Highly motivated Edenderry end Tullamore's clean sweep ambitions

A HIGHLY motivated, very good Edenderry side ended Tullamore's ambitions of a clean sweep with a fully deserved win in the Offaly Minor Football Championship final at O'Connor Park, Tullamore on Saturday morning.

LOETB Minor Football Championship final

Edenderry 2-9

Tullamore 1-5

Though they ended up hanging on and almost allowed Tullamore back into the game late on, Edenderry were the better side by a considerable distance and it would have been a tragedy for them if they hadn't held on for a win.

They had a handful of outstanding individual displays and with a great work ethic matching it, Edenderry played very well. It was a badly needed result for them after a fairly horrific 2026 for the club as a whole – their senior footballers bowed out in the group stages, receiving some bad beatings, their intermediate footballers malfunctioned in the final against St Brigid's last week but green shoots have begun to spring up at underage level.

They were beaten by Tullamore in the U16 football final and this win will give them great hope going forward. Some of these players will emerge as very good senior footballers in the next few years and Edenderry GAA Club was crying out for this.

It was a great win for Edenderry and it was also a good one for Offaly football. With complete respect to Tullamore who have been doing such fantastic work at all levels in recent years, it just would not be good to see a club winning every football championship they competed in. They have won the Senior, Senior “B”, Junior “B”, U16 and U14 Football Championships and are still in the U20 despite a defeat by Shamrocks on Wednesday evening.

Full credit to Tullamore for what they are doing, their dominance at all levels. It is a numbers game to an extent but they have to get the players in firstly and then develop them to the right standard. They are doing that spectacularly but it is good to see a spread of titles and this Edenderry win prevents them from winning everything.

Edenderry also have numbers in their town and parish and this was hugely important for them. They played very well, grabbing control of the game early on, were in complete control going into the last ten minutes and it was only then that Tullamore finally threw off the shackles.

2-9 to 0-3 ahead after 45 minutes, Edenderry seemed home and dry. It would be stretching it to suggest that they almost threw it away but Tullamore were not that far away from pulling off an audacious salvage bid.

Edenderry never scored in the final quarter as fatique set in and it was all Tullamore. Even when Darragh Stewart and Sean Finlay got points, no danger was imminent for the winners. Eoghan Rouse's 26th minute goal made it 2-9 to 1-5 and the gap was still wide enough not to cause true anxiety but Tullamore had ample chances to really tighten it up.

Ciaan Horkan was off target with a two point free, Adam Martin screwed a tap over 14 metre free wide and Edenderry goalkeeper Odhran O'Connor made terrific saves to deny Eoghan Rouse and Robert Burns goals. Edenderry very much lived on their wits and had reason to be grateful for a fortuitious second goal giving them a winning cushion – that came in the 42nd minute when the excellent Cormac Farrell's fisted point attempt hit the post but fell into his arms and he blasted to the net from five metres.

That gave Edenderry a 2-7 to 0-3 lead and Edenderry were flying with Sean Monahan and Charlie Duffy adding points for that 12 point lead.

It is easy to remember the last few minutes as Edenderry floundered and Tullamore threw the kitchen sink at them but this game was won and lost in the first 45 minutes. In a really good final with a high level of competency, Edenderry were excellent, on top in all sectors.

On paper, Tullamore had a team to win it but they just didn't perform on the day. They showed fantastic character late on but they were very poor for 45 minutes with their forwards struggling. Their shooting was way off and with fifteen minutes to go, a really bad defeated loomed as the heads of some players visibly dropped and it seemed they were on the verge of throwing in the towel.

With Eoghan Rouse powering them on, Tullamore didn't do that but this game was really all about the quality of Edenderry's performance. They were clearly very well prepared and the players were a side with a mission from the off.

Edenderry were the better team the whole way through the first half. They were 0-3 to 0-1 up after fifteen minutes and could have been more ahead. Charlie Duffy and Ruari Carroll were dominant at midfield and they really took control with a 20th minute goal of the highest quality. Charlie Duffy and Cormac Farrell did the donkey work, sending in Oliver Goulding and he finished well for a 1-3 to 0-2 lead after 20 minutes.

Goulding extended their lead in the 23rd minute but Tullamore were better after this. They got their hands on a lot of ball but their finishing was poor. They had five wides in a few minutes and Edenderry's half time lead of 1-5 to 0-3 was a fair reflection of the way the first half went.

