Race against time to complete U-20

FOR THOSE of you under the impression that the domestic G.A.A. season is over, that’s most definitely not the case. All four Greenstar Under-20 football championships have to be completed, and now there’s a strong chance that they will linger on into early 2020.

It has emerged that new Wexford Senior manager Paul Galvin doesn’t want to compete with a group drawn exclusively from his squad in the O’Byrne Cup, which starts on December 7 with a home game versus Westmeath.

Instead, the county Under-20 backroom team, led by Brendan Kehoe, will be using the three games as championship preparation for their own side.

They have a second pre-Christmas game on December 14, home to Laois, but - if such a case arises - it would hardly be fair at this time of year for young footballers to play championship with their club on a Sunday, just 24 hours after assisting the county.

Leaving that consideration aside, the last of the first round Premier games won’t be played until next weekend, which means at least one quarter-final will still be outstanding by December 7.

Therefore, even with a clear run, both weather-wise and without O’Byrne Cup commitments, the earliest completion dates for both Premier competitions would be December 21-22.

Roinn 1 could be done and dusted one week before, and Roinn 1B might be finished on the same weekend (14-15), but only if Rathgarogue-Cushinstown lose to Réalt na Mara next Sunday.

If they win, their semi-final cannot take place until after their Leinster Junior decider on December 7.