Edenderry and Ferbane fancied to reach Dowling Cup last four

Kevin Egan Column

The season will end for a whole host of football clubs over the course of the next few days, with knockout fixtures and relegation deciders taking place all across the county. The action gets underway tonight (Friday) with the relegation decider in the Senior B championship between St Rynagh’s and Erin Rovers , so for no reason other than that, we’ll start there.

Senior B FC

This has been a dreadful year for St Rynagh’s, culminating in the concession of a walkover in their final group game against Bracknagh. Club supporters around Cloghan are placing a lot of faith in last year’s U-15 team to be the group that helps give them forward momentum again, but a big part of being ready for those players to come into adult football in 2024 is to have a strong and functional adult panel up and running. All clubs have struggled to get teams on the field this year, particularly in the west of the county, and Erin Rovers are no exception – but right now, the Pullough men seem to be in a slightly better place in advance of this fixture.

The action continues tomorrow evening in Tullamore, when Gracefield will hope to continue their resurgence against Tubber, with Ballycumber taking on Walsh Island on Sunday, also in O’Connor Park. The nature of this championship has been that results have been hard to predict, but overall there is some evidence to suggest that the form in group two is that little bit better than what we’ve seen in group one, so unless Tubber can turn things around very quickly, a Ballycumber/Gracefield double might be the shrewd call.

Senior A FC

Ask 100 football supporters around the county what results they’d expect this weekend, and chances are the majority of them – perhaps 70 or more – would probably suggest a Ferbane/Edenderry/Durrow treble as the most likely outcome.

Clara exceeded expectations in two of their three group games, with good showings either side of a dreadful performance against Edenderry, and the historic rivalry between the Magpies and their near neighbours in Ferbane will be seen as something of a levelling factor too. However, there is a battle-hardened quality to this Ferbane group, and for all the concerns over the form of the 2019 champions, they should just have a little bit too much cuteness here.

Shamrocks have a little bit more explosiveness in their arsenal and any forward line containing Jack Bryant, Nigel Dunne and Paddy Dunican has to be respected – but the injury to Kieran Dolan will have been a huge blow, both in terms of the loss of the player himself, but also the disappointment that will be felt across their club on behalf of a charismatic young man who has already had a really tough run with injuries. If the stars align perfectly for Shamrocks, they’re not entirely without hope – but logic would suggest that Edenderry should still prevail. The Reds have quietly put together a very respectable championship campaign, and while their big match mentality is far from proven, it’s tough to pick holes in their play in any sector of the field right now.

Finally, in the relegation contest, Cappincur look like they have a bit to find against Durrow. Cappincur exploded out of the blocks with a great showing against Ferbane and were hugely unlucky not to hold on and clinch a victory there, but it’s gone downhill since then, albeit they wouldn’t have expected much from their most recent tie against Tullamore.

On the contrary, if Durrow can get their heads right for this game, they should be in a much better place physically. They’ve had the opportunity to put in much better preparation for this fixture with Ballinamere enjoying a week off in the final round of hurling fixtures, and provided there has been comparative harmony across the two camps, that break should be enough to see them through. It’ll suit Ballinamere for Durrow to finish with a win and lift spirits in the camp ahead of the hurling quarter-finals the following weekend, and while it can be hard to avoid territorial wranglings, both clubs would have a similar agenda right now.

Durrow seem to possess a lot more scoring power than Cappincur, so they narrowly get the vote, on the basis that if it takes 15 points or similar to win this game, they’re far more likely to reach that tally.

Intermediate FC

Like St Rynagh’s, Shannonbridge had to concede a walkover already in this year’s championship, though their circumstances were slightly different, with a Covid outbreak responsible in their case. Only those within the club will know if it was a case of them being utterly unable to field, or if there was an element of a calculated gamble in the hope that they’d be offered a refixture, but either way, they arguably will be even more galvanised now and the prospect of dropping to Offaly’s fourth tier won’t sit well with them. Clodiagh Gaels have become a hurling-first club now and it’s highly unlikely that they’ll be quite as invested in this game as the 'Bridge men.

Sunday’s quarter-finals will see Tullamore take on Daingean and Ferbane play St Brigid’s, and in both cases, it probably should be the end of the road for the second teams. Ferbane have fallen back considerably from a few years ago, when they were able to win this championship, and if they had to play Shannonbridge at full strength, there is no guarantee they would have come through. They’ve had some tight battles with St Brigid’s over the past five or so years, but this time around the Croghan club get the nod.

Tullamore are a little bit more threatening, particularly against a Daingean side that can be very good, but is also capable of putting in a four or five out of ten performance at just the wrong time. There’s no lack of talent in Daingean, certainly not when it comes to competing at this level, but they can let games get away from them. They’ll need to hit the ground running in Gracefield and try to build up a four or five point lead early. If they do that, they’re unlikely to be reeled in, but a dogfight will open the door for the Blues.