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Week 3

Group 1:

Killashee v Mullinalaghta, Fri, 8pm, Newtownforbes Game conceded by Killashee
Longford Slashers v Dromard, Sat, 7pm, Ballinalee
Granard v Mostrim, Sun, 7pm, Abbeylara

Dromard 4pts +33*
Longford Slashers 4pts +6
Mullinalaghta 3pts +4
Mostrim 1pts -5
Granard 0pts -10
Killashee 0pts - 28

Top of the table clash between Slashers and Dromard; qualification dogfight between Granard and Edgeworthstown.

Group 2:

Clonguish v Abbeylara, Sat, 7pm, Edgeworthstown
Colmcille v Rathcline, Sat, 8pm, Monaduff
Killoe v Carrickedmond, Sun, 5.15pm, Ardagh

Colmcille 4pts +7
Abbeylara 2pts +1
Clonguish 2pts 0
Rathcline 2pts  -1
Carrickedmond 2pts -3
Killoe 0pts - 4

Unaccustomed position for Killoe but they should surely get off the mark against Carrickedmond. Abbey need to beat Clonguish to be confident of a quarter-final spot.

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

Mullinalaghta 11/8 6/4 11/8
Colmcille 8/1 7/1 9/2
Killoe 3/1 4/1 5/1
Dromard 9/1 7/1 6/1
Longford Slashers 9/1 7/1
Abbeylara 8/1 10/1 8/1
Mostrim 11/1 10/1 14/1
Clonguish 16/1 25/1 20/1
Rathcline 33/1 20/1 25/1
Carrickedmond 50/1 25/1 33/1
Granard 16/1 25/1 50/1

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

Mullinalaghta 6/4
Dromard 5/1 9/2 7/2
Colmcille 9/1 13/2 9/2
Killoe 5/2 7/2 11/2
Abbeylara 8/1 10/1 15/2
Longford Slashers 12/1 11/1
Mostrim 12/1 9/1 14/1
Rathcline 50/1 14/1 16/1
Clonguish 25/1 50/1 25/1
Carrickedmond 50/1 25/1 33/1
Granard 20/1 33/1 50/1

Killoe drifting out at the moment, with Colmcille and Dromard edging inwards.

What's the story with Killashee? They won the intermediate last year, didn't they?

Won it for a second year in a row so had no way of avoiding promotion. Tried to get regraded back to intermediate for this year but the rules wouldn't allow it. Small pick, a number of players apparently travelling, and were only able to tog out 17 for their first (and only) match against Dromard. Contacted us last week to tell us they were conceding this weekend's match and as a result are now out of the group stages and into the relegation playoffs which are now a formality.

May explain the moves in the Rathcline price
https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/crime/owners-of-plane-carrying-84m-worth-of-cocaine-into-longford-shocked-it-was-on-news-41894907.html

Carrickedmond, actually.

Killashee scr. Longford Slashers w/o
Abbeylara 1-12 Rathcline 2-5

Rathcline 2-3 to 0-3 up after 15 minutes and still the final score flattered their second-half performance.

Mostrim 1-7 Dromard 2-9

Clonguish 2-12 Carrickedmond 1-9

Killoe 2-7 Colmcille 0-14
Granard 2-5 Mullinalaghta 1-12

Pretty much a return to form after last week's surprises, with Killoe nearly stealing a draw with a late goal only to pass the ball directly to a Colmcille player who delivered it downfield for the winning point.

Week 2

Group 1:

Killashee v Longford Slashers, Fri, 8pm, Cashel
Mostrim v Dromard, Sat, 8pm, Monaduff
Granard v Mullinalaghta, Sun, 7pm, Legga

Group 2:

Abbeylara v Rathcline, Fri, 8pm, Killoe
Clonguish v Carrickedmond, Sun, 1.30pm, Ardagh
Killoe v Colmcille, Sun, 5.15pm, Legga

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

Mullinalaghta 11/8 6/4
Killoe 3/1 4/1
Colmcille 8/1 7/1
Dromard 9/1 7/1
Longford Slashers 9/1 7/1
Abbeylara 8/1 10/1
Mostrim 11/1 10/1
Rathcline 33/1 20/1
Granard 16/1 25/1
Clonguish 16/1 25/1
Carrickedmond 50/1 25/1
Killashee 66/1 200/1

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

Mullinalaghta 6/4
Killoe 5/2 7/2
Dromard 5/1 9/2
Colmcille 9/1 13/2
Mostrim 12/1 9/1
Abbeylara 8/1 10/1
Longford Slashers 12/1 11/1
Rathcline 50/1 14/1
Carrickedmond 50/1 25/1
Granard 20/1 33/1
Clonguish 25/1 50/1
Killashee 50/1 100/1

Big movers in the betting are Rathcline after last week's win over Killoe and they may come in further if they can beat Abbey tonight. Dromard and Colmcille both easing in with Mostrim and Slashers following them. Killashee have allegedly conceded their match tonight to Slashers; they were struggling to field a team last week against Dromard and there's no ref listed on the Longford website for the match.

