Longford Football (& Hurling) Thread

[Sideliner]

I see Loman's beat the Wexford Champions today.

Killoe have home advantage and it should count for something when they meet. Killoe have made some progress in the Leinster Championship in years gone by but they have never beaten the Westmeath champs. (Garycastle always seemed to have their measure)

It would be good to see the  Longford winners do well here as we have performed poorly since the all time high of 2018.

[LaurelEye]

Dempsey has managed both sides of course which should add a bit of spice at least. I would have expected Lomans to beat Shelmalieres by more but then my priors have been to expect Wexford teams to collapse once they make contact with the Leinster championship.

[LaurelEye]

Kenagh 1-10 Rathkenny 3-11

Kilbeggan Shamrocks 4-6 Ballymore 2-2

[seafoid]

Killoe are on a bit of a shaky scraw against the hoodoo county champions

[Sideliner]

Desperately disappointing result for Killoe. (And for Longford GAA)

1-10 to 0-1 after 20mins and if it wasn't for the goalkeeper it could have been a bigger margin.

Let's be fair, Longford victories in the Leinster Club are a rare enough occurrence but the manner of the defeat was more alarming.

[LaurelEye]

Killoe 1-10 St. Loman's 1-20

Last win for a Longford club in the Leinster Senior Championship was 2018.

[Sideliner]

Killoe 1-10 St. Loman's 1-20

Last win for a Longford club in the Leinster Senior Championship was 2018.

That was of course the great Mullinalaghta team when they were at their peak. (If I may say so Laurel, I actually thought ye were playing even better football in the 2017 season)

Based on yesterday's display, we're unlikely to see a Longford club getting close to that standard for a long, long time.

And as for our Co team, I get the sense that morale is at a worrying low. Maybe the possibility of getting out of Div4 and a day in Croke Park might be seen as something to aim for.

[LaurelEye]

Killoe 1-10 St. Loman's 1-20

Last win for a Longford club in the Leinster Senior Championship was 2018.

That was of course the great Mullinalaghta team when they were at their peak. (If I may say so Laurel, I actually thought ye were playing even better football in the 2017 season)

Based on yesterday's display, we're unlikely to see a Longford club getting close to that standard for a long, long time.

And as for our Co team, I get the sense that morale is at a worrying low. Maybe the possibility of getting out of Div4 and a day in Croke Park might be seen as something to aim for.

From the archives at the time:

Hard luck Laurel. There's legs in ye boys yet so third time lucky next year.

Slashers, Clonguish, Killoe all champing at the bit. No-one's won 3-in-a-row since the 1990s.

As I was being told that Vincent's were out and Portlaoise were out, all the time watching us try for an equalizer that you knew was not going to come, and then seeing the wind carrying our last effort away from the upright, it felt like God was laughing at us for our carefully unspoken ambitions.

Ironically, the same fate befell Loman's in the final that year that had befallen us in the quarter-final. Given that Dempsey was managing them at the time, I would have expected Killoe to be better prepared for them yesterday,

I think there are a whole lot of issues at the moment - the weakness in a lot of the town clubs (Ballymahon being the most outrageous example, but Mostrim - sorry Shamrock - should be capable of better given numbers, and while Slashers were competitive against Killoe a club with a catchment area of a quarter of the county should be a serious force), the impact of what seems like a wave of emigration (certainly it clobbered our hopes this year), the factionalism at the top table, the seeming willingness to settle for mediocrity at county level where a manager who managed to alienate half the county panel last year is being kept on seemingly through inertia. Clonguish are setting an example at underage level but the imbalances there are ominous in themselves. Gloomy all round, really.

[seafoid]

(&hurling)

https://www.rte.ie/sport/hurling/2023/1110/1415789-a-farce-fermanagh-captain-slams-ahl-exclusion-plan/

A recommendation from the GAA's Central Competitions Control Committee, if approved, would see any county with fewer than five adult hurling teams competing solely in the fifth-tier Lory Meagher Cup – meaning the Erne County, Cavan, Leitrim, Longford and Louth would be impacted.


https://www.rte.ie/sport/hurling/2023/1107/1415203-hurlings-minnows-could-be-confined-to-lory-meagher-cup/
"Longford (Clonguish, Longford Slashers, Wolfe Tones) and Cavan (East Cavan Gaels, Cootehill Celtic, Mullahoran) have lost a team each and have three clubs.  "


The counties concerned are highly correlated with showbands , rushes and country music. This may or may not be relevant.

[LaurelEye]

I'm not sure where the former fourth club was in Longford - I'm old enough to remember Bunlahy's brief existence but hurling has had either three or two clubs for the last thirty years at least.

[Gallowglass]

I'm not sure where the former fourth club was in Longford - I'm old enough to remember Bunlahy's brief existence but hurling has had either three or two clubs for the last thirty years at least.

