Rhode try to take out Tullamore as Edenderry and Ferbane focus on 50-50 shootout

TWO intriguing semi-finals will take place in the Tullamore Court Hotel Senior Football Championship next Sunday with champions Tullamore meeting Rhode and Ferbane taking on Edenderry in a mouth watering double bill.

Ferbane v Edenderry: Sunday, October 12 in O'Connor Park 2.30pm

IN some ways, the clash of Edenderry and Ferbane is the most appetising of the two semi-finals on Sunday.

It is a classic 50-50 game and very difficult to call. Ferbane have been beaten in the last two county finals, very unlucky not to get over the line against Tullamore last year, and desperate to add another county title to the one they captured in 2019, when they ended a long twenty five year famine.

Ferbane looked set to win more at that stage but it hasn't happened, primarily because of the emergence of a dominant, exceptional Tullamore side.

Edenderry haven't won since 2015 and have flattered to deceive since. They have been perennial contenders but haven't reached the final since 2015, losing several semi-finals. The harsh truth for Edenderry that apart from a couple of occasions, they don't have many hard luck stories from these semi-finals and the bottom line is that they haven't been good enough to win the Dowling Cup.

Things have changed for Edenderry this year. With a long time playing stalwart, Richie Dalton at the helm, they seem to have turned a big corner this year. They did very well to top the more difficult of the two groups and qualify direct for the semi-final. They laid down a serious marker of intent with a first round demolition of Rhode and have been moving very well since then.

The fact that three teams from group 1, Edenderry, Ferbane and Rhode are in the semi-finals shows that this was the strongest group.

Edenderry have definitely changed for the better this year. The management have shown faith in a couple of players who won junior football medals last year and have a very settled look. They have a hardcore of exceptional county players. Rory Egan, Lee Pearson and Jordan Hayes are three of the best footballers in Offaly. Cian Farrell has the potential to be a county footballer but has demonstrated a love-hate relationship with it for the past couple of years, withdrawing from the panel last year – he is likely to get a chance to rejoin it this year and if he knuckles down and takes the hard knocks on the chin, his potential and what he can offer to Offaly is considerable.

Kaelem Bryan and Cillian Foran played U20 football for Offaly this year and while they are only in the process of establishing themselves, they are a great addition to Edenderry.

Edenderry's form means that they are favourites for this but that is a tenuous one, very much in the slim category. They have performed better and more consistently than Ferbane this year but they will find it so difficult to win it.

The sides drew 0-13 each in the group a few weeks ago and that was a game that Ferbane really should have won. There is a big difference between a group game and a semi-final but that game has to be considered when assessing this one.

Ferbane have just not convinced this year. They have blown hot and cold, losing to Rhode and not taking that opportunity against Edenderry. They were very fortunate to beat Shamrocks in the quarter-final and irrespective of controversy over two pointers and much more, they really should have been beaten.

Yet they remain a very potent outfit. They have serious character and desire. The way Ferbane keep coming back year after year, devastating defeat after devastating defeat is a tribute to them. They have such hunger and they are a great example to every other club in Offaly.

They haven't been as good this year as other years. It is difficult to put your finger on it but they just haven't been moving with the same force and the impression that they can be taken out at any stage is a valid one – it could have happened against Shamrocks and that possibility will always be on the table at this stage of a championship.

County star Cathal Flynn and county hurler David Nally have been two of their key players this year and Flynn is absolutely pivotal to their prospects. Edenderry are likely to detail Lee Pearson or Rory Egan to mark him and that contest will be one of the highlights of the game. Kyle Higgins missed the quarter-final with an injury and they could really do with him back while emerging midfielder Conor Grennan went off early with an injury – they need their strength in the midfield diamond.

Paddy Clancy has returned from Australia and played his first senior game against Shamrocks. Another county hurler Oisin Kelly is home after a spell in Chicago and his performance in the last fifteen minutes was instrumental in the quarter-final win.

Doubts remain about their attack. Jack Clancy scored three goals against Shamrocks and he will win ball and distribute it well. They have other players capable of shooting the lights out but not consistently. Cian Johnson started off very well this year but has blown hot and cold. On his day Darragh Flynn can be a match winner and Edenderry will be very conscious of the threat they pose.

It should be a great game and it is almost guaranteed to go down to the wire.

The form book suggests Edenderry will win, though it will be interesting to see what way the month lay off affects them.

Recent history suggests it will be Ferbane. It is hard to know which to go by. Both will be confident but Ferbane tend to find a way to win some of these games and they can survive in a fantastic battle – notwithstanding the very real possibility that they could run out of road here.

Verdict – Ferbane.

