PREVIEW: Tullamore fancied as traditional rivals clash in junior football final

TULLAMORE will be very aware of what happened them last year but they are still favourites to win the Offaly Junior Football Championship. They play Edenderry in the final on Saturday and can anticipate a very tough test.

It is a pairing between two of Offaly's great traditional football power houses. A junior football title is never top of the list of priorities for either club but it is an important grade for them – a stepping stone for some on the way to senior, a way of prolonging careers for some former senior stalwarts and a great source of competition for those players who either aren't good enough or dont want to do what it takes to play at the top level.

Tullamore were also favourites last year but Daingean had a deserved win over them in the final and they will be taking nothing for granted.

As a club, Tullamore have targeted winning this championship since being relegated from intermediate in 2019. The biggest population base by far in Offaly, Tullamore's second team should be capable of holding their own at a much higher level than junior. Junior is Offaly's fourth tier and it is too far back for Tullamore's second side – it is put into perspective by the fact that Ferbane's second team have competed in the Senior “B” Football Championship since 2019, though they have been relegated back to intermediate this year.

In their ideal world, Tullamore should have a team capable of challenging for intermediate and they are desperare to get back up to that level.

Edenderry's need to be at the higher level is not as strong but they have a lot of footballers, a mixture of all ages and abilities. Their second team, however, have not always been successful. They are generally contenders at junior level and can take beating but they don't always get their act together fully – they have won the Junior Football Championship on only three occasions and the last was in 1997.

Tullamore have a much greater pick. They won the Junior “B” Football Championship last year and decided to put two teams in junior. Their second junior team was called An Tulach Mhor and qualified for the quarter-final where they lost to Rhode. Players couldn't move from one team to the other and it was an interesting move by Tullamore to have two teams in the one championship.

It is part of a grand master plan where their second team will be intermediate and their third team junior. That is of course dependant on winning this final and Tullamore will have to play well to beat Edenderry.

As expected they have advanced to the final with an unblemished record. They defeated Rhode, Ballinagar and Clara in the group and met Rhode for a second time in the semi-final, winning by 0-16 to 0-12: the win was more comfortable than the score might suggest.

Edenderry came out as runners up in group 2. They lost to Doon in the first round but then beat An Tulach Mhor and Kilclonfert. They had to work hard to beat Ballinagar by 2-7 to 1-8 in the quarter-final and turned the tables on Doon in the semi-final, 1-9 to 0-7.

Edenderry midfielder Joe Bergin was red carded in the semi-final and it looks like he will miss the final through suspension. Edenderry have a lot going for them, a few players with senior experience and others with plenty of ability. Sean Moriarty was an Edenderry senior forward for a number of years and is now their juniors' star forward. They also have Derek Kelly, who can have a big influence in this final. Kelly only came on as a half time sub in the semi-final but he is very strong at this level – he has won senior championships with Edenderry and played senior for Offaly.

Tullamore have a generally young team but they ooze quality. They have a few players that won 2020 minor and U-20 titles this year along with some that have played underage football for Offaly. Some of their team will go onto play senior while Ken Hogan, Tom Furlong, Kevin Williamson, Shane Kelly, Peter Fox and Aaron Hensey are among their players with top flight experience. Williamson and Shane Kelly in particular were excellent senior footballers for them for a number of years and have to be very good at this level.

Mark Bolton, Patrick Fahey, Jay Sheerin and Mike Fox have featured on Offaly underage panels while Daire McDaid seems certain to make the Tullamore senior team sooner rather than later.

They have an overall depth of quality that Edenderry can't match. For all that, they haven't been running away with this championship and a number of teams have been reasonably close to them. Edenderry will give them a real rattle but Tullamore are still clear favourites.

Verdict – Tullamore.