Derby showdown in Towns Cup quarter-finals
Tullow host Carlow this Saturday in the Leinster Towns Cup Quarter-Finals.
A 2025 Towns Cup final appearance where they were somewhat unlucky to come out second best against Athy was to be their lot last season. They did win a South East Final against Tullow earlier on this year but Carlow Head Coach, Tom Crotty, says that has no bearing on what will happen this weekend.
So for he and his troops it is one day at a time. “A different time of the year,” he says. “Up to last year, it was a long time since we were in a final. We would love to go a step further but we have two big games to even get there yet,” says Crotty, who has nothing but the utmost respect for the Slaneysiders.
Crotty knows only too well that Tullow will be on a high having De La Salle Palmerstown in the promotion/relegation tie on Saturday. “They have a bit of wind in their sails now and their seconds won as well. They will be ready now to give it a lash,” he said.
There is a refreshing look about Carlow. Brothers, Daniel and Ben Crotty, provide an urgency to the Carlow effort while they can pick holes in a defence. Wes Shirley continues to dominate the line-out and has tremendous leadership instincts. That is being supplemented by a youthful streak in the side.
“A few young lads have come along and proved a point. We have been more consistent since Christmas. We had one cock-up against Mullingar and other than that, we have been fairly consistent,” Crotty noted.
The team has lost Evan Jordan, who returned to Australia, while centre, Sean Quinlan, is out for the season with a concussion issue. Crotty is not too concerned:
“The club is in a great place at the moment player-wise and we are happy to be where we are,” he says.
At this stage, Crotty’s focus remains glued on Tullow in Blackgates next Saturday.
“It is a big task. They are a division ahead of us. We haven’t played since our last Towns Cup game which is an issue. Tullow have had games. It is a local derby. They are never easy and it will be all on the day. Either team can win. I think we are more of a match than we have been for a long time,” he says.
“We’ve been chasing a win to try and avoid the relegation play-offs and we didn’t achieve that, and we came here today, and I think we’ve had to be singularly minded, focused on the games that have been coming.
“There’s been no time to prepare for the Towns Cup, but look, the boys know Carlow pretty well – and Carlow knows us. We’ll start analysing now tonight (Saturday) and start trying to put a few things in place. But we know what they’re like - they’re tenacious, they’re very direct, they’re very passionate, they’re very proud of their history - the same as we are - so, I would imagine it’s not going to be any more than a one-score game.”
Tullow v Carlow is always a special occasion, but the fixture takes on immeasurably more importance when the neighbours meet in a Towns Cup Quarter-Final.
Having lifted the famous trophy three times, Tullow are very much the little brothers in this competition, with Carlow’s 12 wins (the most recent of which came 30 years ago) making them the most successful club in Towns Cup history.
But Tullow’s history of success is much more recent than Carlow’s. Tullow hoisted the trophy for the first time in 2017 before going back-to-back in ‘23 and ‘24, only to have their long streak ended by Athy in last year’s semi-finals, with the Kildare side going on to beat Carlow in the final.
Both sides will be keen to etch their name on the cup once again this season, but Logue believes neither side will need any extra motivation for the game.
“It would never take much to gee up the Tullow boys for a Towns Cup game, no different than Carlow,” he said. “And if you look at Carlow’s history in the last number of years, they started getting quarter-finals, then they got to a semi-final, and last year they got to a final.
“My first year in Tullow, I turned up and we were only getting average numbers, maybe 24, 25 guys at training, and Sean (O’Brien) said to me: ‘when the Towns Cup comes around, then you’ll see.’
“I turned up at training then to see 45 guys - oh my God - I was wondering where did these people come from? We had a training session designed for 20-odd people.
“So, look, I don’t think, for either team, it’s going to take very much to get up for this game. And the history between both teams, I mean, Carlow would have always been in the ascendancy, and now in the last maybe seven, eight years, Tullow have had that advantage. But Carlow seem to be coming again now, so it’s going to be very tough.”
Logue could be forgiven for thinking his Tullow side will have the upper hand on their county rivals this coming Saturday, but the manager was insistent that the all-Carlow quarter-final will be another edge-of-the-seat affair.
“Honestly, the only thing that I take comfort from is we’re at home. That’s the only thing. We played them in the South East Cup at home and they beat us. Granted, we were missing guys, but they were missing guys. I honestly don’t think there’s going to be more than a score in it.
“So, I think it would be very disrespectful for me to turn around and say, yeah, we’re superior or whatever - we’re not. We’re kind of the same community, just on two separate sides of the river. So, yeah, there’s going to be no favouritism; the only thing that I think is that, obviously, we’ve got home advantage and the familiarity of our routine and our environment is the only thing that we have in our favour. Other than that, I think it’s going to be a very, very close game."
