Edenderry and Shamrocks plot ambushes for favourites in Offaly Senior Football Championship semi-finals

AS in the quarter-finals, the possibility of an upset will be very present when the Tullamore Court Hotel Senior Football Championship semi-finals take place in a mouth watering double bill in O'Connor Park next Sunday.

As things turned out, there was no big upset in the quarter-finals. The only one that caused a ripple was Ferbane's win over Rhode but with Niall McNamee absent with a hamstring injury, the losers were ripe for plucking here – and Ferbane did just enough in the closing quarter to get over the line.

Shamrocks' almost came a cropper, requiring penalties to beat Ballycommon and they rode every ounce of their luck to survive that day. The wins for Tullamore and Edenderry over Durrow and Bracknagh were entirely predictable, though Durrow were much poorer than we anticipated while Bracknagh competed well for a long time.

In this Sunday's games, Tullamore will be marginal favourites against Edenderry while Ferbane will be confident of returning to the final, even though Shamrocks beat them in the group stages.

Semi-finals

Ferbane v Shamrocks: Sunday, O'Connor Park at 2.15pm

Shamrocks' first round win over Ferbane, 1-11 to 1-10, ignited their season and they followed this up with a great win over Edenderry, really bringing the championship to life.

Despite that, they will be underdogs for Sunday's clash with Ferbane and the reasons for this are twofold.

Firstly, Ferbane have punched at a way higher level than Shamrocks in recent years. They have been contenders year in, year out and were beaten by Tullamore in the final last year. Until this year, they would generally have had the measure of Shamrocks and we just don't know how much to read into the first round result. The format of the championship with all teams qualifying for the knockout stages meant that the stakes were disturbingly small for all group games.

Shamrocks were absolutely fired up that day, they had to be as they were coming from a very different place and it is impossible to escape the impression that Ferbane's motivation levels were way less than they will be on Sunday.

That win, however, changed everything for Shamrocks and they have done really well but the second factor here is that they are entering this game on the back of very suspect form. We gave them a pass for their defeat by Durrow in their last group game as they were assured of top spot and it was always going to be difficult to keep their eye fully on the ball.

They get no pass, however, for the quarter-final against Ballycommon, where they dug very deep and did very well to qualify but really should have been beaten. It was a huge missed opportunity for Ballycommon and Shamrocks survived on their wits more than anything else.

Those type of wins can galvanise a team and Shamrocks will be looking for a very positive spin off but the bottom line is that they are entering the semi-finals on the back of a couple of mediocre displays.. David O'Toole-Greene, outstanding in the group games at centre half forward, missed the quarter-final through injury and they will be hoping to get him back. His brother, Shane O'Toole-Greene has returned from abroad and made a big difference when introduced against Ballycommon while Alan Heffernan has also come home from foreign shores. He started in the attack against Ballycommon, getting the final equalising point, to force penalties – that should have been a goal but such a tough quarter-final and the two weeks work since will bring all those players on.

Ferbane enter this game with their own question marks floating over them. They haven't been really convincing to date and just about beat Durrow after their Shamrocks' loss. They drew with Edenderry in their final group game but having said that, a draw with Edenderry and a quarter-final win over Rhode represents a significantly better form-line than a loss to Durrow and penalty shootout win over Ballycommon.

We still don't really know where Ferbane are. They are improving and look to be turning a corner after a tough year for a lot of their dual players – Belmont hurlers ended up in the relegation play off. In Cathal Flynn, Cian Johnson, Joe Maher and Oisin Kelly, they have forwards to hurt Shamrocks and they are a very solid team.

Yet there is a golden opportunity for Shamrocks here. They may never have a better opportunity to come up on the rails and earn a final berth that no one could have predicted at the start of the year. The presence of Jack Bryant and Nigel Dunne up front gives them a very good chance and they have a lot of players performing very well. They are hungry for this and it is great to see football coming back strong in this big, sprawling parish – it is a very important parish for Offaly football and they have spent a nice few years in the doldrums after going so close to winning the Dowling Cup in the 2000s.

