Port's experience to ensure safe navigation of Leinster waters

October 28th, 2009 by Kevin Egan

As we discussed last week, provincial and All Ireland club honours are very hard to win at the best of times, and usually impossible to secure if clubs don’t serve an apprenticeship of sorts. In almost every instance, teams need to by win their club championship on a couple of occasions and learn the art of inter-county club competition before any silverware comes their way. In an All Ireland context, that still leaves plenty of contenders at this time of year, but at provincial level, there can be some excellent betting opportunities as a result, with many candidates simply not viable winners.

There are some caveats to this rule to be borne in mind all the same. De la Salle came from nowhere last year, but the important point was that their first game was against a similarly inexperienced outfit, and their narrow win over Sarsfields suddenly left them in a Munster decider. If a new team can get a run going, then they can often cause a shock, but without that launching pad, they have little or no hope.

This year’s Leinster club football championship is an interesting renewal, with a good mix of different types of clubs. Without question the blue chip club are Portlaoise, recent winners of this title and very regular competitors at this stage. Rathnew, Garrycastle and Clonguish are all competing in this tournament having played in it before, and they will each be difficult opponents. There would be question marks over the quality of each of these teams in terms of actually winning a provincial title, but the fact to bear in mind here is that Ballyboden St Endas will have to beat two of these three teams to reach a Leinster final.

Dublin clubs are often another exception to this rule since the standard of the Dublin championship is higher than most others (albeit largely due to imported players) and metropolitan representatives have been known to progress at the first attempt. However Ballyboden would be comparitively weak as Dublin champions go – certainly not on the same level as St Vincents and Kilmacud in 2007 and 2008 – and they will be further hamstrung by the travails of their hurlers. Certainly the last thing that the football men in the club wanted was a draw in last Sunday’s Dublin SHC semi-final.

If there were an exchange market, Ballyboden at 15/8 would be a huge lay. Home advantage will be a help to them against Rathnew as Wicklow clubs are traditionally a very different proposition at home, however they are no certainties in that match, while a likely away trip to Athlone or Mullingar to face Garrycastle will see them put to the pin of their collar.

On the other side of the draw, Clara are typical of the kind of club who do not have the immediate pedigree, but who could grow into the competition. Their win last weekend was extremely impressive and indeed but for some poorer shooting, they could have won by more. They should account for Rathvilly, even allowing for the Carlow club’s potential dominance around the middle of the field now that Brendan Murphy has returned to their ranks.

However meeting Portlaoise in a semi-final, particularly in O’Moore Park, looks like a much bigger ask altogether. Rhode did well to beat Portlaoise last year, but that was in O’Connor Park and when Portlaoise weren’t playing quite as well as they are now. The margin of their win over Mattock Rangers was eye-opening to say the least, and right now it’s very difficult to see the Laois club being stopped. Certainly if they are to be stopped, it’s unlikely to be by the Meath representatives, and that’s even assuming that their championship gets completed under the pressure of Navan O’Mahonys’ objections.

Realistically, while Ballyboden could win this competition, they are no value whatsoever and the smart money will oppose them. Portlaoise at 6/4 are very much the front runners and well worth a 4pt stake, while a 0.5pt saver on Garrycastle at 16/1 would also be a worthwhile investment. This works out at combined odds of just under 6/5, and to be honest anything over even money about this pair would be very good value. If the Gods of fortune smiled on Clara they could cause an upset, but at 10/1 with an away trip to Portlaoise to come, they are no value whatsoever right now, while realistically only Ballyboden of the other teams could come through.

Tags: Garrycastle, Leinster club championship, Portlaoise