Anything other than a convincing Derrynoose win will come as a surprise. They remain one of the favourites to capture the Sean Quinn Cup.
Brian Hamilton’s side eventually saw off Newtown in the opening round, but it was far from easy.
They withstood a strong second half fightback from St Michael’s, to win by two in the end.
Derrynoose lead by seven at one stage after half time and will be concerned with how they didnt push on from a comfortable position.
They have two super forwards at this level in Davey McCreesh and Conor McNally. A nightmare duo for any defence.
Pearse Lennon performed well at midfield in the opening round, as did Conall McNally in the half forward line.
Paddy Quinn is a powerful runner from deep and his overlapping runs caused Newtown some problems.
Stephen McArdle was also excellent the last day out and defended his six-yard box heroically, keeping a clean sheet.
Paddy Kelly will once again pick up his usually sweeper position while Peter McKearney could return to the fold at the weekend.
Killeavy suffered an awful league campaign where they finished bottom of the pile, losing 13 of their 17 outings.
It’s unlikely they’ll be able to turn it around much for the championship and Derrynoose should be too strong.
The Killeavy captain Raymond Taggart remains one of the best forwards at this level and will be worth keeping an eye on for the Derrynoose rear-guard.
Taggart lines out at centre half forward and is the main scoring threat from frees and open play.
Derrynoose should get through this one comfortably and book their spot in the last four of the competition.
