Tullamore Court Hotel Senior ‘B’ Football Championship Final
Saturday, 1st October at O’Connor Park; Cappincur v Tubber, 2.30pm
No-one could dispute that the Tullamore Court Hotel Senior ‘B’ Football Championship has been a resounding success since its introduction – any grade where almost all of the contenders hold genuine aspirations of winning the title is bound to be exciting.
The 2016 final takes place this Saturday at O’Connor Park (throw-in 2.30pm) between Cappincur and Tubber, two clubs that displayed great form in their respective semi-final victories.
Cappincur are hoping to rise from Intermediate to Senior in successive years while Tubber are also anxious to return to the top flight of Offaly club football after bowing out at the semi-final stage 12 months ago.
Tubber enter the final with a 100% record from their campaign – convincingly defeating Doon (2-18 to 1-6), Walsh Island (1-17 to 0-8) and Raheen (1-14 to 1-8) in their group games and following up with a 1-13 to 1-9 victory over Durrow in the semi-final.
In fact, a four point winning margin over last year’s beaten finalists scarcely did Tuber justice as they led by 1-13 to 1-5 with only five minutes remaining.
The only blot on Cappincur’s copybook this season was actually a defeat to Durrow (0-12 to 0-9) in their second group game. However, by then they had already overcome a fancied Shamrocks side (2-10 to 1-10) and bounced back with a big win over St Brigid’s (3-12 to 3-3) in their final group assignment.
Cappincur, therefore, claimed second spot in Group 1 and blew Raheen away in the semi-final with a ten point winning margin – 0-15 to 0-5.
So there’s no doubting the top form that both teams are enjoying ahead of this weekend’s big games. Tubber are managed by Eamon Mahon of Shannonbridge and are captained by Nigel Farrell. While Ciaran McManus was unavailable for the semi-final, the former Offaly star could have a big impact, while current Offaly forward Bernard Allen will be expected to spearhead their scoring threat.
Declan Kelly is the Cappincur manager and their team captain is Diarmuid Carroll. Eoin Carroll and Jason Gethins featured for Offaly this season and will be expected to feature strongly around midfield and they have a lot of pace in attack.
Particularly after the semi-final performances, this is a contest that promises to be an engrossing spectacle for spectators and hopefully both clubs fulfil the potential shown throughout the summer.
By kenny Fri 30th Sep
