Offaly SFC favourites into semi-finals as quarter-final pairings decided
THE third and final round of group games in the Offaly Senior Football Championship went exactly as predicted on Saturday evening.
Champions Rhode and their main contenders, Tullamore booked their place in the semi-finals as group winners, despite not playing at full throttle in wins over Bracknagh and Durrow.
The quarter-final line up sees Edenderry meet Durrow while Ferbane face Bracknagh and Clara and Shamrocks will meet in a high stakes relegation play off.
The final round of group games took place at the same time on Saturday evening and there were no late twists, with the anticipated quarter-final pairings emerging.
Tullamore had to work hard to beat parish rivals, Durrow by 1-10 to 0-9 in group 1 while Ferbane finished well to take struggling Clara, 2-12 to 0-10. Clara played much better than their previous game, a bad defeat by Tullamore, and fought much harder but still find themselves in the relegation play off.
In group 2, Rhode didn't fire on all cylinders in a 1-11 to 0-6 win over Bracknagh while Edenderry blew hot and cold in a 0-15 to 0-13 win over Shamrocks. A defeat would have put Edenderry out and an understrength Shamrocks battled with everything they had. While Edenderry never really looked like losing, there was only two points in it at the end and that was a fragile margin.
The real business begins now in the quarter-finals and the joint favourites are Rhode and Tullamore. They have met in the last two finals and the possibility of a third successive one looms large - the group winners are kept apart in the semi-finals and can only meet in the final. Ferbane are third favourites and appear to have the best prospects of taking out one of the big two.
Edenderry have the players to really rattle someone but they haven't played very well so far and need to display sudden and quick improvement. They will be slight favourites to beat Durrow but this is a real banana skin for them and there is a definite chance of an upset here.
The quarter-finals and relegation play off will take place on the weekend of August 26-27.