Some cracking Kildare IFC quarter-finals in store

Can anyone stop in-form Sallins in the National Electrical Wholesale Intermediate Football Championship, which is down the Quarter Final stage? RICHARD COMMINS previews the last eight action this weekend.

With weekend wins that might have surprised a few, Two Mile House and Suncroft, who many might have foreseen competing in a relegation final a few short weeks ago, joined the automatic qualifiers for the Quarter Finals, Rathangan, Milltown, Sallins, Castledermot, St Laurence’s and Leixlip.

Not for the first time in recent years, SALLINS are the name on everyone’s lips, but there’s no question they are hotter favourites this year than previously, and rightly so, as they seek a return to senior football for the first time since relegation in 2003.

No team wins an Intermediate easily but one that finishes in the top four in Division 1 and then coasts through four championship matches with a +72 scoring difference, deserves top ranking.

Naturally, Jonathan Daniels side look to the two Daltons for inspiration and scores and both are playing out of their skins but Darragh Mangan has stepped up to the plate this year as have Cian Grimes and Luke Killian. Further back the O’Domhnaills, Eoin McConnon, full back Mark Moynihan and goalkeeper Matthew Farrelly form a formidable unit.

It’s quite a task then for SUNCROFT, in their first Quarter Final since 2020, and while they come into this on the back of a comfortable win over Ellistown at the weekend, and have Fionn Dowling and Eoghan Lawless in flying form with Tom Martin and Conn Kehoe forming a strong midfield partnership, they must be regarded as rank outsiders on Sunday. Sallins should prevail with something to spare.

The two sides lining up for a crack at Sallins in the semi-finals are MILLTOWN and LEIXLIP who meet in a mouth-watering Quarter Final at Manguard Park on Friday night. If that sounds like a familiar pairing, it’s because the sides met in the last four of last year’s competition at the same Manguard Park venue.

Milltown, one of the most improved teams in the county over the last few years, were newly promoted Junior Champions a year ago, but they looked on course for an Intermediate final when, having played into the elements, they led their opponents by three at the break.

But Leixlip dug deep and a scrappy goal from Jack Barrett helped them turn it around to run out two-point winners.

If anything, Milltown have pushed on further again and they comfortably qualified, unbeaten, for this stage, their only dropped point coming against Rathangan in Group A. In Paddy Donoghue and Ben Curran, they have two of the most exciting young forwards in the competition. It seems they will be missing Joe Dunne, their midfield stalwart, however, after his dismissal against Ellistown last time out.

Leixlip’s form is harder to weigh up. They had a ding-dong encounter with Rathangan in the Preliminary Round and defeat there saw them into loser’s Group D where they were clearly superior to their three opponents, Monasterevan, Suncroft and Nurney, beating all three with a +43 scoring difference.

Leixlip disappointed against Caragh in the final and it is now seven years since they lost their senior status but they have Barrett and Conor Lawlor in flying form in attack, with the latter a notable returnee having missed last year’s championship, while Ronan Fitzsimons, Darren McDermott and Tommy Moolick remain formidable mainstays in the team.

We’ll know more about Leixlip after Friday night, and it’s impossible to call who will prevail to meet Sallins or Suncroft in the semi-final.

Also on Friday night, this time in Cedral St Conleth’s Park, RATHANGAN, who edged out Milltown on scoring difference to top Group A, meet surprise package TWO MILE HOUSE for a place in the last four.

Many will feel the draw has opened up nicely for Rathangan, but in fairness they have made that happen for themselves with that win over Leixlip in the Preliminary Round followed by a five-point haul in their group, where Sam Savage and the Teahan’s were outstanding throughout.

Rathangan might have been gearing up for a rematch with local rivals Round Towers this weekend, having ambushed them in the Quarter Final last year, but Two Mile House, who looked to be struggling a few short weeks ago, were full value for their win over the Kildare Town side last Saturday evening.

They are in flying form with three wins in a row now over Kilcullen, St Kevin’s and Towers. The return of livewire Adam Conneely from Canada gave them more pep in attack while they are well marshalled by the ageless Peter Kelly and county goalkeeper Didier Cordonnier is having another good campaign from centre-forward while David Craddock minds the shop in goal. Tony O’Connor and Marcus Kiely are others to have impressed around the middle and Two Mile House will give Rathangan a few worries, even if the men in green and white look likely to prevail.

Which brings us to the big local derby between ST LAURENCE’S and CASTLEDERMOT, slated for Cedral St Conleth’s Park on Friday night, with the winners due to meet Rathangan or Two Mile House in the semi-final.

Larries are the latest in a long line of teams attempting to return to senior at the first attempt, but it’s telling that Maynooth are the last to achieve that feat, and that was sixteen years ago in 2009.

The Narraghmore side are a team in transition, with the O’Neills and Podge Fogarty stepping back and a younger cohort such as TJ Nolan, Ruaidhrí Lawlor, Senan Murphy and Oisín Grufferty have taken up the fight alongside the more experienced Mark Glynn, Kevin Eustace and Niall O’Connor.

They were shocked by Ellistown in the Preliminary Round and again by Kilcullen in their final group game but prevailed on scoring difference.

Castledermot went into their final game in Group B pointless and bottom of the table but here they are, after that impressive thirteen-point win over Ballyteague, through to the last eight. Emmet O’Keeffe has been a revelation at centre-back with Dan Gray and Aaron Murphy two important returnees up front alongside the ever-reliable Gavin Keating. They’ll be hoping his brother David is available after injury, but young Donnacha Kinch has been a big addition around the middle.

There’s little to separate these two at the moment and if Castledermot can replicate their Ballyteague performance they might cause what some would see as a mild shock.