Ballymahon had a team in the early 2000's. Reached 2 County Finals back then.

https://longfordgaelicstats.ie/club-titles-shc/#1636914440067-70525717-b70b

[Sideliner]

I'm not sure where the former fourth club was in Longford - I'm old enough to remember Bunlahy's brief existence but hurling has had either three or two clubs for the last thirty years at least.

Ballymahon had a team in the early 2000's. Reached 2 County Finals back then.

https://longfordgaelicstats.ie/club-titles-shc/#1636914440067-70525717-b70b

Gallowglass is back!

I thought you had left the forum of your own accord. The temptation to return was too much?

[LaurelEye]

Senior Championship 2024

Group A

Killoe v Colmcille, Tuesday 8pm, Pearse Park
Rathcline v Granard, Thursday 8pm, Pearse Park
Kenagh v Mostrim, Saturday 7pm, Clonbonny

Group B

Dromard v Carrickedmond, Friday 8pm, Abbeylara
Clonguish v Longford Slashers, Saturday 7pm, Ballinalee
Abbeylara v Mullinalaghta, Saturday 7pm, Killoe

Odds:

Paddy Power (https://www.paddypower.com/gaelic-games/longford-club-football?tab=outrights):

Killoe 9/4
Clonguish 3/1
Mullinalaghta 10/3
Dromard 6/1
Colmcille 15/2
Longford Slashers 12/1
Abbeylara 20/1
Mostrim 25/1
Granard 25/1
Rathcline 40/1
Carrickedmond 66/1
Kenagh 100/1

BoyleSports (https://www.boylesports.com/sports/gaa/outrights):

Killoe 11/8
Clonguish 3/1
Mullinalaghta 7/2
Dromard 8/1
Colmcille 9/1
Longford Slashers 12/1
Mostrim 25/1
Granard 25/1
Abbeylara 25/1
Kenagh 33/1
Rathcline 40/1
Carrickedmond 66/1

I don't really see serious contenders for the title beyond Killoe (outgoing champions) and Clonguish (who narrowly lost last year's final but won comfortably against Killoe in the Leader Cup final) and I'd favour Clonguish of those two. Insofar as anyone outside those two might make an impact, the prices for Abbeylara strike me as being absolutely crazy and they're likely to be there or thereabouts when it comes to the semi-finals.

With three teams going down, the lopsided groups make it likely that Mostrim (sorry, Shamrock) and Kenagh look endangered from Group A and from Group B, it's perm any two of four from Slashers, Dromard, Carrickedmond and Mullinalaghta to be fighting it out at the end.

[LaurelEye]

Killoe 0-13 Colmcille 2-4

Clear difference between a team that had played Division 1 all year and a team that had played Division 2.

Rathcline 3-17 Granard 2-16

First surprise of the week as the Division 1 champions are comfortably beaten in the absence of Darren Gallagher.

Dromard 2-9 Carrickedmond 1-8

Dromard draw ahead at the end in what was a sluggish game.

Abbeylara 1-5 Mullinalaghta 0-8

Another sluggish game sees Abbeylara kick away a win against an understrength Mullinalaghta.

Clonguish 1-9 Longford Slashers 1-9

Clonguish manage to come back repeatedly to earn a draw against the underdogs.

Kenagh 2-7 Mostrim 2-10

Mostrim manage to keep their heads above water, at least for the moment.

[LaurelEye]

Week 2

Group A

Colmcille v Kenagh, Friday 7.45pm, Carrickedmond
Mostrim v Rathcline, Friday 8pm, Ballymahon
Granard v Killoe, Sunday 6pm, Abbeylara

Group B

Carrickedmond v Clonguish, Wednesday 7.45pm, Pearse Park
Longford Slashers v Abbeylara, Saturday 7pm, Edgeworthstown
Mullinalaghta v Dromard, Saturday 7pm, Newtownforbes

Odds:

Paddy Power (https://www.paddypower.com/gaelic-games/longford-club-football?tab=outrights):

Killoe 9/4 2/1
Clonguish 3/1 10/3
Mullinalaghta 10/3 9/2
Dromard 6/1
Longford Slashers 12/1 9/1
Colmcille 15/2 9/1
Abbeylara 20/1 14/1
Mostrim 25/1 20/1
Rathcline 40/1 20/1
Granard 25/1 50/1
Carrickedmond 66/1 50/1
Kenagh 100/1

BoyleSports (https://www.boylesports.com/sports/gaa/outrights):

Killoe 11/8 Evens
Clonguish 3/1 4/1
Mullinalaghta 7/2 4/1
Colmcille 9/1 12/1
Dromard 8/1 12/1
Longford Slashers 12/1
Abbeylara 25/1 16/1
Mostrim 25/1 28/1
Rathcline 40/1 28/1
Kenagh 33/1 40/1
Granard 25/1 50/1
Carrickedmond 66/1

Clonguish drifting out prematurely IMO.