Edenderry were outstanding for fifteen minutes of the second half. On a near perfect day for football, Tullamore didn't score until Darragh Stewart's point in the 46th minute. Edenderry had done the simple thing with great efficiency and were almost flawless in their football. Tony Furey (free) and Ruari Carroll got points before Farrell's goal and it was extraordinary to see a Tullamore team with their talent with only three points on the board at the three quarter-way mark – their final tally of 1-5 was not what we have become accustomed to from Tullamore teams.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Charlie Duffy (Edenderry): Edenderry produced some really top quality performances. Full back Finn Pearson, a younger brother of county star Lee, Cormac Farrell, Ruari Carroll and Joe Furey were all outstanding. Anyone of them could have been the selection. Pearson's general play as well as the “unseen” blocking and tackling was of a very high order. Farrell ran the game to an extent from centre back, a lot of ball going through his hands, Carroll's movement and running was a delight to behold at midfield and Furey excelled in a roving role, often cropping up deep in defence. He looks a really good prospect while Edenderry played very well as a unit.

The choice is midfielder Charlie Duffy. He put in a fantastic shift at midfield, winning hard ball, putting in hard yards, stopping players running through. He was instrumental in Edenderry getting into a winning position and it was only when he tired late on, going out of the game, that Tullamore made real headway.

Eoghan Rouse was Tullamore's best player and they gave it what they had on the day. However, too many players were short of their best and Tullamore didn't play well enough to win.

THE SCORERS

Edenderry: Oliver Goulding 1-2, Cormac Farrell 1-0, Ruari Carroll and Tony Furey (2f) 0-2 each, Charlie Duffy, Sean Monahan and Joe Furey 0-1 each.

Tullamore: Eoghan Rouse 1-0, Cian Horkan 0-2 (1 '45'), Sean Finlay, Darragh Stewart and Ben Dillane (f) 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

TULLAMORE: Ethan Lloyd; Darragh Clarke, Caden O'Beirne, Kevin Rankevics; Stephen Murrihy, Sean Finlay, Patrick Duffy; Cian Horkan, Charlie Heffernan; Darragh Stewart, Eoghan Rouse, Jamie Harvey; Sam Heffernan, Ben Dillane, Adam Martin. Subs – Robert Burns for O'Beirne (HT), Adnan Pehilivan for Dillane (41m), Ryan Casey for Lloyd, inj. (44m), Jason Donoghue for Sam Heffernan (52m),

EDENDERRY: Odhran O'Connor; Jack Mullen, Finn Pearson, Daniel Shannon; Jack Doyle, Cormac Farrell, Jamie Sharpe; Charlie Duffy, Ruari Carroll; Oliver Goulding, Tony Furey, Dylan O'Callaghan; Sean Monahan, Oisin Pender, Joe Furey. Subs – Donnacha Seery for O'Callaghan (47m), Daniel O'Sullivan for Pender (50m), Noah Foran for Mullen (54m),

Referee – Barry Buckley (Erin Rovers).

REFEREE WATCH

Barry Buckley refereed it well. He communicatd with his officials, explained decisions to players and let play flow – a Tullamore water carrier was told to leave the sideline midway during the first half after being reported twice by linesman Stephen Connolly for comments he made.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Cormac Farrell's 42nd minute goal ended up being way more important than it looked in real time. It had a touch of good fortune about it, gave Tullamore a 2-7 to 0-3 lead and without it, they may not have won.

VENUE WATCH

O'Connor Park was the right venue for this, though 11am was a very early start. Maybe there is a reason for it but a minor final really should have a mid afternoon setting. It is the blue riband of the underage finals and the time doesn't suit a lot of people – though the crowd was decent. Maybe it suited both clubs but even if it did, the importance of the fixture should trump that and you would just wonder at such an early start for this fixture.

WHAT'S NEXT

That concludes the year for both teams, though some of the players will be playing u20 football and minor hurling, in Tullamore's case, in the coming weeks.

STATISTICS

Wides: Tullamore – 11 (6 in first half); Edenderry – 6 (3 in first half).

Yellow cards: Tullamore – 1 (Charlie Heffernan); Edenderry – 1 (Charlie Duffy).

Black cards: 0

Red cards: 0