PREVIEW: Kilcormac-Killoughey fancied in Junior Football Final as Edenderry bid for consolation prize

A VERY interesting Tullamore Court Hotel Junior Football Championship final will take place in Ballinagar on Saturday evening where Kilcormac-Killoughey are paired against Edenderry.

It's a tough one to call. Fielding their first team and with a lot of very fit hurlers in their ranks, Kilcormac-Killoughey are the slightest of favourites - even though Edenderry beat them in the group stages - but it is a crown that sits unsteadily on their head and Edenderry have a great chance of knocking it off.

It is Edenderry's second team. They have a big town, a lot of very experienced players and talented younger ones. Football is their game and they will have done considerably more work with the big ball than Kilcormac-Killoughey.

They also have a burning desire to win something after their seniors' unlucky semi-final defeat against Tullamore. Some people in Edenderry have been blaming the referee for that loss but irrespective of the rights and wrongs of all that, it does give them a little additional source of motivation.

It should be a good game of football. Kilcormac-Killoughey will continue to concentrate on big impending hurling games this week but they will play some football. They definitely have the players to win it and junior is a long way down for a parish this size and their ability to play with the big ball.

The formbook suggests that Edenderry should win this but that it will be very tight. Edenderry beat them by 1-7 to 0-9 in the first round of group 1 and qualified with a win over Tullamore before losing to Doon, 2-12 to 1-9. Kilcormac-Killoughey lost 4-3 to 0-14 to Doon in their second game and it took a 2-7 to 0-8 win in round 3 for them to scrape out.

In the quarter-finals, Edenderry did very well to edge out old rivals, Rgode, 1-8 to 1-7 while Kilcormac-Killoughey improved in a 2-14 to 2-11 win over Kilclonfert. Edenderry got revenge over Doon in the semi-final, 2-12 to 1-9 and Kilcormac-Killoughey gave another solid display in a 1-9 to 1-6 win over Clodiagh Gaels.

It all suggests that there will be very little in it. While their lack of football practice regularly comes against Kilcormac-Killoughey, they have a lot of very good footballers and most of their hurlers are well able to play the game.

Damien Kilmartin, Tom Spain, Peter and Thomas Geraghty,Jordan Quinn, Cathal Kiely and James Gorman, who missed the semi-final as he is managing an injury but really likes football and will want to play,, all have loads of experience. Colm Leonard is a very good defender and some of their younger players, James Mahon, Colin Spain, Leigh and Alex Kavanagh etc are all capable of playing well.

Former Offaly footballer Richie Dalton is playing midfield for Edenderry and will have a huge influence on this final. They don't have many other players who had long careers at senior club level but plenty have played there. They have a very lively forward line with Conor McCarthy, Ciaran Nolan and Jamie Dolan and Mason Farrell all capable of inflicting damage.

The great conundrum in this game is Kilcormac-Killoughey and what way they will perform. We can be fairly sure of Edenderry performing and playing close to their maxium but that certainty is not there with Kilcormac-Killoughey. They could be very good or they could have a nightmare. The reality is likely to be somewhere in the middle and this could still be good enough for them to win.

However, in the white heat of battle, their lack of football work could count against them. Fitness will bring you a certain distance but it alone won't win a game and Edenderry won't be found wanting in this regard.

Kilcormac-Killoughey were fancied against Ballinagar in last year's final but were over powered in the second half. When it came down to it, Ballinagar won because they had better footballers with a lot more football work done. Edenderry may not be as good as Ballinagar were last year. While Ballinagar were missing their best known player in Morgan Tynan, they still fielded a handful of players who have played minor and U-20 for Offaly very recently. Some of the Edenderry team have played at that level but they haven't the same recent experience that Ballinagar had.

The key for Edenderry is to stay within touching distance the whole way and if they can do this, the dice will be loaded in their favour late on as Kilcormac-Killoughey will make mistakes and take wrong options at this stage of a dogfight. However, K-K still have the capability of winning this – they are well able to play football and have a few very good players.

Verdict -Kilcormac-Killoughey.