Tullamore and Ferbane will contest the Offaly SFC final for the third year-in-a-row following their respective semi-final wins over Rhode and Edenderry at Glenisk O’Connor Park yesterday.

Three-in-a-row chasing Tullamore reached their sixth consecutive final with an expected 1-18 to 2-11 victory over Rhode. Aaron Kellaghan’s eighth-minute goal for ‘The Village’ raised the possibility of an upset, but the champions responded with six unanswered points and led by 0-8 to 1-3 at half-time.

A brilliant Cormac Egan goal in the 41st minute extended the Blues’ lead to 1-12 to 1-6, but Rhode rallied down the home stretch and cut the gap to 1-11 to 1-14 thanks to two-pointers from Anton Sullivan and Sean Hurley (free).

Tullamore, however, responded with a pair of two-pointers of their own from Diarmuid Egan and Daire McDaid before Ruairí McNamee scored a stunning injury-time consolation goal for a battling Rhode side.

In the other semi-final, Ferbane blew a fancied Edenderry away with a sensational second half performance. Just a point to the good – 0-9 to 0-8 – at half-time, Ger Rafferty’s men cut loose after the restart to run out emphatic 3-19 to 0-11 winners with captain Cian Johnson top-scoring with 1-8, and Ronan Flynn and Paddy Clancy also raising green flags.

The final will take place on Sunday week in Glenisk O’Connor Park at 3pm.

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