By: Mary Dunne
LOETB Minor A Football Championship Final
Edenderry: 2-9
Tullamore: 1-5
For the 12th time, Edenderry were crowed the Minor A Football Champions when they deservedly took home the Title at the expense of fancied Tullamore side following a very impressive display on Saturday last.
This was a massive win for the Reds, they were by far the best team on show and they are fully deserving of their win. On the ball they were far superior and once they found a break and building from the back, they certainly looked a lot more dangerous when they got into the scoring zone. They were a real joy to watch, as they played the game with so much ease and precision from start to finish.
Expertly drilled, this was a very polished performance. The pressure on every tackle was second to none. Their ability to read the play was right out of the top drawer and while Tullamore did made a late assault on the scoreboard it was Edenderry’s day to shine, as Tullamore’s dominance in football Titles for 2026 was halted.
Edenderry from the start looked really driven for this one and while Eoghan Rouse did try to spoil the party for them with a fine goal, Tullamore did put on huge amounts of pressure in the dying minutes.
There were anxious moments in at the end for Edenderry, who despite lording it for so long, they had to play to the bitter end. The goal two minutes from time from Eoghan Rouse did spur Tullamore on and with two exceptional saves late on by Odhran O’Connor from Eoghan Rouse and Adnan Pehilivan, he certainly came to the aid of his side.
With a huge array of talent in both ranks, this was certainly the pinnacle meeting of the two of the most exciting sides of the championship as they came head to head on Saturday morning last in Glenisk O’Connor Park.
It was a fabulous morning albeit a cold October morning for football, but certainly the outside temperatures didn’t hamper the game as both sides went for it from the start.
Edenderry who were on hunt of the Title for the first time since 2021, certainly looked a hungrier of the sides, in what really turned out to be a game of defences.
Tullamore in comparison struggled to gain a lot of possession, but what they did, they were unable to convert to scores, with a lot of their shot real hit in hopes efforts and while they pushed to the bitter end there was no denying the destination of the Title for 2026.
It was Tullamore who were first off the mark with Cian Horkan pointing after four minutes, but it wasn’t too long until Edenderry took over.
The impressive Oliver Goulding had them off the mark on the 8th minute and with follow up scores from Ruairi Carroll and Joe Furey, the Reds stormed into a 0-3 to 0-1 lead after sixteen minutes.
Tullamore were really struggling to contend with the intensity that Edenderry were playing with and they had to rely and a three man forward breach by Edenderry for their next score, with Ben Dillane pointing the resulting free.
It was a mistake that shouldn’t have happened and with that it spurred Edenderry on again and with twenty on the clock Oliver Goulding hit the net for the game’s opening goal.
That same player was on the mark again bringing his tally to 1-2 for the half, to leave Edenderry in a commanding 1-4 to 0-2 lead with twenty three on the clock.
Cian Horkan lobbed over a lovely ’45 for Tullamore’s next score and really with the amount of possession they were starting to gain, they should have converted more, but it was Edenderry who finished the half with a late free from Tony Furey to bring the half time scores to 1-5 to 0-3.
Tullamore despite holding a lot of the possession at the tail end of the half and also for a lot of the second half, they just couldn’t break the Edenderry defence and it was a free from Tony Furey on the 35th minute that left six between the sides and certainly it was Edenderry’s game.
With absolutely no answer to Edenderry’s drive and hunger, Tullamore could only look on in awe as Edenderry took over again throughout the field.
Ruairi Carroll and Charlie Duffy were second to none in the middle of the field for the Reds and with two scores of their own they added to the tally but there was even more to come and with a cracking goal from Cormac Farrell Edenderry were in the driving seat 2-9 to 0-3 with forty five played.
It really was an uphill battle for Tullamore at this stage and with two scores from Darragh Stewart and Stephen Murrihy, they did comeback somewhat.
Tullamore to be fair did keep battling and with a fine goal from Eoghan Rouse, they did give Edenderry some anxious moments, but there was no upsetting the apple cart in the end with Edenderry holding firm and bringing home the crown. The final scores reading 2-9 to 1-5.
The Scorers
Edenderry: Oliver Goulding 1-2, Cormac Farrell 1-0, Ruairi Carroll 0-2, Tony Furey 0-2 (Frees), Sean Monahan 0-1, Charlie Duffy 0-1, Joe Furey 0-1.
Tullamore: Eoghan Rouse 1-0, Cian Horkan 0-2 (0-1 ’45), Ben Dillane 0-1 (Free), Darragh Stewart 0-1, Stephen Murrihy 0-1.
The Teams
Edenderry: Odhran O’Connor; Jack Mullen, Finn Pearson, Daniel Shannon; Jack Doyle, Cormac Farrell, Jamie Sharpe; Charlie Duffy, Ruairi Carroll (Capt.); Oliver Goulding, Tony Furey, Dylan O’Callaghan; Sean Monahan, Oisin Pender, Joe Furey.
Subs: Donnachadh Seery for Dylan O’Callaghan (47 mins), Daniel O’Sullivan for Oisin Pender (50 mins), Noah Foran for Jack Mullen (54 mins).
Tullamore: Ethan Lloyd; Darragh Clarke, Caden O’Beirne, Kevin Rankevics; Stephen Murrihy; Sean Finlay, Patrick Duffy; Cian Horkan, Charlie Heffernan; Darragh Stewart, Eoghan Rouse, Jamie Harvey (Capt.); Sam Heffernan, Ben Dillane, Adam Martin.
Subs: Robert Burns for Caden O’Beirne (Half Time), Adnan Pehilivan for Ben Dillane (41 mins), Ryan Casey for Ethan Lloyd (inj. 44 mins), Jason Donoghue for Sam Heffernan (53 mins).
Referee: Barry Buckley (Erin Rovers).
By Offaly Secretary Sat 17th Oct
