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O'Dempsey's set for early honours.

THE first adult football championship of the season will be decided in Timahoe tonight (Wednesday 22nd August 2007) when O'Dempsey's and Ballylinan face off in the Laois JFC 'B' final.

As both teams are the second-string sides of senior clubs, winning this particular title mightn't have been their main priority at the start of the year but this is a competition that both O'Dempsey's and Ballylinan have been taking seriously and a win is something that would constitute a significant achievement.
O'Dempsey's were beaten after a replay in last year's final by Mountmellick but they could have won on both occasions and they won't look back on their late collapse in the final with any great fondness. This year they have lived up to their status as pre-championship favourites and after early wins over Stradbally and neighbours Courtwood they beat Colt in the quarter-final with Diarmuid Fitzpatrick the star of the show by kicking nine points.
They then beat The Rock in the semi-final in a repeat of last year's heated clash at the same stage. Paddy Hyland and Brian Nugent scored 1-1 each on that occasion while Fitzpatrick's free-taking was another key feature.
They have a talented 'keeper in Kieran Hyland while Richard Slevin and John Joe O'Connell have both played senior football with the club. Brothers Enda and Niall Behan should partner each other in midfield while up front they'll be looking to Fitzpatrick, Nugent and Adrian Slevin.
Ballylinan, on the other hand, can be seen as surprise finalists. They had too much for Ballyroan-Abbey's third team in the opening round and then benefited from Rathdowney's decision not to travel for the quarter-final. A semi-final meeting against Portlaoise brought out the best in them and with corner-forwards Laurence Kealy and Willie Murphy in good form, they held out for a 0-8 to 1-4 win.
James Lukeman and Ollie Walsh fill centre-back and centre-forward respectively and bring a wealth of experience to the table while Alan Kehoe, Niall Walsh and Brendan Kealy are all good young players.
Their senior management opted against using any of their junior players in the recent SFC game against Timahoe which is a help but you just get the feeling that O'Dempsey's experience of losing last year's final will stand to them.

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