Offaly SFC: Ferbane and Edenderry into semi-final draw

STAR SHOWING: Offaly senior hurler Jack Clancy was the star man for Ferbane. Pic: Stephen Marken/Sportsfile

Between them, the five clubs of Rhode, Tullamore, Edenderry, Ferbane and Clara have won every Offaly senior football title bar one since 1984. After this weekend’s results in the Faithful County, the first four of those will make up the semi-final lineup on Sunday week, while the fifth – Clara – was relegated from the top tier for the second time in four years.

With Rhode and Tullamore safely into Monday night’s semi-final draw after topping their group, Ferbane met Bracknagh in the first of Sunday afternoon's quarter-final double header at Glenisk O’Connor Park, easing to a 3-15 to 0-7 win. The West Offaly side had a strong wind at their backs in the first half and conceded the opening score to Eoghan Geoghegan, but took complete control of the tie from there, building a 1-10 to 0-1 interval lead.

County senior hurler Jack Clancy was the star man, shooting two points in the first half and adding a late brace of goals, while Darragh Flynn (1-4) and Joe Maher (0-3) also scored well in the absence of key forwards Cian Johnson and Cathal Flynn.

The second game was a much tighter affair, though it didn’t look it with 12 minutes gone, when wind-assisted Durrow led Edenderry by 1-6 to 0-1, their goal coming from Gavin Hand. However they failed to build on that, and added just one more point before the break. A stunning solo goal from another Offaly hurling star, Ciarán Burke, made it 2-7 to 0-4 with three minutes gone in the second half, but Edenderry completely took control from there.

Cillian Lowry’s goal with a little over ten minutes remaining was the key score, but it still wasn’t until the closing minutes that Edenderry finally reeled in their opponents. Jordan Hayes hoisted over a monstrous kick to equalize after 48 minutes, leaving Cian Farrell to kick the winner in stoppage time, his seventh point of the afternoon and fourth from play.

In Saturday’s relegation final, Clara overcame the concession of a first half goal from Dara Daly to lead Shamrocks by two midway through the second half, but the combination of two Offaly forwards at very different stages in their careers – Jack Bryant and Nigel Dunne – put Shamrocks in the driving seat, and their senior status was wrapped up before Pádraig Cantwell added a second goal in injury time to crown a 2-17 to 0-16 victory at Cappincur.