Colmcille 1-10 Clonguish 0-7

Dromard 4-19 Killashee 0-3
Longford Slashers 1-14 Granard 1-9

Mullinalaghta 1-15 Mostrim 1-15

Killoe 0-17 Rathcline 2-14
Abbeylara 0-10 Carrickedmond 0-13

At this point looking like Colmcille and Dromard ahead of the pack.

And so we begin again with the same arrangement; twelve teams divided into two groups of 6.

Group 1:

Dromard v Killashee, Sat, 6.15pm, Edgeworthstown
Longford Slashers v Granard, Sat, 8pm, Edgeworthstown
Mullinalaghta v Mostrim, Sun, 1.30pm, Granard

Group 2:

Colmcille v Clonguish, Fri, 8pm, Ballinalee
Rathcline v Killoe, Sun, 5.15pm, Newtownforbes
Carrickedmond v Abbeylara, Sun, 7pm, Newtownforbes

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

Mullinalaghta 11/8
Killoe 3/1
Colmcille 8/1
Abbeylara 8/1
Dromard 9/1
Longford Slashers 9/1
Mostrim 11/1
Granard 16/1
Clonguish 16/1
Rathcline 33/1
Carrickedmond 50/1
Killashee 66/1

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

Mullinalaghta 6/4
Killoe 5/2
Dromard 5/1
Abbeylara 8/1
Colmcille 9/1
Longford Slashers 12/1
Mostrim 12/1
Granard 20/1
Clonguish 25/1
Killashee 50/1
Carrickedmond 50/1
Rathcline 50/1

Personally, after winning a very competitive group in the league and beating Mullinalaghta in the Division 1 final, those look like extremely generous odds on a Colmcille team who have been there or thereabouts for the last couple of years and who have the appearance of strong favourites for a first title since 2008.

Leader Cup Final

Mullinalaghta 1-10 Killoe 1-9

Treble completed despite the keys to Pearse Park going astray. Another proud day for the top table.

One observation here:

Division 1 in Wicklow is 8 teams with 7 rounds in total. Blessington had to play 5 matches to win a senior title.

Division 1 in Longford is 12 teams with 11 rounds in total. Mullinalaghta had to play 8 matches this year to win a senior title (not counting the delayed 2020 semi-final).

Blessington were the fresher team and that showed in the end.

If you make your senior championship too big (12 clubs out of 21 in the county) then that has implications for the quality of the lower levels; Killashee will simply be a punching-bag at senior level next year.

If you insist on organizing your league and championship structures so as to cram as many rounds of football into as short a space of time as you can (in no way related, of course, to the need to put the county chairman's club into Division 1 where it promptly anchored itself to the bottom of the table) then you cannot expect that not to have an eventual effect in terms of injuries, in terms of fatigue, in terms of the quality of senior club football in the county.

Mullinalaghta 1-5 Blessington 1-7

Very disappointing to put it mildly, with failure to score at all in the second half (admittedly against the wind). All very reminiscent of the Loman's match in 2017.

Leader Cup semi-final versus Clonguish next Sunday to focus on.

Intermediate Leinster club:

Killashee 0-6 Clara 6-10

Junior Leinster club:

Clonbullogue 3-18 Legan 1-6

The Cavan County Board treats both finalists in the Kilmore.

LOL.

As far as I know our lads have been off the sauce since midnight on Tuesday.

The Mullinalaghta lads are all pioneers.

That last statement may be no longer operative.

Somewhat puzzled how someone can be "at" somewhere that they received a two-year ban from entering only two days ago. I can only assume her broadband must be good.

Congrats to Mullinalaghta. Best team won and, perhaps, should have won by more.

Our big guns didn't fire at all.

The main thing is to learn from the experience. Next year will be around soon enough.

Our first recent final in 2014 against Killoe was lost through bad decisions in the first half. We learnt.