Longford SFC: Championship at fever pitch in quest to reach the county final

No matter what happens during the remainder of the race for the Connolly Cup, it must be said that Rathcline have really lit up the senior football championship this season in making it through to the semi-finals for the first time in 23 years.

There is obviously a big  buzz out in Lanesboro in the build up to the last four showdown against Killoe Emmet Og at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park on Sunday (throw-in 2pm).

First into football action on this exciting weekend for the GAA followers around the county is the meeting of Clonguish and Colmcille in the other SFC semi-final on Saturday (5pm) and a titanic battle is the probable outcome.

Still hurting from the bitter disappointment of the defeat in last year’s title decider against Abbeylara, there was a lot to admire about the determined manner in which Colmcille recovered from a bad start (0-6 to 0-0) to gain some measure of revenge against the reigning champions Abbeylara in the previous round.

Despite their recurring injury problems, the 2022 champions will be quietly confident against the favourites Clonguish who were fortunate to beat Abbeylara by a solitary point in the earlier rounds on their way to finishing top of their group and who then proved too strong for Dromard in the quarter-final. 

Other than that close call against Abbey, the double league winners (Leader Cup and Division 1) this season were rampant in the other senior championship fixtures in their relentless pursuit of the major title which the Newtownforbes club last won back in 2009. 

A bright new breed of talented footballers have come through a tremendous underage structure in recent years but the current crop of seniors will be very wary of the Colmcille challenge after losing to Ger Carberry’s side by a couple of points (1-7 to 0-8) at the quarter-final stage last year. 

Few can argue with the fact that Rathcline are now in bonus territory in the aftermath of their tough task to overcome Carrickedmond in the previous round and have come a long way since escaping relegation in Division 1 of the league.

Manager Gareth Johnston deserves a lot of credit for guiding his home club in the right direction but he will have to plan without Michael Morrissey.

Following a clash with a Carrick opponent, midfielder Michael was forced to retire with lung damage after just 17 minutes and ended up hospitalised.

The absence of the powerful presence of Morrissey is a big blow for injury hit Rathcline who will be looking to the usual outlet of the prolific Kenny brothers Shane and Oran for the vital scores.

While the Lanesboro outfit will be highly charged in the bid to give it their best shot, they are coming up against a Killoe team with quality all over the pitch  - laced with former and current county players.

Experienced Emmet Og have enjoyed a tremendous record in the championship with their previous Connolly Cup triumph just a couple of years ago and are currently going well under the new management team of Jimmy Higgins (Cavan) and Donal Ledwith (Abbeylara).

 After finishing top of their group, Killoe moved on to meet Mullinalaghta in the quarter-final and were hard pressed for most of the match before producing a strong finish to eventually come out on top by the comfortable margin of 8 points (2-18 to 0-16).

Rathcline are facing a very tough test against such seasoned campaigners who will relish the heat of the championship battle while Clonguish are given the vote ahead of Colmcille to determine who will contest the 2025 county SFC final on October 12.

Peter Hanley Motors SFC Semi-Finals

Saturday 27 September 

Colmcille v Clonguish, 5pm

 Prediction: Clonguish 

Sunday 28 September

Killoe Emmet Og v Rathcline, 2pm

 Prediction: Killoe