Still no definite favourites in Offaly Intermediate Football Championship

WITH two rounds played, the Tullamore Court Hotel Intermediate Football Championship remains wide open with no definite favourites emerging.

There does seem to be a disparity in the standard in the two groups with group 2 looking stronger on paper but the winners could come from anywhere.

After two rounds, group 1 sees Ferbane and Erin Rovers tied on 3 points with Kilcormac-Killoughey on 2 and St Rynagh's bottom with no point.

St Brigid's have started very well in group 2 with four points from their two games while Tullamore and Ballinagar have 2 and Raheen are on the bottom with two losses out of two.

Erin Rovers had a comfortable 1-15 to 1-5 win over struggling St Rynagh's in group 1 last week while Kilcormac-Killoughey had their second draw, 2-6 to 0-12 with Erin Rovers.

St Brigid's have been the form team so far. They were in control most of the way in their 1-15 to 0-9 win over a below par Ballinagar on Sunday. With the veteran Bobby Troy and former county player Cian Donohue outstanding for them, they led by 1-3 to 0-5 after playing against the wind in the first half and got well on top in the second half.

Tullamore got their season up and running with a good 1-11 to 1-7 win over Raheen on Friday evening and they are the big conundrum in this championship. Tullamore have the numbers and players to win and the county's biggest population centre would love to have their second team up to senior B. They have already lost Sean McCabe, Sean Joseph Afolabi and Michael Feeney to senior and won't want to lose any more but have the depth in strength to cope with that.

On form, there is a case to be made for making St Brigid's favourites. Dan Molloy will be back for the quarter-finals and he will be a major addition while exciting forward Ben Kennedy is out for the season after an unfortunate accident at work saw him breaking a leg. They were also beaten in the final last year but there are a few teams capable of beating them and we will refrain from making them the favourites just yet.

Tullamore lost to Brigid's in the first round but had a stronger team out against Raheen and certainly wouldn't mind another crack at them. It is hard to know what to make of Ballinagar after Sunday's malfunction but they have a few players with recent county experience and remain in the mix. Raheen have arguably the most dangerous forward in Offaly in Dylan Hyland but have started poorly and they could be a bit too dependant on their star forward, though it would not be a surprise if they recover to make a semi-final, or even a final.

And don't be surprised if the winner does come out of group 1. Erin Rovers are solid but county player Nathan Poland was stretchered off in their win over St Rynagh's. He is getting a scan this week to determine the extent of his injury but if it is serious and the Pullough side are without him for big knockout games, they will be in bother.

Kilcormac-Killoughey are another great unknown, a real spanner in the works. Once again, they are only training occasionally for football but they are fit and a lot of their hurlers are well able to play football. It remains to be seen if they can win this grade without a bit more football training and practice. While they certainly wouldn't be able to hold their own at senior B with their current level of commitment, a success at intermediate is far from an impossibility. We just don't know but K-K could beat any of the teams in this grade on any given day and it is way more open than some years.

St Brigid's are assured of top spot in group 2 irrespective of their result in the last game against Raheen. They have beaten both Tullamore and Ballinagar and will stay ahead of them on the head to head rule. Raheen will be bottom of the table even if they beat Brigid's as they have lost to Ballinagar and Tullamore, and again can't get ahead of the losers of their meeting.

Group 1 is more up in the air. The winners of Erin Rovers and Ferbane will top the group and meet Raheen in the quarter-final. The losers of Kilcormac-Killoughey and St Rynagh's will be bottom of the group and meet St Brigid's in a quarter-final – a third draw for K-K would leave St Rynagh's bottom and meeting the Croghan side.

The losers of Tullamore and Ballinagar will meet either the losers of Ferbane and Erin Rovers or Kilcormac-Killoughey in the quarter-final – if there is a decisive result between Ferbane and Erin Rovers and K-K win, it will be K-K but if K-K lose, it will be either Ferbane or Erin Rovers. The winners of Tullamore and Ballinagar could end up facing any of St Rynagh's, Kilcormac-Killoughey, Ferbane or Erin Rovers in the quarter-final. It will be St Rynagh's if they beat K-K and if K-K win, it will be the losers of Ferbane and Erin Rovers.

There is a lot of possible results here and it will all become clear on Saturday, August 24 when the final round takes place at 4pm.

Fixtures are:

Group 1

Erin Rovers v Ferbane in Doon;

Kilcormac-Killoughey v St Rynagh's in Birr.

Group 2

Tullamore v Ballinagar in Cappincur;

Raheen v St Brigid's in Walsh Island.