As defeated finalists in 2021, Ballyfin will start the 2022 edition of the Premier Intermediate championship as one of the favourites.
Their campaign will begin in Mountrath this evening at 7.30pm against Camross.
Since relegation from the Senior ranks in 2018 – when they had a Gaels arrangement with Mountmellick – Ballyfin have knocked around at the top of this grade.
In 2019, they enjoyed a decent group stage and defeated Shanahoe to reach the semi final.
However, they had two men sent off and lost to The Harps by 11 points in the semi final that year.
Ballyfin endured a disastrous 2020 campaign as group defeats to Portlaoise and Slieve Bloom saw them eliminated with a game to spare.
However, they did avoid the relegation play-off thanks to a win over Colt-Shanahoe in their final group game.
Last year began with a group win against Ballinakill and although they lost to Slieve Bloom again in Round 2, they finished top of the group thanks to a win over Rathdowney-Errill.
Tonight’s opponents Camross were beaten in the semi final before Ballinakill gained revenge in the decider to keep Ballyfin at this level for another year.
Ballyfin enjoyed a decent Division 1B campaign in the league this year and just missed out on a semi final spot.
As a dual club, the players will be stretched between football and hurling over the coming weeks.
Eanna Lyons and Gareth Dunphy will look to carry the can in a scoring sense with younger players like Jack Heffernan and Darragh Lyons hoping to make an impact.
The Connollys – Darragh, Max, Allan and David – are all important players, although the latter is currently out of the country.
Ballyfin will be favourites to top their group and whoever is going to win this championship, will most likely have to defeat them along the way.
Management
Former Laois U-20 boss Enda Lyons is at the helm for a second season in charge.
The Galway native is assisted by Brendan Connolly with Dermot McGill acting as player/selector.
Main Man – Eanna Lyons
Plenty of candidates here but we’ve gone for a player who can operate in midfield or the forwards.
Lyons suffered a bad knee injury a few years ago but his return to full fitness in 2021 resulted in a big upturn in fortunes for his side.
How did they do in last year’s championship?
They began with a win over eventual champions Ballinakill but were then stunned by Slieve Bloom in Round 2.
They recovered to see off Rathdowney-Errill in Round 3 and that sent them straight to the semi final.
Here, they defeated Camross’ second team before their campaign ended in defeat in the final at the hands of Ballinakill.
League form
Ballyfin operated in Division 1B of the league and just missed out on a semi final place.
They won three of their seven matches and finished two points behind Clough-Ballacolla in fifth place.
Fixtures
- Friday, July 15 – Round 1 Ballyfin v Camross in Mountrath at 7.30pm
- Saturday, July 30 – Round 2 Ballyfin v Slieve Bloom
- Saturday, August 13 – Round 3 Ballyfin v Clonaslee-St Manman’s
SEE ALSO – All this week we’re profiling Laois’s hurling clubs ahead of the start of the 2022 championship
