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Matches such as the forthcoming semi finals are often described as ‘mouth-watering’ by reporters. I’m not sure why – I must admit my mouth has never watered in advance of a match the way it would before, for example, a sirloin steak with pepper sauce. For this reason we’ll say the semi-finals are ‘eagerly awaited’ and carry on with the analysis.

COOLDERRY v KINNITTY
Last meeting:- Coolderry 1-15 Kinnitty 1-10, round 2 2006.
Last five meetings:- Coolderry 4, Kinnitty 1.
Last semi final meeting:- Coolderry 3-10 Kinnitty 2-11, 2005.

A clash of two neighbouring parishes, unbeaten and in top form, though without a competitive match in four weeks now which could lead to staleness setting in. Interestingly, while Coolderry generally have had the edge over the Kinnittymen during the last three decades in the championship, it is Kinnitty who hold the edge in knock-out matches. The semi finals in 1983 & 1984, a playoff in 1993 (effectively a quarter final, and a tempestuous one at that) and the piquant 2003 quarter final in Rath were all won by Kinnitty. The semi final of three years ago was Coolderry’s first win over Kinnitty in a knock-out fixture since the 1980 final.

Kinnitty retain nine of the starting line up from that day but have added James Dempsey in goal, the Coughlans and Odhran Kealey to the side, all of whom have made a major impact, as has the move of Fergal Kealey from defence to the attack. Twelve of the Coolderry side who broke the Kinnitty ‘duck’ that day started in the final round of the group matches four weeks ago while two more, Brendan O’Meara and Paddy Teehan, were introduced during that match.

Both sides enjoyed good form during the year and, crucially, there is a freshness to their play. For Coolderry, Brian Carroll has been in good scoring form and though he started on the half forward line against St. Rynagh’s, he lined out at full forward against Shamrocks. If he lines out on the edge of the square on Saturday and gets a steady supply of ball he could cause much trouble for Liam Bergin who had his hands full with Belmont’s Mark Egan last time out.

Will Coolderry get that supply though? Although they are big men (and Kinnitty are particularly diminutive between 5 and 9) Joe Brady and Martin Corcoran prefer to pull on the ball in the air, rather that catch it. This may well suit Kinnitty as the ensuing breaking ball would play into their hands with Rigney, Brewer, Grimes and the Coughlans competing ferociously on the floor. Rigney, in particular, has been having an outstanding season. He has clearly benefitted from his time on the county panel and has carried that form back with him to the benefit of his club team

Much will also depend on the positioning of that Kinnitty half back line who will need to drop back as deep as possible to cover their full back line against the threat of Brian Carroll while Danny Masterson was also dangerous against Shamrocks. I feel Kinnitty would be in much more trouble against a team who catch the ball and would struggle against, say, Gary Hanniffy’s advantage in the air had they been drawn against Birr.

Of course Shane O’Connor’s puckout will dictate much of the positioning of their opponent’s half back line also. For Coolderry to dominate play in this sector he can’t afford to bash the ball as far as he can.

Kinnitty have two fine hurlers at midfield in Enda Grimes and Colm Coughlan. For Coolderry Damien Murray and Cathal Parlon form an interesting partnership. Parlon has been hurling particularly well in this sector and while Coolderry’s midfield contains two attacking hurlers, Kinnitty’s midfield pair are better known as wing backs. This may benefit Kinnitty more in the long run as the Coolderry midfield, and Parlon in particular, form a crucial supply line to Carroll.

Kinnitty have much going for them in attack, too. Stephen Molloy is in superb form this year, having scored 0-5 and 0-4 from play against Shinrone and Belmont respectively. Molloy likes to roam and will look to create big gaps by pulling Kevin Brady away from the centre. Molloy could gain a vital edge here particularly if Kinnitty can avoid dropping high ball on top of himself and the younger Brady.

Odhran Kealey is another forward in top form having scored 0-5 and 0-3 in the last two matches and is a serious threat. It will be interesting to see who Coolderry will place on Kealey as the young corner forward is lightening quick. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them rearrange their full back line to place Alan Corcoran on Kealey as Paul Hudson lacks experience at this level. They also have the option of giving Brendan O’Meara a first championship start this year and could be tempted into starting the former Offaly panellist at corner back. Trevor Corcoran has hurled well at full back thus far and should be left there though they may move him to the corner to accommodate O’Meara at full back.

