Ballymacnab is the venue for an intriguing Junior Football Championship Quarter Final clash that takes place on Friday evening.
St Michael’s Newtown meet Thomas Davis Corrinshego in what will prove to be an enormous opportunity for one of these teams.
Semi-finals don’t come around too often, and both Newtown and Corrinshego are now just 60 minutes away from reaching the last four of the competition.
Both sides will know the prize on offer and what is at stake when they trade blows to secure that elusive semi-final spot.
The men in maroon and white have already featured in the Junior Championship this season, having won their round one tie.
They saw off Mullabrack in an exciting and close encounter, with one point the winning margin in the end.
Corrinshego certainly didn’t have it all their own way during the opening round as they trailed at the halfway stage, 1-4 to 0-3.
They displayed serious resolve to claw their way back into the game and by the time the final whistle had sounded, Corrinshego were ahead 0-11 to 1-7.
Captain David Murphy is the man that leads the attack and his accuracy in front of the goals is huge for Corrinshego.
It was his ability to split the posts from frees that saw his side eventually get past Mullabrack and his contribution will once again be crucial.
Corrinshego currently sit third from bottom in the Junior league, having picked up just one win, coming on the opening day of the season against Mullabrack.
Newtown likewise only have two points on the board, with their solitary victory also coming over bottom of the table Mullabrack.
St Michael’s have played an extra game in the league however, meaning both these sides have had four outings so far this season.
Belleek, Clady and Derrynoose have all put Newtown to the sword and Cormac Malone’s side are averaging around ten points per game.
A concern may be that they have failed to hit the net in their three most recent encounters, after hitting two on the opening day against Belleek.
Brendan Davidson is the team captain and will hold the position of the main forward on the team and Corrinshego’s biggest concern.
Last seasons Armagh u17 captain Sean McVerry has slotted into midfield this year while his brother James features in the half back line.
This game offers such a huge chance for one of these sides to reach the last four of the tournament, and we could see an interesting battle.
Corrinshego have the experience of reaching the Junior decider as recently as 2017, beating Newtown along the way, and that could have a big barring on the game.
With that in mind, Corrinshego may go into the contest with the favourites tag attached, and will hope to find themselves in the hat for the next round this weekend.
Prediction: Corrinshego
