Attractive double bill to determine Offaly Senior B Football Championship finalists

A VERY attractive double bill in O'Connor Park on Saturday will determine the finalists in the Tullamore Court Hotel Senior “B” Football Championship.

The two favourites, Cappincur and Clara will go head to head in a mouth watering shootout first, followed by an equally enticing clash between Daingean and Clonbullogue.

Semi-finals

Cappincur v Clara: Saturday in O'Connor Park at 3.15pm

Cappincur and Clara could serve up one of the games of the year in the first of the two games in O'Connor Park.

While Clara lost to Daingean in their last group game, these two have been the championship front runners almost from the start and it is a very difficult one to call.

Cappincur have been very impressive so far. They won their three group games and saw off Walsh Island in the quarter-final. That quarter-final win was their least convincing display of the year but it could be exactly what they needed. A wake up all and a tight game where they had to dig deep was a lot better for them that the facile win many anticipated.

Clara have been championship favourites from the start but that is based more on the belief that they should have a senior football team and should not be in the second tier rather than any statement about their current well-being.

Their form raises as many questions as answers. They had a comfortable win over Gracefield and ran riot against Walsh Island but were very much off the boil in that defeat by Daingean. They recovered well from that to beat neighbours Tubber in the quarter-finals but Clara are certainly beatable.

This is a huge game for them. With senior likely to go to 10 teams next year, the beaten senior “B” finalists will probably have the option of going up and the stakes are huge for Clara. Another year in senior “B” would be a bitter pill to swallow but it is very possible.

Cappincur have been very impressive so far. Bill Carroll has been in sensational form for them, playing some great football in their attack. He is the single most important player in this game and Cappincur need him to go well. His older brother Eoin limped off in the win over Walsh Island and he also exerts a powerful influence for them at midfield.

Clara have a lot of good young players. Ed Cullen, Cormac Delaney and Marcas Dalton are three with obvious potential, Adam Kelly has been going well in their attack, the experienced Graham Guilfoyle is very important for them and they have plenty more.

There are generic suggestions that we can make about this game but it will be all down to the day. You would expect Cappincur to perform fairly close to potential. While Bill Carroll is their star man, they are very solid as a unit, work hard and generally perform. Clara may be more temperamental. On their day, they can be very good, play great football and open up teams but they are never far away from a bad day and they are sitting ducks when that happens.

You would also expect Clara to play well and it should be a very tight battle. Cappincur do have some vulnerable areas and there is no better place than high stakes knockout football for these to show up. Having said that, there is a case for making Cappincur favourites here and there will be a lot of twists before the final whistle blows.

Verdict – Clara.

Daingean v Clonbullogue: Saturday in O'Connor Park at 4.45pm

Daingean have done very well after winning intermediate last year, adapting very well to the higher grade. They won their three group games and were too strong for Ballycumber in the quarter-finals but this meeting with Clonbullogue will ask the toughest questions yet.

It is a huge game for Clonbullogue. They have been knocking on the door in senior “B” for a couple of years but have suffered some heartbreaking defeats in big games. They have returned to the table for another bite of the cherry and have found good form after a poor start when Cappincur beat them well.

They beat Ballycumber and Tubber in the group and got the better of Gracefield in the quarter-finals. On their day, Clonbullogue can be very good and play some very attractive, attacking football. Their problem is that their bad days can be pretty bad and they sometimes struggle to find the middle ground where they do enough to win without firing on all cylinders.

Neither side is the finished article and have weak areas that the other will be targeting. Keith O'Neill is instrumental to Clonbullogue's prospects and Daingan will be earmarking the flying forward for special attention.

Clonbullogue will be aware of the influence that Daingean forward Shane Tierney can exert. He is a different player than Keith O'Neill, who can blast a defence wide open with his red hot pace. Tierney doesn't have that speed but he is a play maker who can unlock defences and can also score.

There is also a local derby element to this fixture. While there is a nice few miles between Daingean and Clonbullogue, they know each other very well – the Daingean parish border at Mountlucas is not far from Clonbullogue and there is plenty of banter between stalwarts of both clubs.

It's a very hard one to call. More doubts surround Clonbullogue and they can blow very hot and cold. They can fly on their good days but look very mediocre at other times. Daingean have done really well to date, are very solid and they will have no fear whatsoever. Clonbullogue do have a bit more experience at this level and that could be important but no result will surprise here.

Verdict – Clonbullogue.

Relegation semi-finals

The two Senior “B” Football Championship relegation semi-finals also take place this weekend. Walsh Island play Tubber with Ballycumber meeting Gracefield and the two losers clash to decide who drops back to intermediate.

Walsh Island v Tubber: Thursday in Geashill 7.30pm

Verdict – Tubber.

Ballycumber v Gracefield: Saturday in Geashill 6.30pm

Verdict – Gracefield.