Kinawley have impressed this year in Division Two and have backed their league form up with championship victories against Derrylin and Lisnaskea.
 Tempo on the other hand struggled in Division One but since the return of players like Aidan Breen and Ryan Keenan, the 2012 league and championship winners have shown a marked improvement and Saturday’s intermediate final is looking like it will be a hard fought contest.
Tempo overcame Enniskillen after a replay before seeing off Maguiresbride by two points in the semi-final. 
Tempo Manager, Sean Breen admits the return of players has strengthened his team massively:
“We’ve had a couple of really good training sessions since the Maguiresbridge game. Ryan Keenan has been a huge boost to us, he brings something else that the opposition have to keep an eye on. Our problem has been we weren’t scoring enough but in the last few games we got scores from all over the field.”
Against Maguiresbridge, Keenan chipped in with four points while Brian Johnston was on target from frees. Rory Foy and Declan Campbell pushed up from the half back line to score. This is something Kinawley will be looking to curtail on Saturday evening in Brewster Park.
Kinawley have relied heavily on Shaun Doherty in the middle of the park for primary ball possession but Neil Rodgers and Thomas Campbell will contest the middle third for Tempo. Breen knows this is a key area if his team are to succeed:
“Shaun Doherty, if you let him dictate the play, he will. If we can win the midfield, that’s where the game will be won. There will be battles all over the field though, Ruairí Corrigan is a target for us and we’ll be trying to keep him quiet.”
Kinawley have many scoring outlets though, which Tempo will need to be mindful off. Aaron O’Reilly and Sean McManus have continually shown they can cause any defence problems, while Conor Murphy has been influential in pushing up from the half back line. Tempo’s captain, Niall McElroy didn’t start the last day out against Maguiresbridge but Breen says he is back training and will be fit to play on Saturday which is a big boost to the Maguires.
The Borus may have been plying their trade in a lower division to Tempo but they are not being underestimated by the Tempo Manager:
“It’s going to be a tight game. Kinawley are not going to be there to make up the numbers. Both teams will think they can win and I’d expect it to go down to the very end. If it does, I would hope our two games against Enniskillen stand to us. They did against Maguiresbridge and we’ll be hoping for the same against Kinawley. I think we have enough though, if we play the way we know we can play.”
Kinawley Manager, Mark Monaghan has only one injury concern going into the weekend. Defender Darren Gormley didn’t play a part in the semi-final against Lisnaskea and is still carrying a hamstring injury. Monaghan is anticipating a tough final:
“Tempo is an experienced, strong outfit. They won the senior championship a few years ago with a lot of the same players as will be playing on Saturday. They have quality players like Aiden Breen, Damien Kelly and Ryan Keenan and are very strong in the middle. They have loads of experience in Declan Campbell and Rory and Conor Foy. We’re preparing for a very tough match.”
Monaghan acknowledges their performance against Lisnaskea would not be good enough to win them the Intermediate Championship for a third time:
“We’d need to improve 110 per cent. We’d have to improve big time! All the performances that have gone before count for nothing though, it’s all about Saturday. It would be great for the club and the younger players in particular if we could do it.”
Kinawley have relied heavily on the strength of their bench this season. Players like Sean Leonard and Kevin Martin have proven to be impact substitutes for the Borus, something Monaghan says has been the reason for their winning streak:
“This year has been about the squad. We’re lucky we have had a very strong bench to call upon. We’ve taken one game at a time and to be in a final is bonus territory for us.”
Kinawley last contested the Intermediate final in 2011 but Irvinestown lifted the silverware that day. Whether their wait for championship success is over is only two days away. 
Tempo on the other hand need this victory after an uncharacteristically poor season. 
Who wants it more will be known around 9 o’clock Saturday evening.