Clara vs Edenderry 9/10/11

[brian fantana]

delighted the town won, they have a very good young team. but the main reason clara lost is that they were thinking more about athy/carbury than edenderry, so ive no sympathy for them. well done to the reds

[blueball]

come on you boys in red surreal serious hunger nd commitment....vindication!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[naasmanxrhode]

Did not see this coming, well done to Edenderry, if they can beat Athy they could be in the Leinster final as this is the easier side of the draw, Athy are a very fast young team having won 3 Minor titles in a row and the last 2 u/21's. They beat Carbury easier than the score line reflects in the Kildare final. Both teams wear the same colours so will tog out in their County colours i presume???

[Lone Shark]

County colours would be the usual protocol, unless either both clubs had different change strips, or they agreed to toss for the right to wear red. I'd imagine that if both teams had a second strip, they'd both be white, so there isn't much point in that.


On the one hand Edenderry have already far exceeded their expectations, but the funny thing is that chances at winning a Leinster title are few and far between. Only three Offaly clubs have managed it, and all three did it at the first time of asking with that particular team. Gracefield won the first one ever, Walsh Island won the first of their six in a row in 1978 and went on to take Leinster first time out and again the following winter, while Ferbane won Leinster in the first year of their five in a row - albeit one or two older players had experience of Leinster campaigns in the seventies. Despite coming out of Offaly regularly for the next decade, they only got to one more Leinster final and let that chance slip, against Parnells.

Athy are very similar in profile to Edenderry - first time to win a championship in a long time, very young team, inexperienced at this level. I know this Edenderry team should in theory have a bright future ahead of them, but you never know how things work out, and even if they go on to win several more titles in Offaly, as Rhode will tell you, that doesn't mean you'll manage to win the Leinster. They'll be underdogs against Athy but this is still a great opportunity and I hope that they enjoyed the celebrations earlier this week but now are settling down for a shot at a provincial title. it really is a great opportunity, all the more so when you are in bonus territory, as opposed to feeling the pressure, as Rhode have done.