Tullamore v Rhode: Sunday, October 12 in O'Connor Park 4.15pm

We will be in very strange territory on Sunday where Tullamore will be reasonably warm favourites against a Rhode club who have been dominant for so long and such a force of nature in Offaly.

Yet it is a sign of the respect that Tullamore and the wider GAA public have for Rhode that most people will be treating this as very close to a 50-50 game. The majority of neutrals will be predicting a Tullamore win with the proviso that Rhode are Rhode and they could produce one very big game.

Rhode will also take something out of how close Birr ran Kilcormac-Killoughey in senior hurling last Saturday. They are not in the same long famine than Birr are mired in but there is similarities that they are now underdogs in a game they would have been expected to win a few years ago and are aiming to take out hot championship favourites.

It will be very interesting to see how it unfolds. Tullamore are bidding for three in a row for the first time since 1926 and they are developing into a phenomenal force of nature. They look to be taking things on to a new level this year. The input of Mayo man Stephen Rochford as coach has been obvious and as expected by many, contrary to what some believed, the new rules are suiting Tullamore down to the ground as they are attacking games, playing with a sense of freedom.

Some players have come out of their skins. Mike Fox is having the best year of his career in the Tullamore attack, his twin Dan is going very well and Liam Dillane has settled in really well into the team in his first year playing senior football.

Their big names, John Furlong, Diare McDaid, Cormac Egan, Aaron Leavy, Cillian Bourke are performing as we would expect. They have a cohort of very experienced players in Declan Hogan and Michael Brazil; a young emerging defender Ben Heffernan has settled seamlessly into the defence. Another county player Diarmuid Egan is back from injury and Luke Plunkett has returned from Australia and offers another fine attacking option.

They just look very good and Tullamore are now playing some really attractive, attacking football. They have a big problem coming into this. They have coasted through the group with Bracknagh, Shamrocks or Clonbullogue not laying a hand on them. It has been just too easy and that can be a problem when they find themselves embroiled in a dogfight, as they will as the championship progresses. They have gone outside the county for a series of challenge games against top clubs and that is helping their confidence but no matter how good a team you play, a challenge will never compare to a championship semi-final.

Tullamore have lost to Rhode in the very recent past with their great rivals getting the better of them in the 2022 final and they will be under no illusions about the danger here.

Rhode are ravenously hungry and have a point to prove. A first round mauling by Edenderry raised all sorts of questions about their well-being but it looks like that result was an aberration and that they just got things wrong on the day. They have certainly been much better since then. Their fitness levels have improved and they are playing much better. They got back on track with a great come from behind win against Ferbane and beat Ballycommon to make the quarter-finals.

Rhode have a similar problem to Tullamore. They haven't played a marquee side since the Edenderry game. Ballycommon posed some problems after Rhode made a sensational start, Durrow conceded a messy walkover and they beat Bracknagh in the quarter-final.

The Bracknagh game didn't tell them a whole lot. Bracknagh gave their best display of the year but Rhode were always in control, never looked like losing and sort of cruised through it.

Rhode have the players to win this, especially forwards, Ruari McNamee sat out the quarter-final but should be back to lead an attack where Anton Sullivan, Aaron Kellaghan and the veteran Niall McNamee are capable of hurting any opposition. Former Kildare player Sean Hurley has been a big help at midfield, conserving his energy but proving very influential.

There are more doubts about the Rhode defence and this will be fascinating to observe. A general comment passed about Tullamore is that they don't have a real top quality scoring forward. That is possibly true but what they have is a huge scoring threat from a variety of sources: their six forwards, midfielders and defenders such as John Furlong, Daire McDaid, Oisin Keenan-Martin.

Mike Fox or Harry Plunkett could be top scorer in this game and Tullamore could very easily end up with ten players scoring. That is something that very few sides have and is the reason Tullamore win so many games.

Rhode will fancy their chances and will never fear Tullamore. The opposite is also true but Rhode have a decent chance – at the same time, the impression that Tullamore would need to be a fraction off and Rhode at their very best for an upset to emerge is a valid one.

The key for Rhode is to get Tullamore into a dogfight and see what they are made of if it is down to the wire in the last few minutes. Rhode could definitely win that type of the game though Tullamore are also masters at winning these ones. If Rhode win, it will probably be by a couple of points, Tullamore have more potential for a bigger win but we anticipate a closely fought encounter.

We can't say it is the last throw of the dice for this Rhode team but as their elder statesmen head over and down the hill, they will head into a transitional period at some stage – irrespective of how much Rhode people take umbrage at that suggestion. They will come again but they could have a barren few years.

SEE NEXT: All the dates, times and venues for the weekend's big Offaly championship matches

This group are so keen to win one more title and they will give it one mighty effort. Tullamore won't pull back from that and this game will tell us a lot about both. Tullamore to win.

Verdict – Tullamore.