We preview this weekends upcoming Laois Shopping Centre – Senior Football Championship Fixtures and the Intermediate Football Championship Final.
The winners of all fixtures are to be decided on the day. If the sides are still level at the end of normal time, there will be two 10 minutes periods of extra time and if still level then penalties.
Tickets: Fixtures are ticket only games with a ticket charge of €5-€15 which can be purchased online here: https://www.universe.com/users/laois-gaa-82QTP6
OAP and Season Passes are applicable for admission to these games.
Live streaming: The following 3 fixtures below will be available for live streaming on Clubber.ie:
Saturday 30/9/23:
IFC Final: Ballylinan vs Crettyard at 6pm
Sunday 1/10/23:
SFC Semi Finals:
Graiguecullen vs Portlaoise at 2.30pm
St.Josephs vs Portarlington at 4.15pm
Access at: https://www.clubber.ie/
Follow live match updates on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CLGLaois
For all other Club fixtures & results visit: https://laoisgaa.ie/fixtures-results/
Best of luck to all involved!
Permutations:
Intermediate Football Championship Final: The winners of Ballylinan versus Crettyard will be promoted to the 2024 Senior Football Championship and lift the 2023 IFC title trophy. The losers of this fixture will again compete in the 2024 Intermediate Football Championship.
Senior ‘B’ Semi Finals: All 4 teams contesting these fixtures have maintained their Senior status for the 2024 campaign, regardless of the outcome of the upcoming fixtures. The winners of these fixtures will head to the inaugural Senior ‘B’ Final where the winners of the final will then awarded the new trophy.
Senior Relegation Semi Finals: The winners of these fixtures will retain their senior status for the 2024 campaign and the losers of these fixtures will next head to the 2023 Relegation Final, where the winners of this final will stay senior and the losers of this final will be related to the 2024 Intermediate Football Championship.
IFC Final Preview: Saturday September 30th: Ballylinan vs Crettyard at 6pm in Laois Hire O’Moore Park.
Previous meeting: Laois IFC Round 1 July 29th 2023 in Annanough.
Ballylinan: 3-12 (21)
Crettyard: 4-7 (19)
Ones to watch: Ballylinan’s Ryan Brady (0-3) put in a man of the match performance with a serious work rate for the full game and Gary Walsh also added another 8 points to his tally in the 7 point semi final win over Mountmellick. Gary Walsh now tops the charts as the overall 2023 IFC top scorer with 2-17 (23 points).
Crettyard’s Cormac Murphy (1-1) was awarded Clubber TV’s man of the match as a result of his electric performance in the 8 point win over Portlaoise in the semi final whilst his teammate Evan O’Carroll was also impeccably on target with 9 points to his name, which ultimately proved essential to booking his sides place in Saturdays final.
SFC Semi Final Previews:
Sunday October 1st: Graiguecullen vs Portlaoise at 2.30pm in Laois Hire O’Moore Park
Previous meeting: SFC Round 2 August 10th 2018.
Portlaoise: 1-16
Graiguecullen: 0-9
Ones to watch: Graiguecullen’s Mark Timmons and Lee Walker (1-3 each) both produced their best performances yet in the 2023 SFC so far which helped their side defeat neighbor’s Killeshin by 4 points in the quarter final.
Young Portlaoise defender Ben Dempsey continues to impress in each game and his strong defensive performance in the quarter final win kept O’Dempseys biggest threat Mark Barry quiet, which was no easy task. Portlaoise’s Damon Larkin & Kevin Swayne were also exceptional with Swayne scoring the vital match winning point. Additionally, it was great to see Gareth Dillon return from injury.
St.Joseph’s vs Portarlington at 4.15pm in Laois Hire O’Moore Park
Previous meeting: ACFL Div 1 Final July 8th 2023.
Portarlington: 0-18
St.Josephs: 1-12
Ones to watch: St.Josephs Brian Daly (1-3) and Josh O’Brien (0-3) were both excellent in the 2 point quarter final win over Emo.
Portarlington’s Darragh Galvin (1-2) was outstanding and the standout player in what was his sides best 2023 SFC performance yet, in the massive 18 point and statement win over Courtwood in the quarter final. Colm Murphy (1-7) also had a very good game and all of the Portarlington defence were solid throughout.
SFC ‘B’ Semi Final Previews:
Friday September 29th: Ballyfin vs The Heath at 7.30pm in LOETB COE.
Previous meeting: SFC Relegation Semi Final October 3rd 2021
Ballyfin: 2-13
The Heath: 0-7
Ones to watch: Ballyfin’s Aidan Keenaghan (0-1) and Ciaran Fennelly (0-1) were both incredible in the tight quarter final win by 1 point over Arles Killeen.
The Heath’s Robbie Dowling was flawless in the middle of the field and PJ Daly (0-2) worked tirelessly in attack alongside the reliably on target Evin Keane (0-7).
Sunday October 1st: Ballyroan Abbey vs Stradbally at 12pm in Park Ratheniska
Previous meetings: ACFL Div.1 April 29th 2023
Ballyroan Abbey: 4-10
Stradbally: 0-13
Kelly Cup February 26th 2016
Ballyroan Abbey: 1-8
Stradbally: 0-10
Ones to watch: Ballyroan’s Davin McEvoy scored the last 3 crucial points to ensure victory for his team in the quarter final against Rosenallis. Diarmud Whelan (0-1) also put in a superb performance.
Stradbally’s Tom Shiel (0-8) and Conor Buggie (0-1) were both brilliant and responsible for their sides 2 point win over neighbors Park Ratheniska in the derby quarter final clash.
SFC Relegation Semi Final Previews:
Friday September 29th: Arles Killeen vs Park Ratheniska at 7.15pm in Annanough
Ones to watch: For Arles Killeen this championship season, Paul Kingston was the standout player with his continuous scores (curent championship total of 22 points) however, last time out It was Colin Dunne (0-2) who came to the fore and proved he is also a threat going forward with an electric performance. Arles Killeen’s Adam Donoghue was in top form and very dominant in defence, which proved difficult for Ballyfin to break through Arles Killeen’s back line in the 1 point quarter final defeat.
In what should make an exciting contest on Friday night, Park Ratheniska have a magnificent trio of Simon Fingleton, Podge Dunne and Cian Nolan. Simon Fingleton and Podge Dunne scored 8 points between them and Colin Dunne found the net in their quarter final defeat to Stradbally.
Tuesday October 3rd: Clonaslee St.Manmans vs Rosenallis at 7.30pm in LOETB COE.
Previous meeting: IFC Final September 28th 2019
Clonaslee St.Manman’s: 1-9
Rosenallis: 0-14
Ones to watch: Clonaslee St.Manman’s Liam Senior and Tom Smith were both extraordinary when they came on and made a significant impact off the bench in the quarter final defeat to The Heath.
For Rosenallis , Paddy Keating (0-1) was unstoppable for the entire 60 minutes and caused Ballyroan a lot of problems in the quarter final defeat. David Dooley also scored a brilliant goal and Charlie Friel (0-3) continues to be very impressive.
By Laois PRO Thu 28th Sep
