Favourites prevail in different styles to reach senior semis

By Kevin Egan

Edenderry and Ferbane were widely tipped to come through last weekend’s Offaly SFC quarter-final ties with Shamrocks and Clara respectively, though there was no comparison in the manner in which the two teams advanced.

The reds always looked like they held an edge over Shamrocks and while there was an edgy, tense air to the game, they prevailed by virtue of their ability to starve the very talented Shamrocks inside forward line of good quality ball.

To win like that without having to call on the services of Cian Farrell was a hugely positive sign for the club, and they’ll certainly be as well-equipped as anyone to match Tullamore’s pace and energy through the middle third next time out, albeit they’ll need to improve hugely in front of the posts.

Last Saturday evening’s game between Ferbane and Clara was a much more exciting contest, with Clara coming back from seven points down to put themselves into a commanding lead in the closing stages, only for Ferbane to fire over the last four points, including a very tough free in the fifth minute of stoppage time, to secure the win.

When the dust settles, this will feel like a missed opportunity for Clara but also a welcome return to relevance for the club, who have been a long way off the pace at the top table for some time now. A huge rebuild has been undertaken in the club and they will start 2023 with real belief that bridging a 14-year gap since their last Dowling Cup win is a very real prospect, albeit one that will still require further improvement.

For Ferbane, extricating themselves from difficult situations like this has become something of a habit this year. They had a lot of work to do to get themselves out of a hole against Shamrocks, albeit in a disjointed game due to Kieran Dolan’s injury, while they also needed a late string of points to salvage a first round draw against Cappincur.

Ferbane attacker Cian Johnson continues to show that he’s making gradual steps forward, there’s clearly plenty of scoring power in the team, and they won’t lack for physicality against anyone. Whether there is the genuine class there to match Rhode next time out remains to be seen, but it certainly looks like a game that will be very tough to call, and should be the more attractive of the two semi-finals for that reason.

Parish derby looming in Senior B football final?

It’s a remarkable situation where three of the four clubs still in the race for the Senior B football championship are all from the one parish, but that’s the situation now as Clonbullogue, Bracknagh and Walsh Island join Tubber in the last four of this competition.

Five points and a very good performance from 46-year-old Ciarán McManus might have caught the eye of the country, but realistically the form showed by both Tubber (who defeated Gracefield) and Walsh Island (winners over Ballycumber) didn’t look quite good enough to suggest that they might turn over Clonbullogue or Bracknagh next time out. Therefore, it is expected that Clonbullogue and Bracknagh will contest the final to decide who will replace Cappincur in the top tier next year.

Meanwhile at the other end, there was a huge win for St Rynagh’s against Erin Rovers, meaning that the Pullough men will drop to intermediate level for 2023.