While Coolderry will be at full strength, Kinnitty would dearly love to have Andrew McRedmond in the side and his loss through long-term injury is a cruel blow. Their bench is a bit threadbare though and any three of their subs wouldn’t be much of an improvement on the bottom three starters. Coolderry have a depth of talent in reserve as evidenced when they introduced Brendan O’Meara, David Dooley, Andrew Hall and Paddy Teehan last time out. That can have an opposite effect though as players on the field are waiting for a sub to be introduced in order to turn a game around rather than grab the bull by the horns themselves..

Kinnitty came so close to toppling Kilcormac/Killoughey at this stage last year, experience they can now draw on to drive them on. The pressure is on Coolderry to deliver on their promise. They are championship favourites in many quarters, including their own, and not winning the title this year will be seen as a disaster. The draw was favourable to Kinnitty in many regards and if Kinnitty are within striking distance as the match enters the melting pot (and they will be hurling confidently if they are in such a position) I think there’s every chance they will drive on from there and win.

You made a good prediction there in your last paragraph POTH, kudos. But I notice your prediction in the tipsters competition didn't coincide! Get off the fence will ya.
What a win for kinnitty. They battled manfully the whole game. When they were two points down at half time after coolderry had done all the hurling they must've known they were in with a chance. The subs kinnitty brought on made more of an impact than coolderry's and ultimately that is what made the difference. Although there were some brilliant performances from kinnitty players particularly in the central positions.
Its great to see kinnitty reach the final and I hope they can do themselves justice and go on and win it.

Gustavus Adolphus wrote:You made a good prediction there in your last paragraph POTH, kudos. But I notice your prediction in the tipsters competition didn't coincide! Get off the fence will ya.
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BIRR v KILCORMAC/KILLOUGHEY
Last meeting:- Birr 0-15 Klcormac/Killoughey 0-10, Final 2007.
Last five meetings:- Birr 5, Kilcormac/Killoughey 0.
Last semi-final meeting:- Birr 0-18 Kilcormac/Killoughey 1-10, 2006.

Again, Kilcormac/Killoughey come face to face with Birr, who has ended their interest in the championship in four of the last six years (finals of 2002 & 2007; semis in 2003 & 2006). K/K had been having an indifferent year thus far but their title challenge received a massive fillip with their performance against Tullamore, possibly the best this current team has produced. Birr will obviously be a considerable step-up in standard on Tullamore, and we have to wonder just how ‘up for it’ Tullamore were and it’s quite conceivable that Birr will produce an improved performance from the same hat the Kilcormac side did three weeks ago ago.

There’s no doubt this will be a fiercely tactical match. Kilcormac pulled their midfield right back into their own half back line on Tullamore’s puckout and Shaun Martin was frequently faced with his target for that puckout being surrounded by four Kilcormac men. That worked very well but will it be so successful against Birr? To do so will require the utmost of concentration and teamwork. Rory Hanniffy and Barry Whelahan are a very experienced midfield pairing, as everyone knows, and if K/K tactics go to plan and the K/K half forward line can crowd out the younger Hanniffy and the younger Whelahan, Brian Mullins may be forced to puck out to his full back line on occasion. Of course Mullins always has Gary Hanniffy to target if all else fails, which is a great alternative to have, even in a conjested area.

Kilcormac/Killoughey have made a number of interesting changes to their lineout this year. Killian Leonard, another of the title winning 2006 minor team, has cemented a place at corner back, allowing Brian Leonard to revert to the forwards. James Flynn has been a regular in the half back line this year and offers more mobility in this area. The attack, while containing generally the same personnel, has seen some major reshuffling. Martin Murray reverts to the midfield slot having spent a year at wing forward. This move has allowed Eamonn Lee move in the opposite direction to centre half forward and move Peter Healion further in to the edge of the square, to James Gorman’s exclusion.

Most crucial of all has been the introduction of Daniel Currams to top-of-the-left. Currams has been scoring consistently with 1-3, 1-3 and 1-2 against Shamrocks, St. Rynagh’s and Tullamore respectively. If the young Offaly panellist can get a decent supply of ball his side could be on their way to a first win over Birr in twenty years.

For Birr, their defence has been freshened up with the introduction of Barry Harding while Brian Watkins has established himself at wing back following his introduction over the course last year’s club championship. Interesting to see will Watkins be switched over onto Brian Leonard following the latter’s eight-point haul the last day. This has allowed Birr to move Rory Hanniffy to midfield while their attack which lined out in the quarter final against Shinrone showed some major changes since last year’s county final.

