Footballers of Rhode parish club aim to edge closer to Leinster history

The Leinster Intermediate club football championship is a relatively new phenomenon, having first been played in 2003 when Dundalk Gaels were the inaugural victors. 2006 was the first year when the Intermediate and Senior championships went to the same county, Confey and Moorefield each bringing success to Kildare, and this feat was repeated last year when St. Vincent"s and Fingal Ravens won the two titles. However 2008 has the potential to take that connection one step further, with two clubs from the same parish each in the running - a historic feat that would be unlikely to ever be repeated, if it were to come about. This Sunday will go a long way towards making or breaking that push for history as both Rhode and St. Brigid"s face tricky away fixtures in Carlow and Laois respectively. Rhode will be considered the much more likely club to return to Offaly with a win under their belts as their two-point victory over Portlaoise is a formline that Éire Óg, their opponents on Sunday, cannot match. The Carlow town team are proven performers on the Leinster stage, as Tullamore found out to their cost last year and they are certainly battle hardened. This Sunday will be their seventh game in the space of six weeks, with two sessions of extra time thrown in for good measure. They scored freely in their first round game against Kiltegan of Wicklow, while against Colmcille they demonstrated their ability to tough it out in a tight encounter where every score was precious. 2-13 in 160 minutes of football is not exactly free-scoring stuff, averaging out at barely seven points per hour, but winter football is rarely about running up big tallies and all about getting the right result. That low scoring is all the more forgivable when one considers that they have been playing without Simon Rea, one of Carlow"s best forwards and a reliable source of two or three scores per game. However Rea"s absence is set to continue this Sunday, leaving the scoring burden on the shoulders of inside forwards Eric McCormack, Mark Kelly and Cormac Mullins again. These players have carried the attacking load for Éire Óg throughout this year and the home club"s tendency to look for them early and often will be a real test of Tom Coffey"s team, in particular his defenders. As well as playing some very successful football this year, it has also been noted that Rhode have become a much more attractive team to watch under Coffey. Obviously Stephen Darby"s successes are no less noteworthy because of the style he employed at the time, but Coffey is happy to let his team play a more all round attacking game, rather than flooding the back line and letting Niall McNamee do the bulk of the work at the other end. Wing forwards, wing backs and midfielders are all given licence to push forward if the time is right, which means that opponents have to do a lot more than just close down the threat of McNamee. This really bore fruit against Portlaoise where it was a balanced all round display from the attack that won the day, but it could be argued that the more defensive style that Darby employed might have been more suited to Sunday"s clash. If Rhode can get in front early and force Éire Óg to chase this game, the likelihood is that they will push on and win by a good margin. Éire Óg do not have the tools to shut down Rhode"s attack while pushing forward themselves and they need to keep within striking distance at all times. However it could be a very different story if the Carlow men who take an early lead. They will undoubtedly flood the defence and try to keep the scoring down, while also offering a real threat on the break. Expect them to spring wily old campaigners like Willie Quinlan off the bench to try and guide the ship home and with a large home crowd in their favour, a difficult afternoon could be in store. A good start will certainly be half the work for Rhode on Sunday, otherwise theit anticipated Leinster final appearance could be put in real jeopardy. While Rhode will certainly carry the favourites tag, St Brigid"s will have no such burden as they take on a team that were Laois senior champions as recently as 2006. Back then the amalgamation was a temporary one which was known as Ballyroan Gaels, and since they were not a club in their own right at the time, they were denied entry into the Leinster club championship. That amalgamation has since been made permanent and now the players of Ballyroan and Abbeyleix are free to compete in intercounty competitions. Their relegation in 2007, not unlike that of St. Brigid"s here, was considered a huge shock within Laois and though they did lose a group game in this year"s intermediate championship, they never looked under any real pressure this season and came through a difficult final against Park Ratheniska with ease. Their victims on the Leinster stage have been two clubs that were well known to Celebrity Bainisteoir viewers earlier in the year. Taghmon Camross of Wexford and Maryland of Westmeath were each beaten by six points. It all means Laz Molly will have to dig very deep into his box of tricks because with home advantage and a panel full of players who were good enough to win senior only a few years ago, this looks to be a particularly difficult hurdle to clear for his team. The likely absence of Laois intercounty forward MJ Tierney offers a chink of light to those hoping for a Rhode parish double in this year"s Leinster finals, however Scott Conroy, Colm Lawlor and Enda McDonald are all very capable of scoring at any level, even in Tierney"s absence, while St Brigids" close call against St Kevins last Sunday, while it should bring them on, suggests that they may have found their level. A big game at midfield from James and Enda Carroll against Ballyroan captain Dara Phelan is a must, while the St Brigid"s backline must maintain their notorious frugality against a very sharp attacking line in order to give the forward players a chance of accumulating the necessary scores. It"s a big ask, but then one doesn"t achieve history easily, and for the footballers of Rhode parish, that"s exactly what"s on the line this weekend.