Two hotly contested Kildare IFC semi-finals in store 

We’re down to the last four in the National Electrical Wholesale Kildare Intermediate Football Championship. RICHARD COMMINS looks ahead to the weekend’s mouth-watering ties with favourites SALLINS taking on MILLTOWN on Friday night followed by Saturday’s clash of ST LAURENCE’s and TWO MILE HOUSE.

The most unpredictable grade in Kildare football is down to the last four with three of the pre-season favourites joined by dark horses Two Mile House at the penultimate stage.

Sallins, Milltown and newly relegated St Laurence’s were very much in the conversation when looking ahead to the competition less than two months ago, along with the now-vanquished Leixlip, Round Towers and Rathangan, and Friday night’s clash of hot favourites Sallins and Milltown is one that many would have loved to see grace the final.

Ultimately Milltown’s draw with Rathangan in the group stages set them on a course to meet Sallins at this earlier stage but they will enter Friday night’s encounter entertaining plenty of hope of reaching a first final at the grade since losing the 1977 decider to Friday’s opponents.

Milltown have been among the most consistent performers in Kildare over the last two years with two successive League promotions taking them into Division 1 for next year as well as Kildare and Leinster Junior titles and a semi-final place in Intermediate last year.

They’re a team that marry the experience of the O’Sheas, Colin and Ronan, Joe Dunne and Alan Dignam with impressive youngsters such as Paddy Donoghue and Ben Curran, while Kevin Byrne, man-of-the-match in that Junior triumph in 2023, is working his way back from injury with a handful of recent appearances, mainly off the bench.

Their brave recovery from nine points behind against Leixlip says everything about a side Sallins certainly won’t be taking lightly.

Sallins themselves have also been upwardly mobile in the League, reaching the Division 1 semi-finals this year but the Intermediate Final has proven to be an impenetrable glass ceiling for them in recent years.

They lost semi-finals to Kilcock and Castledermot in 2021 and 2022 before going out in the last eight to Monasterevan and Caragh the last two years when highly fancied to at least make the final.

This year has been largely plain sailing for them, in contrast to a Milltown side who have had to scrap for anything they’ve got. Suncroft did however put up a mighty resistance in the last round and perhaps manager Jonathan Daniels will be grateful for that come Friday night.

In the Dalton brothers, Sallins have two of the top four scorers from play, James with 5-19 and Colm with 1-19, but Milltown’s Donoghue (3-9) and Curran (1-14) are high up those listings as well.

Both sides have talent across the field, though, and it’s hard to see there being much between the sides, particularly with the weather looking set to be fairly inclement at the time of writing. Sallins, aiming for a first final since 2003, are justifiably favourites and may sneak through but that’s a fairly tentative prediction despite their record this year. It may not even be settled in normal time.

As with most relegated sides, St Laurence’s were considered strong contenders to bounce straight back up, but that is not as easy at is sounds at Intermediate level (Maynooth in 2009 being the last side to do so).

Defeats in the Preliminary Round against Ellistown and the group stages against Kilcullen cast plenty of doubts about a Larries side in transition but they eventually got over the line in extra-time against Castledermot last time out and now face surprise semi-finalists Two Mile House. They also have an eight-point win over Saturday’s opponents behind them from the group stages.

Like all small clubs, the availability of key players can have a huge impact and Two Mile House have benefitted from the form and fitness of the likes of Peter Kelly, Adam Conneely and Tony O’Connor in recent weeks as they’ve put last year’s dice with relegation (they won a Relegation Final against neighbours Ballymore) behind them.

Tellingly, Two Mile House have downed two of those pre-season favourites in Towers and Rathangan in their last two outings and that sees them in better form than Larries coming into this one. They also have the prodigious boot of Didier Cordonnier in their ranks after his 0-13 the last day.

Larries have some impressive youth coming through, but their opponents won’t fear them as they look to repeat their heroics of 2018 at this grade. They might just do it.