Gone are Brian Whelahan, Stephen Brown, Paul Molloy and Michael Dwane while only Gary Hanniffy and Simon Whelahan remain. Dylan Hayden has been restored to the attack after a year in defence, Paul O’Meara has established himself, Brian Lonergan has played a full part in the lusmagh, Drumcullen and Shinrone matches while Aaron Whelahan was given his first championship start against Shinrone. Birr still have the wherewithal to make additional changes to their attack with possible alternatives in Sean Ryan, Michael Dwane, Neil Rogers and Stephen Brown, though Liam Power and Keith Hehir remain in the intermediate side. They may well have settled on a new attacking formula in the period since the quarter final, with the extra week to do so being a major boost.

Kilcormac will look to exploit Ciaran Slevin’s height advantage over John Paul O’Meara, and while Slevin’s habit of staying behind the corner back may not sit well in an Offaly side with the ball delivered in low, Slevin can exploit O’Meara if he can get a supply of dropping ball. The clash of Michael Verney and Daniel Currams could well decide who advances to the final. Currams is dangerous and is hurling confidently but if he is held K/K could struggle for scores elsewhere. Niall Claffey should be too good for Peter Healion though Eamonn Lee should do well in his direct clash with Paul Cleary. Lee, who is good in the air, will probablly drop deep quite a lot though Cleary is more likely to hold the centre relying on Rory Hanniffy to cover Lee.

Birr will need Gary Hanniffy to lead their attack by winning possession in the air and take scores as well. He has done well so far this year, scoring 0-9, 0-3 and 0-5 against Lusmagh, Drumcullen and Shinrone respectively. However, he hasn’t been faced with a defender like Kevin Grogan so far this year. Grogan is now restored to the centre half back berth following a sojourn at full back while Ger Healion was out of action through injury. If the kilcormac centre half back can gain an edge here, and it’s quite possible he will, then Kilcormac/Killoughey will be on the road to the final. Elsewhere in this sector, Colm Cassidy should do well on as should James Flynn.

Dylan Hayden’s pace and mobility will cause problems for Ger Healion though Hayden is as likely to drift from the game as he is to run up a decent score. Other than Hayden and Gary Hanniffy, Birr will need Paul O’Meara to chip in with a couple of scores as they bid to accumulate a winning total.

Kilcormac/Killoughey have flattered to deceive before, most notably in their 2003 and 2006 semi final defeats to Birr when they were in good form and widely fancied to upset the champions but flopped when Birr moved through the gears. Birr still carry that aura of invincibility though when we analyse the pitch line for line, it’s advantage, or potential advantage to Kilcormac in many of them. Kilcormac didn’t hurl well during the group stages but hit the ground running in the quarter final. This may stand to them though, no point peaking too soon – just ask Coolderry!

It’s also entirely possible that Birr, who remain the best team in the county, will make three changes to their forwards, hit the ground running and leave Kilcormac floundering in their wake. But I’ll give the Kilcormac men a hesitant vote to overcome the Birr challenge and set up a novel final pairing between themselves and Kinnitty.

Very good preview, I wouldn't be surprised if the Birr corner backs swap corners Verney onto Slevin and O'meara onto Currams. If KK win the first few balls that go into the full forward line they will continue on on top,a good start helps any forward and with county panelists on the bench no forward on either side wants to miss the first few balls.Birr have not been great this year so far,but have they just been doing enough to get along or are they on the way out? I'm not going to make judgement either way,but I am looking forward to this clash. At least 11 Offaly panelists (estimate) involved in this game it will be good to see who rises to the occassion and issues a statement of intent for next years county team.

After last weekends histrionics, I feel it will be difficult for Birr and K/K to serve up the same level of edge of the seat entertainment as we witnessed from Kinnitty and Coolderry. Despite the lack of any real quality hurling in last weekends game it did manage to keep the spectators enthralled until the final whistle. I don’t see the second semi following any form of similar trend. Many people have been pointing out how K/K have a real chance of beating Birr, who in many peoples estimation are a team in decline. By All-Ireland club winning standards, yes, Birr are on the decline. By offaly senior hurling championship standards they are a long, long way from the bottom of the barrel. Just musing over POTH’s preview there and I just can’t see K/K matching Birr at all. Birr have developed the healthy habit of cruising through the early stages of the championship before lifting through the gears towards the business end. Lets remember they were in the club final in March this year. Someday soon they will fail to make it to the county final for the 100th time in a row (I know that’s not soon) but I don’t think it will be Saturday.