They could go very close here and a second upset win is possible but it is very hard to back against Ferbane. Teams can turn things around but Shamrocks' recent form raises questions while Ferbane have a proven pedigree.

Verdict – Ferbane.

Edenderry v Tullamore: Sunday, O'Connor Park at 3.45pm

Tullamore are the title favourites as they bid to retain the championship for the first time since 1926 but this semi-final clash with Edenderry represents a treacherous banana skin for them.

The sides clashed in the semi-finals last year when Tullamore sailed very close to the wind before winning by 1-13 to 1-12. They weren't at their best that day and could very easily have bitten the dust before going on to beat Ferbane in the final.

Edenderry complained bitterly at the refereeing performance and they certainly missed a great chance of making the final. A similarly tight game should emerge here and it would not be a surprise at all if this went to extra time and possibly penalties.

It will be a ferocious battle, a tactical one with everything very tight and curtailed. It is not far from a 50-50 tussle, though Tullamore are the favourites.

You have to admire the way Tullamore perform almost every day. They don't have a magical forward like Edenderry have in Cian Farrell but they are masters at controlling a game and doing the right thing almost all the time. They don't take many risks but they have excellent footballers all over the field, are very disciplined and so efficient in keeping possession and waiting for the right openings.

Tullamore have done everything asked of them so far. They won their three group games and defeated parish neighours Durrow in the quarter-final with considerable ease. This will be their biggest test yet but you can be fairly certain of Tullamore turning up and performing fairly close to their best.

It also represents an opportunity for Edenderry to make the final again. They haven't fully convinced yet. They lost to Shamrocks in the group and drew with Ferbane, while they did just enough to beat Bracknagh in the quarter-finals.

This game represents a contrast in that Tullamore's big strength is their team ethic and work rate. While Cormac Egan and John Furlong are among the best dozen footballers in Offaly and Cillian Bourke looks to have all the attributes to join them there, they don't depend on any one individual. Another of their strengths if that they have so many players who can score.

Edenderry are more dependant on individuals having outstanding games. They need Jordan Hayes to run the show at midfield and they need Cian Farrell to fire on all cylinders up front.

Both have been in excellent form in recent weeks. Farrell has been the best forward in the championship to date and the way Tullamore mark him will be crucial to the outcome. He will inflict some damage no matter who is on him but if he is not man of the match or very close to it, Edenderry could struggle to win. They have other forwards who can score but no one who can shoot the lights out consistently like Farrell and his performance and that of the Tullamore defence will determine a lot.

Rory Egan has also found something approaching his best form in recent weeks and is moving well again and while Lee Pearson has been off the boil a small bit, he is also included in that list of the dozen best players in Offaly and is well capable of coming good on the day.

It will be a fascinating game and it should go down to the wire. Nothing would surprise here and Tullamore's greatest weakness is that they don't always put opponents away when they are there for the taking, they don't build on a good spell and go for the jugular. While there are times when they win comfortably, they tend to leave teams in the game and they are open to late sucker punches. It almost happened them in the final against Ferbane when they were the better side but almost conceded a late goal.

It will be similarly tight here but Tullamore are masters at getting the job done and they can return to the final.

Verdict – Tullamore.

Relegation semi-finals

The two relegation semi-finals will also take place this weekend with Bracknagh meeting Durrow and Rhode taking on Ballycommon. The two losers play in the relegation play off but these games could all prove to be dead rubbers. There are moves to bring the championship up to ten teams next year and if that happens, there won't be relegation. It is all very messy but at the moment, the relegation play offs have to take place and clubs must treat them in the expectation that the results will count.

Bracknagh v Durrow: Sunday, Clonbullogue at 12 noon

Verdict – Bracknagh.

Rhode v Ballycommon: Sunday, Croghan at 12 noon

Verdict – Rhode.