Preview and prediction for the Laois SHC County Final between Rathdowney-Errill and Clough-Ballacolla
It's a repeat of the 2012 final in which Rathdowney-Errill won after a replay
And then there were two. Rathdowney-Errill and Clough-Ballacolla will go to battle on Sunday afternoon under the watchful eyes of referee Padraig Dunne to see who'll be crowned 2024 Laois Shopping Centre Senior Hurling champions.
Both sides came through semi-finals against the same sides which had beaten them in the last four of the 2023 competition. Rathdowney-Errill got the better of Abbeyleix while Clough-Ballacolla knocked out defending champions Camross.
Rathdowney-Errill topped their group which included Camross, Portlaoise and Castletown. They ended the group stages with five points having drawn to Portlaoise in Round 2 with victories over Camross and Castletown either side of the draw.
Clough-Ballacolla only ended up playing two games in the group as Rosenallis gave them a walkover in the final group game which meant that they had a period of seven weeks without a competitive game. That could be seen in the opening stages of the Camross victory in the semi-final but once they got going, they showed their class to reach the final.
This final will be tit-for-tat for the majority of the contest with both sides hoping for a quick start which could prove crucial down the back straight. Both sides have a lot of experienced players that have multiple Bob O'Keefe medals in their back pockets. There's also youngsters on both teams where it'll be their first experience of a county final. As both managements said in the lead-up to the game, there won't be a puck of a ball between the teams. Sunday's final should be a great occasion between the two best teams in Laois with the game also been showing on TG4.
Clough-Ballacolla v Rathdowney-Errill Laois Shopping Centre Senior Hurling Championship Final in Laois Hire O'Moore Park at 4pm
Odds: Clough-Ballacolla 4/6. Draw 15/2. Rathdowney-Errill 6/4
Prediction: Clough-Ballacolla to win by two points.
The Leinster Express/ Laois Live will be providing a live blog from the game.