Rosenallis surge into SFC ‘B’ final with commanding win over Emo

Laois Shopping Centre Senior Football Championship ‘B’ s/f

Rosenallis 4-15 

Emo 1-9 

ROSENALLIS booked their place in the 2026 Laois Shopping Centre Senior Football Championship ‘B’ final with an impressive 15-point victory over Emo in Saturday’s semi-final at Páirc Acragar, Mountmellick.

The win caps a remarkable week for the dual club, who also secured a place in the Senior Hurling Championship semi-finals, underlining the strength and depth currently within the Rosenallis ranks.

A strong wind blowing towards the clubhouse end proved a significant factor during the opening half, and Rosenallis made full use of the conditions. Leading by seven points at the interval, they effectively ended the contest when Jimmy Hyland struck for a second goal inside ten seconds of the restart. Two further second-half goals ensured a comfortable passage to the decider, where Crettyard now await.

Rosenallis made the brighter start as David Dooley opened the scoring before Matthew Bennett doubled their advantage. However, Emo responded superbly with 1-2 without reply. Tom Fennelly and Ross Meredith raised white flags before Darren Strong supplied the pass for Ruairi Bourke to finish to the net and put Emo in front.

That setback sparked Rosenallis into life. Charlie Friel opened their rally with a free before a brilliant passage of play saw the influential forward field a kick-out and quickly release Jimmy Hyland, who blasted past Stephen Norton for the equalising goal.

Jack Claffey added a point and Friel converted a two-pointer as Rosenallis began to take control. Meredith kept Emo in touch from a free, but John O’Loughlin answered with a superb two-point effort off the outside of his boot.

Meredith’s third score trimmed the deficit, yet Rosenallis continued to punish Emo with long-range accuracy. Claffey’s first two-pointer stretched the lead to six points before Pá Kirwan responded for Emo. Rosenallis had the final say of the half, however, when Claffey landed another two-point score to leave his side 1-12 to 1-5 ahead at the break.

Any hopes of an Emo comeback were quickly extinguished after the restart. Straight from the throw-in, Hyland found the net for his second goal, giving Rosenallis a commanding advantage.

Darren Strong converted a two-point free for Emo, but Rosenallis soon tightened their grip on proceedings. Bennett struck for their third goal after 33 minutes and, although Meredith added two frees, Emo struggled to create meaningful openings.

Goalkeeper Conor Cosgrove produced important saves to deny Paddy Hosey and Nigel Murphy, while Charlie Friel continued to influence matters, adding further scores including an excellent two-point free against the wind.

Emo’s challenge was further hampered when Pá Kirwan received a black card, reducing them to 14 men for ten minutes. Rosenallis took full advantage and finished strongly. With Emo failing to score during the closing stages, Friel capped an outstanding display by bursting through the defence and firing home a fourth goal.

The final whistle confirmed a comprehensive 4-15 to 1-9 victory and maintained Rosenallis’ momentum as they look ahead to a championship final showdown with Crettyard in two weeks’ time.

SCORERS:

Rosenallis: Charlie Friel 1-6 (1tpf, 1tp, 0-1f), Jimmy Hyland 2-0, Matthew Bennett 1-1, Jack Claffey 0-5 (1tp, 1tpf), John O’Loughlin 0-2 (tp), David Dooley 0-1.

Emo: Ross Meredith 0-5 (fs), Ruairi Bourke 1-0, Darren Strong 0-2 (tpf), Pa Kirwan and Tom Fennelly 0-1 each.

ROSENALLIS: Conor Cosgrove; Paul Maher, Paddy Keating, Barry McEvoy; David Dooley, Matthew Bennett, Fiachra C Fennell; John O’Loughlin, Jack Friel; Diarmuid Dooley, Jimmy Hyland, Conor Conroy; John Maher, Charlie Friel, Jack Claffey.

Subs: Will Thompson for Conroy (45m), Dylan Gorman for Hyland (59m).

EMO: Stephen Norton; Dean O’Connor, Cian Langford, Sean Greene; Darren Strong, Eibhin Joyce, Tom Fennelly; Niall Gorman, Eoin Montague; Ruairi Bourke, Pa Kirwan, Brian Gorman; Ross Meredith, Jack Murphy, Paddy Hosey.

Subs: Nigel Murphy for B Gorman (ht), Shane Murphy for O’Connor (37m), Charlie Hand for Joyce (37m), Cathal Creegan for J Murphy (41m), Paul Lawlor for Meredith (50m), Ian Fennelly for Hosey (55m).

Referee: Eugene Dowdall (Ballylinan)