Ferbane and Raheen favourites to make Offaly IFC semi-finals

THE two quarter-finals in the Tullamore Court Hotel Intermediate Football Championship are down for decision next Sunday, with Tullamore and St Brigid's awaiting the winners in the semi-finals – they will be seeded in the semi-finals.

Walsh Island v Ferbane: Sunday, September 14 in Durrow 1pm

Walsh Island will test Ferbane in this quarter-final and the favourites can't take anything for granted. Walsh Island are masters at extracting every ounce out of what they have and in Willie Mulhall, they have a forward who would make every senior team in Offaly, even if he has a lot of footballing mileage up.

Ferbane gave a strange display in their first round loss to Raheen. They were excellent for 20 minutes but couldn't live with county star Dylan Hyland when he came on and loss. The big talking point was the numbers Ferbane had there with only one sub but they have got going since then, beating St Brigid's and Edenderry and qualifying very comfortably for the quarter-finals.

They have former senior players in Joe Maher, Ronan McGuire and David Kelly in their ranks among others. Former county hurler Paddy Clancy is home from Australia and playing intermediate. He probably will go senior but they didn't use him against Edenderry, meaning he is still available for this grade – and if they keep winning, there will be pressure not to use him, though senior manager Ger Rafferty will have to be granted primacy in that debate.

Ferbane have a chance at this levelwhereas Walsh Island are outsiders but this is a banana skin for them.

Verdict – Ferbane.

Raheen v St Rynagh's: Sunday, September 14 in Mucklagh 3pm

Raheen will be very wary of the threat posed by St Rynagh's in this quarter-final. Raheen are warm favourites but this a tricky one from them and a Rynagh's win would not be that big of a shock.

The problem Raheen face is their county star Dylan Hyland is managing a very difficult groin injury. He showed against Ferbane that he can win a game on his own but he is clearly not moving as well as he would like and Raheen really need him firing on all cylinders. They have other injury worries to contend with. Midfielder, Shane Hyland is out for the season and Conor Carroll is a doubt with a knee injury.

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They should be able to survive this one but it isn't written in stone. St Rynagh's will be fiercely determined and will work very hard. They have a potential match winner in Aaron Molloy and will make things tight. Their form so far doesn't suggest they can win a title but they won't be afraid of Raheen.

Verdict – Raheen.