Weekend previews

SATURDAY, APRIL 20 Group 2 Templenoe v Glenbeigh / Glencar Templenoe 18.30

The way Templenoe have been ripping it up so far this year it’s going to take a hell of a team to stop them from winning this championship, let alone this group. It’s a really daunting assignment Glenbeigh / Glencar have this weekend down in Temple.

Top spot in the group is still up for grabs and a win for Glenbeigh / Glencar could, potentially, see them top the group at their host’s expense. The thing is though it’s quite likely that even if they did manage to sneak a win this Saturday evening it wouldn’t be enough if Spa – as expected – see off Laune Rangers.

Under those circumstances it would come down to score difference and on that metric Templenoe have the other sides in this group well under the thumb. Templenoe won’t want to be relying on score-difference to see them through.

Right now they look a team on a mission. They’ll not blow this chance.

Verdict: Templenoe

Spa v Laune Rangers Spa 18.30

Spa still have an outside chance of getting out of this group, but it’s very much an outside chance. First they’ll need Glenbeigh / Glencar to do them a favour, which as we outline above isn’t altogether that likely.

Secondly they’ll have to win their game with Laune Rangers and do so by a huge margin to stand any chance of overhauling Templenoe’s score-difference advantage. Given how poorly Laune Rangers fared against Temple last weekend there’s a chance they could pull that off.

More likely we’d expect a bit of a bounce back from the Rangers after such a desperately disappointing performance. It probably won’t be enough to save them here though, Spa are too good not to win this game at home.

The play-offs likely beckon the Rangers.

Verdict: Spa SUNDAY, APRIL 21 Group 1 St Marys v Waterville Cahersiveen 14.30

St Marys’ defeat last weekend at the hands of Currow – by a substantial enough margin – was probably the surprise of the weekend. At a stroke it ruled the Marys out of contention for a place in the semi-finals and even more worryingly for the Cahersiveen men put them in danger of having to play in the relegation play-offs.

As of right now they prop up the group and off the back of a nine point defeat Waterville won’t be as fearful of them as they might otherwise be. That said beware the backlash.

Waterville, of course, remain in contention despite their defeat at the hands of Dromid – again in Con Keating Park. They will need Currow to beat Dromid in Dromid and they’ll need to beat St Marys. Both scenarios are cer tainly possible.

We wouldn’t expect there to be too much between these two sides this weekend. A derby game is devilishly difficult to call, but on this occasion we do feel there will be a sufficient enough response from St Marys

Verdict: St Marys

Dromid v Currow Dromid 14.30

Confidence will be surging through Currow this week after their stunning victory of St Marys on home soil last weekend. After an opening day defeat at the hands of Waterville they weren’t expected to get the better of Marys, but they proved themselves exceptional on their home patch.

The question now must be can they translate the form they showed in Currow to Dromid for this showdown with the Pearses. Declan O’Sullivan has again done an exceptional job with his charges to get them into contention.

Their victory over Waterville last weekend – and it was a boost to them that the game was played at a neutral venue – puts them in pole position. Win and they’re through it’s that simple. It’s not quite as simple for Currow. They must win and hope that St Marys get the better of Waterville.

They have a pretty good chance of both those things happening, but with this game being played on their home turf we’d imagine Dromid won’t let such a glorious chance slip.

Verdict: Dromid

Group 3 An Ghaeltacht v Milltown / Castlemaine Gallarus 14.30

This is a pretty straight forward group – the winner will be decided by what happens in Gallarus on Sunday afternoon. It’s not a winner-takes-all affair, a draw will suffice for An Ghaeltacht, but they won’t be playing for a draw.

It affords them that little bit of extra latitude though and if it’s all square with a few minutes to go they won’t be going all out for a winner. Probably it won’t come to that. Back west, with the team that they have, it’s hard to imagine them not getting the result they need against Milltown / Castlemaine.

Milltown / Castlemaine will be reasonably satisfied with how the championship has gone so far for them, last weekend’s draw with Brosna in Currans was a set-back though. That the game would under normal circumstances take place in Milltown is another little wrinkle.

They’re a good team, a solid team, but they’re going up against a potentially exceptional team. The West Kerry men have what it takes to win this game and take their place in the semi-finals.

Verdict: An Ghaeltacht

Brosna v Ardfert Brosna 14.30

It’s been a difficult week for Stephen Wallace’s Ardfert. They were comfor tably beaten by An Ghaeltacht on their home patch, after losing to Milltown / Castlemaine in the opening round. Contrast the margin of defeat they suffered last weekend with how admirably Brosna performed against An Ghaeltacht in Austin Stack Park and there should only be one winner here. Of course it doesn’t always work that way, but home advantage should tell.

Verdict: Brosna