Weekend Rising: Club Championship Preview
08:30, 06 Nov 2009
Sean Nolan
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It’s football all the way this weekend, and thanks to the weather in Ulster last weekend, there is a bumper crop of games to enjoy. As we write the forecast for the weekend is not great either, but fingers crossed all the games will be played on Sunday.
One team who may be wishing for a postponement will be Seneschalstown. They only won their replayed Meath final on Thursday night and they line out on Sunday against Portlaoise, in Portlaoise, with less than 66 hours between the final whistle in Navan on Thursday and throw-in at Portlaoise. With a full week to recover this assignment was daunting, with less than three days, it is almost impossible to see anything but a win for the home team.
Another side who know all about the problems of back-to-back fixtures are the Dublin champions Ballyboden- St Enda’s. They continue their residency in Parnell Park this weekend as they play Rathnew of Wicklow in the Leinster quarter-final. The three team members who were part of the hurling team that won the Dublin double - Conal Keaney, Simon Lambert and Shane Durkin - are playing their seventh game in just four weeks, two of which went to extra-time, and they must be fatigued, mentally if not physically. However the wonders of adrenaline should keep them going. Ballyboden will certainly be battle-hardened but any side that emerges from the physical world of Wicklow football has to be respected.
Rathnew will also field county stars Leighton Glynn and James Stafford in their ranks and both have starred in the Wicklow championship. Glynn scored 1-6 in the semi-final defeat of Baltinglass and then it was Stafford who ran the show in the final, effortlessly winning ball after ball in midfield and setting up score after score, as Rathnew beat St Patrick’s 0-14 to 1-8.
Ballyboden are very heavy favourites with the bookies but there is potential for a shock here. Ballyboden looked very good when beating St Jude’s two weeks ago but Rathnew come in with no fear and lots of ability. A lot will depend on the three dual stars and if they can keep it going, the Dublin team should sneak home. If the games catch up with them, then the Garden County champs could cause an upset.
Meanwhile down in Munster, Kilmurry-Ibrickane of Clare play Dromcollogher-Broadford of Limerick in a game with the longest title ever seen in the 125 year history of the GAA. The game itself will be very close but perhaps Drom’s experience from last year will get them over the line. The big game in Munster though is the meeting of the Cork and Kerry champions, Clonakilty and Kerins O’Rahillys. Though South Kerry won the county title last week, as a divisional team, they cannot represent the county. The honour falls to Kerins O’Rahilly and it will be the swansong of Tommy Walsh and David Moran before they fly off to Australia. Clonakilty was impressive in the Rebel title chase but the desire to send off Walsh and Moran on a high should be enough motivation for the Kingdom side to win.
Ulster will try to get through its quarter-finals once again, with the pick of the games the meeting of St Gall’s and Pearse Óg. As previewed last week, it will be a close encounter but the Antrim side should have enough experience to see off the new Armagh champions Pearse Óg.
Finally over in Connacht they are at the semi-final stage. Corofin will surely be too strong for the Leitrim title-holders Glencar-Manorhamilton so the game of note in the west is the meeting of Castlerea St Kevin’s of Roscommon and Charlestown of Mayo. Emerging from Mayo was a big achievement for Charlestown. Charlestown won the Connacht title in 2001 and nine of that team picked up a second county title this year. That huge level of experience back-bones the team and makes them favourites on Sunday. But Castlerea won the Roscommon title last year so they have the experience of last year’s Connacht championship, where they exited to Corofin. They have also already beaten the Sligo champions Tourlestrane in this year’s quarter-final and they may be able to overturn the odds on Sunday.
Weather permitting there are 12 games on this weekend, in all four corners of the country. Everybody should get out and support a team as these teams deserve to be lauded. Maybe bring an umbrella though.
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