A weekend of championship drama ahead!

IT’S a massive weekend for Wicklow GAA as the semi-finals of three adult football competitions are up for decision across Saturday and Sunday afternoons in Aughrim and Arklow.

Top of the bill are the appetising pair of Renault Senior football championship semi-finals with Baltinglass taking on Bray Emmets on Saturday afternoon at 4.45pm and the St Pat’s v. Blessington clash taking place on Sunday at 3.15pm.

Bray’s worthy victory over the Rathnew men was seen as something of a shock by most in the county but the dual club were one of the few who stood a chance of upsetting last year’s champions with fitness and no shortage of footballing ability being the major strings to their bow. Key to their victory was the performance of Paul O’Keeffe in the goals who repelled the aerial bombardment down on top of James Stafford at a key stage in the game with coolness and calmness in the face of a tactic that has undone many other teams in the county.

In front of O’Keeffe will likely be the very talented full-back line of Shane Lohan, Adam Benson, and Dáire Henderson who restricted the starting Rathnew full-forward line to a single point from play in the quarter-final so Baltinglass’ inside line of Daniel Kelly, Sean O’Brien and Joey Kelly may find it hard to come by scores come Saturday afternoon.

The trouble with previewing this game is the amount of injuries picked up by both teams. The Rathnew game took its toll on the Bray squad and may have weakened their stronger lines but they do possess a feisty half-back line in Eoin McCormack, Ben McCormack, and Cathal Ó Dúlacháin and they will have to contend with the dangerous John McGrath and whoever partners him with rumours that Henry Synnott may be unavailbe through injury and a wedding abroad.

Kevin Murphy and Jason Kenny are a dynamic pair for Paul Garrigan and their tussle with Rory Breslin and Niall Gaffney, providing they all start in the middle of the park, will go along way to deciding the outcome of this game but again there is talk of an injury to Kevin Murphy which would be a big blow for Baltinglass.

In the Rathnew game the intelligence in the Bray half-forward line of Niall McGraynor, John Henderson, and Arran Murphy proved very damaging to the Rathnew rearguard with Henderson’s goal coming at a key time in the game.

Up front, the influence of Marc Lennon could be massive in this game but if Paul Cunningham has a good day at the office then the Baltinglass full-back line could be in for a tough time.

Baltinglass are very much coming in under the radar. Their difficulty in disposing of Coolkenno in the quarter-final could suggest that they will struggle in the business end but Paul Garrigan has went about his business with a real professionalism and he will have explored every possible tactic and strategy in the run up to this game and Bray’s weak points will be exposed. Also, the Coolkenno game was always going to be a dogfight and was probably the hardest to call of the quarter-finals.

Key for the Balto men is county star John McGrath. A good day for McGrath is a very good day for Baltinglass.

They will deploy Ian Sheerin as a sweeper and they will attack on the break with runners coming from deep and if they get a run on Bray early on they could be very hard stopped.

The problem for Bray is whether they can deliver another performance like that against Rathnew. Gone is the surprise and the throwing caution to the wind and in their place is pressure to win and an expectation that wasn’t there against the Village. Can they bear that load? It’s impossible to tell.

Prediction - The dreamers will say Bray by a very narrow margin in what could be an amazing year for the dual club but the realists will say Baltinglass.

On Sunday, Robert Hollingsworth will send out his Pat’s team to face the threat of Barry O’Donovan’s Blessington side in the second semi-final.

This is a most intriguing battle where both sets of talented attackers will look to shake free of the shackles of two feverish full-back lines.

The problem for Pat’s is the very poor test they received in the quarter-finals.

Blessington on the other hand may have eased out to a significant win over Avondale but they were pushed hard for a time at least.

Pat’s sauntered from pillar to post against the unfortunate Magpies and will not have faced a task as stiff as that which Blessington will provide so how Padraig Higgins, Emmet Cullen, and Ciaran Doyle handle the likes of Michael Nugent, Curtis Geraghty and Mikey O’Connor is anyone’s guuess. Geragthy bagged 2-03 against Avondale, O’Connor grabbed three points and Nugent fired over two.

Another concern for Robert Hollingsworth and company will be the fact that they failed to score a goal against the depleted Magpies. They will surely need at least one goal to get past the Blessington challenge.

Likwise at the other end, how will Barry Murphy, Michael McLoughlin and Stephen Bohan cope with Tommy Kelly and Eamonn Wolfe. Jack Gilligan is also a very decent option at corner-back.

Stephen Duffy is likely to sweep around the middle so Blessington will probably leave Murphy, Bohan or Gilligan back there to support their colleagues but if Tommy Kelly can improve on that form against Newtown against a more formidable opponent we could see goals galore in this game.

The midfield battle will be key with Dean Healy and Jonathan Delahunt coming up against the very formidable Paul McLoughlin and Gavin Murray with Murray no doubt profiting from his Aussie Rules experiences earlier in the summer. The danger for Blessington’s midfield partnership is the possible return of David Boothman. Who might make way?

Paudge McWalter is a massive player in this game and it’s how Blessington decide to react to him that could very well decide the outcome on Sunday.

Leave him with the run of the field and he will slice you open with those trademark passes and searing runs, contain him and you will go along way to setting your side up for victory.

McWalter, of course, will have to contend with the threat of Bryan Carroll or Patrick O’Connor at his own end of the field and that may contain him in itself. Kevin John Rogers and Anthony McLoughlin are also key players for O’Donovan’s men.

But it’s the two younger members of the Pat’s team that could be the biggest players on the day for me. The half-forward pair of John Crowe and Conor Ffrench could torment the Blessington defence if they are on song and this meeting of two of Wicklow’s strongest clubs is certainly one not to be missed. Prediction - Blessington after a savage battle. The IFC semi-finals throw up two very interesting battles. AGB seem to be the team with the best potential future at the higher grade but they have to prove their worth first and gain promotion. To do this they have to outwit Jonathan Daniels and his Kilmac men and that will be no easy task.

In the other semi-final, the men of Ballinacor will take on Donard-The Glen and this will be an absolute belter of a game.

Conor Parsons is key for Ballinacor while Brian Lennon and Alan Daly will need to be at their best to fire the west side to the county final.

On Saturday the Junior ‘A’ football semi-finals take place. First up is Ashford and St Pat’s in Arklow at 3pm followed by Coolboy v. Kilcoole at 4.30pm.