INTERMEDIATE TIER HAS FOUR CRUNCH TIES THIS WEEKEND

AFTER five intense rounds of group games in the Connacht Gold Intermediate Football Championship, we’ve reached the business end of proceedings.

This weekend will decide the finalists and the relegation finalists – what two clubs are closer to glory (promotion) or agony (dropping to Junior

‘A’).

Coincidentally, two clubs that reinvented themselves by winning the Connacht Gold Junior ‘A’ Football Championship in recent years, Easkey and St Patrick’s, meet on Saturday in one of the Intermediate semi-finals (Markievicz Park, 4.30pm).

Easkey, having topped Group Two with a 100% record, would be considered favourites to overcome their west Sligo rivals but they were similarly tipped to prosper at the semi-final stage last year – when up against neighbours St Farnan’s – and things

INTERMEDIATE FIXTURES Saturday, September 24

Easkey v St Patrick’s (Markievicz Park, 4.30pm) (Gus Chapman) Enniscrone-Kilglass v Ballymote (Sligo GAA Centre of Excellence, Scarden, 5pm) (Bill Carty); Geevagh v St John’s (Shamrock Gaels Park, 5pm) (Michael Conway)

Sunday, September 25

St Molaise Gaels v Bunninadden (Markievicz Park, 4.30pm) (John Gilmartin) is good going, as substitute Andrew Kilcullen landed five of his side’s 21 points and the excellent Joe McHugh, who started at full-forward, contributed 0-4 in this 0-21 to 1-9 win.

The west Sligo side were seven points ahead at half-time, 0-12 to 0-5, with five of their scores coming without reply in the opening 12 minutes.

St John’s, who got off the mark with a point from Conor Greene, relied on numerous brilliant saves from goalkeeper Jack Doyle, who prevented the Sea Blues from finding the net in the first-half and the second-half.

Ian Rossiter and county player Paul didn’t go the way of the Sea Blues. While rock-paper-scissors could be used to decide this outcome, although Easkey should be capable of winning, it would be foolish not to expect a tight contest in the following day’s semi-final when St Molaise Gaels take on Bunninadden (Markievicz Park, 4.30pm).

St Molaise Gaels’ firepower could be key and so they’ll hope for a bigger winning margin than last year’s semi-final clash with Bunninadden when just one point separated them. Bunninadden only scored twice in the second-half of that semi-final but they’ve since been boosted by the presence of teenage forward Luke Marren.

So, have a flutter on Easkey and St Molaise Gaels to do the business. In Saturday’s relegation semi-finals, meanwhile, Enniscrone-Kilglass and Geevagh should get the better of Ballymote and St John’s respectively.

BOTH Easkey and St John’s had qualified for semi-finals prior to last Sunday’s Connacht Gold Intermediate Football Championship Group Two clash at the Sligo GAA Centre of Excellence. Therefore, this round five game was meaningless. Easkey are in knockout stages, possibly a step closer to the coveted Senior grade. St John’s, in contrast, are in the relegation play-offs and facing the stark possibility of dropping to the Junior ‘A’ tier for 2023. Still, there was a relatively decent contest served up, with neither side under pressure to win. Easkey broke the 20-point mark, which McNamara pointed for St John’s in that first period but, having already loss three times in this section, theirs was a forlorn plight at the interval. Easkey controlled the second-half and a series of points from Andrew Kilcullen, who bagged three scores in succession, was one of the winners’ highlights. A gutsy St John’s netted a consolation goal in the closing stages at Scarden when Rian Gorman converted a penalty – referee Keith Henry awarded the spot-kick after what turned out to be a significant move that involved Conor Greene, Paul McNamara and Aaron Macken.