Sunday’s last four ties are probably too close to call
THEN there were four. Following a group stage that produced several twists and a number of unforeseen turns, we have arrived at the semi-finals of the Homeland Senior Football Championship.
It is rare to find four semi-finalists that each could be justifiably regarded as contenders. Drumcliffe-Rosses Point and Shamrock Gaels are still the outside bets, however, with the smart money on holders Tourlestrane and St Mary’s to contest the final.
The first of Sunday’s semi-finals at Markievicz Park sees St Mary’s take on Drumcliffe-Rosses Point (2pm). This is followed by the clash of Tourlestrane and Shamrock Gaels (4.15pm).
Two referees from west Sligo take charge of these mouthwatering games – Michael Duffy will oversee the meeting of St Mary’s and DrumcliffeRosses Point (otherwise known as DRP), with Ronan Hynes in charge of the day’s second major fixture.
Each of the four semi-finalists have shown sufficient quality to get to this stage of the competition.
St Mary’s are the last club to win the Owen B Hunt Cup (2015) before the Tourlestrane Takeover – the south Sligo club, of course, have claimed the last six titles (2016-2021). Drumcliffe-Rosses Point, who’ve never won this title, are one win away from reaching their second county final in three years.
Shamrock Gaels, who are 50 years old this year, have won the coveted Owen B Hunt Cup on two occasions but have to go back to 1992 for their last success, when dads and uncles of current players were involved. Tourlestrane, going for a seventh
CONTEST: Action from a Sligo SFC game between St Mary’s and Drumcliffe-Rosses Point in 2014. Mark Breheny, is now manager of St Mary’s, while Neil Ewing, is still playing for Drumcliffe-Rosses Point, who face St Mary’s in this Sunday’s county semi-final.
successive title, are, you’d imagine, not lacking motivation.
St Mary’s, even without forward Kyle Cawley, would seem to have enough quality attackers to hurt
Drumcliffe-Rosses Point – consider how DRP will have to curb Nathan Rooney, Emlyn Mulligan and Stephen Coen. Gerard O’Kelly-Lynch and Paul Kilcoyne should also be prominent for
the team managed by Mark Breheny. The big question is whether St Mary’s will find scope to play their own game because of the DrumcliffeRosses Point system, one that caught
year’s Sligo SHC, beating Naomh Eoin and Calry-St Joseph’s, are fortunate to have got meaningful tests in the Cúchulainn Senior Hurling League, an inter-club competition established by the GAA this year.
Western Gaels reached the last four because of Coolera-Strandhill’s 2-15 to 1-7 home defeat of Calry-St Joseph’s last Sunday. The west Sligo side, last county champions in 2010, won two of their five group games – they recorded one-point victories against Calry-St Joseph’s and Tourlestrane.
Coolera-Strandhill (third in the standings) will take on Naomh Eoin (second in the standings) in the other Sligo Senior Hurling Championship semi-final – which is scheduled for Saturday week, October 8.
When they met in the fourth round of the group stage, Naomh Eoin were 3-25 to 2-14 winners at Kent Park, although they were eight points down at one stage in the first-half. Naomh Eoin completed their
Coolera-Strandhill and almost choked Tourlestrane.
Still, it would be unfair to simply put Drumcliffe-Rosses Point’s progress down to tactics – midfielder Cian Lally has been their driving force but it is vital for manager Fergal O’Flaherty that Sean Power is available.
Ross Chambers and James Donlon have also done well for the 2020 county finalists.
Shamrock Gaels will be looking to three key scorers – Shane Deignan, Lee Deignan and David Quinn – in their clash with Tourlestrane.
Shane Deignan has starred, in particular, and don’t forget the defensive nous of Evan Lyons.
This would appear a better Shamrock Gaels side than what took on Tourlestrane in the county semi-final three years ago (that game ended in a one-sided victory for the green and gold). The pressure may be on
group schedule with a 3-30 to 0-7 hammering of bottom of the table Tourlestrane.
The Sligo Senior Hurling Championship final and the ‘B’ decider (featuring the losing semi-finalists) will go ahead on Sunday, October 23.
STANDINGS
P 5 5 5 5 5 5
W DLFA Diff 5 0 0 80 30 +50 4 0 1 142 89 +53 3 0 2 111 66 +45 2 0 3 62 80 -18 1 0 4 82 131 -49 0 0 5 37 118 -81
and Geevagh were three-point winners over St John’s, 1-8 to 0-8. The second tier relegation final between Ballymote and St John’s goes ahead on Saturday week, October 8 (venue and time to be confirmed). The loser drops to Junior ‘A’ level. SENIOR RELEGATION PLAY-OFFS Played on Saturday, September 24
SEMI-FINALS: Coolaney-Mullinabreena 2-11, Tubbercurry 4-18; St Farnan’s 1-17, Curry 1-13
Sunday, October 2
FINAL: Coolaney-Mullinabreena v Curry (Kilcoyne Park, Tubbercurry, 12 noon)