title on the final day of the season, and it will surely play a part on Sunday.
The last time Harps failed to score in a competitive game was over a year ago, against who else but… Killavilla in Villa Park.
If Killavilla do leave the league, then only one team will be relegated from the premier division this season, but in the unlikely scenario that they stay then the team second from bottom will be in the drop zone too. Right now, that is Sallypark Odhrans, but they can go level on points with three other teams if they beat Arra Rovers in their final game on Sunday, which would force a relegation play-off in the event of Killavilla staying.
The only game of last week saw Rearcross run out 5-2 winners at home to Ballymackey, with Patrick Dawson helping himself to four goals in the rout. The win secured a third place ‘best of the rest’ finish for Rearcross.