PREVIEW | Fr Caseys look to end long wait for SFC final place with Adare seeking fifth in six years

Three time champions Adare will be looking to make it five Senior Football Championship finals in six years.

The second SFC semi-final will take place this Sunday just three hours after the first as last year’s runners-up Adare take on Fr Casey’s in Newcastle West.

Fr Casey’s will be playing in their first SFC semi-final since 2009, where they went on to reach the final but were narrowly defeated by Dromcollogher Broadford. Their quarter-final win over Kildimo Pallaskenry was their first kncokout win in 13-years as they brushed aside last year’s intermediate champions to end the famine.

Adare, on the other hand, have become veterans at this stage of the competition, reaching six consecutive semi-finals since their 2016 Intermediate Football Championship triumph.

This season, both sides have had impressive group stages with only one loss between the two them, that coming in Fr Caseys final round game against Newcastle West. That result came with Fr Caseys already guaranteed their place in the knockout stages. Furthermore, they were only defeated by last year’s champions by a solitary point.

Adare proved too strong for Kildimo Pallaskenry, Galtee Gaels, Ballysteen and St Kierans to make it five from five in the group.

In the 2021 campaign, Adare almost went the distance with a final loss to Newcastle West ending their campaign and also their reign as champions. Meanwhile, Fr Caseys were eliminated at the quarter-final stage to Monaleen.

That final defeat was Adare’s first since promotion back to the top tier as they were crowned champions in 2017, ’18 and ’20.

Sunday’s clash will be the first of the sides in the knockout stages in over a decade but they have become accustomed to one another in the group stages over recent years.

If those meetings are anything to go by, then Sunday will be a close encounter with three stalemates between the teams from their past nine meetings. Caseys were victorious in their most recent encounter, defeating Adare 0-17 to 0-12 in the 2020 championship. But while the Abbeyfeale men fell to Ballysteen in the quarters, Adare went on to reclaim their title for the third time in four years.

Previous Meetings

• 2020 SFC Group Stage – Fr Casey’s 0-17 : 0-12 Adare
• 2019 SFC Group Stage – Adare 0-12 : 1-5 Fr Casey’s
• 2017 SFC Group Stage – Adare 1-9 : 0-12 Fr Casey’s
• 2014 SFC Group Stage – Adare 0-6 : 1-10 Fr Casey’s
• 2012 SFC Group Stage – Adare 1-6 : 1-10 Fr Casey’s
• 2011 SFC Group Stage – Fr Casey’s 0-9 : 1-6 Adare
• 2010 SFC Group Stage – Fr Casey’s 1-8 : 2-6 Adare
• 2008 SFC Group Stage – Adare 0-9 : 0-9 Fr Casey’s

Adare have had all the momentum within the last few years regarding titles, with their three coming since 2017 while their opponents haven’t got their hands on the coveted trophy since 2006.

Yet, with so much underage pedigree behind them, Fr Caseys will fancy their chances of ending that wait for a SFC final berth. For Adare, without a number of frontline players, experience at this stage could prove key.

Fr. Casey’s take on Adare this Sunday in Newcastle West at 4pm in the Senior Football Championship semi-final.