The bank
holiday weekend marks the start of the pinnacle of the club season; namely, the
start of the club championships.
Having
completed their league campaigns last weekend, all clubs are now fully focussed
on the championship with 20 teams in action this weekend.
Senior
Group One
Coolera/Strandhill, Drumcliffe/Rosses
Point, St Mary’s, Tubbercurry
Arguably the
toughest group of the three, Group One puts the champions of 2014 and 2015,
Tubbercurry and St Mary’s, up against one another, as well as
Coolera/Strandhill and Drumcliffe/Rosses Point.
The top team
will go straight through to the semi-finals – a prize worth fighting for – and
both the second and third placed teams will progress to the quarter-final
stage.
St Mary’s
should, on last year’s evidence, be the strongest team here but their struggles
so far this year plus the loss of a number of key players from last years’
campaign means the group is not a foregone conclusion.
Tubbercurry
also have some players abroad but similar to St Mary’s they are likely to
return for the knockout stages should they get there, but whether the players
are returning for a quarter-final or a semi-final remains to be seen.
You would
imagine that Drumcliffe/Rosses Point and Coolera/Strandhill will battle it out
for third place, and with Niall Murphy stateside, it could well mean
Coolera/Strandhill’s poor league form will continue into championship. That
said, Drumcliffe/Rosses Point only just held onto their status in 2015 and it
will be a tight group in any event.
Group Two
Curry, Coolaney/Mullinabreena, Easkey
This is an
intriguing group, where all three teams will harbour hopes of progressing.
Curry –
finalists in 2015 – will expect to progress despite the fact that they have
never quite re-discovered the form of their title-winning campaign of 2012.
That said,
Adrian Marren continues to be one of the county’s most prolific forwards, and
with him in their side Curry will remain a dangerous opposition for any outfit.
Coolaney/Mullinabreena
have been touted as potential champions in some circles though such talk may be
premature, but their league form in finishing in the upper half would indicate
a progression. Quarter-finalists last year, they will look to improve on that
this year and should make it through this group with relative ease.
That would
suggest that Easkey might struggle here on their return to the top flight, but
they could potentially spring a surprise. They lit up the latter stages of last
year’s intermediate championship, and have some promising young players coming
through. However, the step up to senior at this stage may prove a bridge too
far, but they could well retain their status if it comes to a relegation
battle.
Group Three
Calry/St Joseph’s, Eastern Harps,
Tourlestrane
Tourlestrane
are widely regarded as favourites for this year’s title, and given their
unbeaten record in Division One so far this year it is not difficult to see
why.
The
management duo of Eamonn O’Hara and Gerry McGowan have their side well drilled
and there is an abundance of talent at their disposal. They should progress
comfortably from this group, but it won’t be as easy as some people might
expect.
Eastern
Harps are a team with plenty of pedigree and lots of experience and should be
able to cause Tourlestrane more than a few problems. Anything less than a
quarter-final spot would be viewed as a major failure for the men from the
east.
Calry/St
Joseph’s fantastic campaign in 2015 culminated in a narrow semi-final loss, but
it will be very difficult to replicate such a successful championship this
year. They will hope to reach the knockout stages, but will have their work cut
out against two seasoned teams.
Intermediate
Group One
Bunninadden, Shamrock Gaels, St
John’s, St Patrick’s
Like the
senior grade, Group One in the intermediate is a difficult one. The top two
teams are guaranteed to progress – the third will potentially have a play-off –
and at the outset, it is very difficult to call.
St John’s
are a strong outfit at this level, despite the fact that Charlie Harrison is
still ruled out, and they should be progressing here given the quality in their
squad.
Likewise,
Shamrock Gaels are a team with ambitions of going all the way, particularly
after their capitulation to Easkey in last year’s quarter-final and after a
solid Division One campaign they should be well placed to be in the shake-up in
the latter stages.
Bunninadden
and St Patrick’s will probably feel they left a title behind them in recent
years – particularly St Patrick’s – and they face a difficult task to progress
from this group but are capable of doing so if they perform.
Group Two
Castleconnor, Ballymote, Geevagh, Owenmore
Gaels
Geevagh look
set to be the strongest team by a distance in Group Two. The east Sligo men
will be regarded as one of the favourites for the title and given the
strength-in-depth they have they could well go the distance.
Second place
looks set to be Castleconnor’s to lose here despite the fact that they haven’t
scaled the heights of last year, though Kevin McDonnell’s departure to the US
is a hindrance.
Owenmore
Gaels will fancy their chances of upsetting the odds after retaining their
Division Two league status and their success in the Junior grade last year, but
will need a couple of big performances to make an impact.
Ballymote
have endured a torrid time thus far in 2016 and there are few signs that their
struggles will abate before championship. They could well make the drop to
Junior if improvement doesn’t arrive soon.
Group Three
Enniscrone/Kilglass, St Farnan’s, St
Mary’s, St Molaise Gaels
St Molaise
Gaels are head and shoulders above everyone else in Group Three, and are
rightly regarded as favourites for the title outright. Given the fact that they
are contesting the Division One league final, the pedigree of the north Sligo
men is unquestionable.
More
intriguing here is the battle for second place. Enniscrone/Kilglass and St
Farnan’s will clash on the opening weekend, and that could well be the decisive
tie in the group. St Farnan’s have built up a lot of momentum since a
management change mid-season and recently captured the Benson Cup, but
Enniscrone/Kilglass will also harbour hopes of securing a quarter-final spot.
St Mary’s
second string is tipped to be involved in a relegation battle, but are very
capable of springing a surprise.