Collegeland vs Ballyhegan
The lower end of Division 2B is truly a minefield and anyone of the bottom six sides could be sucked into a relegation battle.
Carrickcruppen and Wolfe Tones are too far ahead to be concerned with the bottom end of the table, but none of the other teams would feel that comfortable just yet.
Clonmore look to be on the safe side with eight points while Keady on six will hope to be looking up rather than worrying what’s happening below.
Collegeland currently rest on four points, with Ballyhegan and An Port Mor below on three, while Middletown are bottom of the pile with just two.
Collegeland made the step up to Intermediate football after winning the Junior Championship in 2019.
They won twice in the league last year beating Keady and Middletown, but also ran the likes of An Port Mor, Carrickcruppen and Wolfe Tones extremely close.
Cruppen were much too strong come the championship however with nine points the difference in their opening round tie, 3-8 to 0-8.
Ballyhegan on the other hand earned one of the biggest upsets of 2020 when they defeated Whitecross in the first round of the championship.
That was only their second win of the year, with a 4-13 to 0-9 victory over Middletown their solitary victory in the league.
James McCormack was one of the finds of the season and he is a deadly inside forward with a keen eye for goal.
Throw in the strength and experience of the Courtney brothers Mel and Paul and Ballyhegan have a strong spine.
The returning Jack Rafferty will only add to their strength in the middle while Conal McKeever is also expected to make a comeback.
The accurate corner forward picked up a club All-Star award in 2017 and could form a deadly attacking duo in the inside line with McCormack.
Collegeland are also believed to have made a few big-named additions from last year, and Sunday will tell whether the rumours are true or not.
They will be without their county panellist Cathair McGeary who is still recovering from tearing his cruciate last season.
A win for either one of these teams will be crucial for their hopes of remaining in the division for another year.
Neither has had any competitive action thus far this year, so form will count for nothing, but both know that two points are essential.
