PREVIEW: Kildare champs Sallins set for stiffest test yet in Leinster Semi-Final with Clara

Sallins continued their surge through Championship 2025 with yet another dominant win and, when questioned, manager Jonathan Daniels admitted he was ‘massively’ concerned that his side had not been tested coming down the stretch. That is of course because no team, in either county or provincial IFC action, have gotten within 10 points of his side and most recent opponents, Kilbride, were 21 adrift, at 3-18 to 0-6, in the final game at Páirc Tailteann before renovation.

Their dominant drive through Kildare and into Leinster leads them to an AIB Leinster Club Intermediate Football Championship Semi-Final with Offaly champions Clara. The final four clash is set for Sunday, November 30 at 2pm in Cedral St Conleth’s Park.
Sallins’ most recent outing comes in stark contrast to Clara’s who came through a thrilling quarter-final with Round Towers of Lusk in what was their first Leinster clash, edging the Dublin champs 0-18 to 0-16 in O’Moore Park.

After leading by three at the break, the Offaly Senior ‘B’ champions led by 0-17 to 0-11 after 38 minutes of action in what then seemed like a comfortable lead, but a strong wind at the back of the Lusk men, coupled with a Conor Egan black card in the 45th minute, saw them concede five points on the spin and be put under huge pressure with three minutes of regulation time to go. Clara wing-back, and U20 Leinster Championship-winning hurler, Conor Doyle kicked a stunning point into the wind with a minute remaining and Clara regained both their composure and discipline to progress from a nail-biting encounter.

So who do Sallins and wider Kildare fans need to be aware of heading in what (should) be their toughest challenge to date? Clara have built their success on a strong spine with full-back Christian McKeon sitting behind a stellar wing-back line and the vast experience of midfielder Graham Guilfoyle ahead. Guilfoyle for all his strengths in open play also managed to add 1-1 to his usual assist-making contributions in their county final win, but he will no doubt have a stiff match-up in store with either of the superb Daragh Mangan or Paul Farrelly. The former of which is expected to be fit but was nursing a minor hamstring issue against Kilbride.

A major parallel between these sides is the strength of their wing-back lines with Clara’s Conor Doyle and Sallins’ Luke Kelly both being awarded the Man of the Match title in their last Leinster showings. The similarities also lie in their attributes with defensive diligence being paired with the driving forward runs that both have trademarked this year. Also along that line of the XV for Clara is centre-back Marcas Dalton, who has received huge praise for his efforts in this campaign and will likely be the man tasked with handling Colm Dalton, whose motoring runs have been terrorising opposition defences all year.

Attempting to counteract the output of both Dalton’s, as well as that of Cian Grimes and Stephen Kelly who have also contributed massively, will be Cormac Delaney. The Clara wing-forward has been described as blowing hot and cold this year but is a supremely talented footballer and registered 1-5 in his side’s county final win over Ballinagar, as well as a tidy 0-4 against Lusk. Josh Fleming top-scored for the Offaly champs that day with five points to his name.

The variety of scoring sources for Sallins is one of their chief strengths and, despite the outstanding quality of Colm Dalton that attracts the eye, there are major contributors all over Jonathan Daniels’ team, Cian Grimes is dead-eyed from long-range and corner-forward Stephen Kelly is an incredibly consistent scorer that rarely exits the field with less than three points.

That Sallins attacking prowess is propped up by a superb collective organisation in addition to an incredibly resilient goalkeeper and full-back line, who are keeping the scores down in a major way this year. Goalkeeper Matthew Farrelly lined out behind Ruairi O'Domhnaill, Mark Moynihan, and Sean O'Domhnaill last time out as Sallins conceded just six points in a Leinster Quarter-Final.

Despite their manager’s concerns of being a victim of their own success, Sallins can only beat what is in front of them and this time it is Offaly Senior ‘B’ champs Clara on November 30. It should be their toughest task yet but it is hard to bet against the Kildare IFC champions who have been astounding this year as they line out once again in Cedral St Conelth’s Park.

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