There are 12 teams left in the Junior Championship and that will be reduced to eight teams after this weekend.
Thomas Davis v St Peter’s II – Sat 30 Aug – 4pm – Armagh Harps
Thomas Davis will have been disappointed with their display against Crossmaglen IIs last weekend. They lost out by nine-points in a game that ultimately decided who would finish top of the group.
The defeat came at a cost as well as Ryan McWilliams, scorer of two two-pointers, injured his ACL. That will see the Thomas Davis midfielder sidelined for the rest of the season and they’ll miss his presence.
St Peter’s IIs head into the encounter off the back of two defeats in the group. They lost to Clady two weeks ago before suffering a heavy hammering at the hands of Clonmore in round three.
Eire Og v Middletown – Sun 31 Aug – 2pm – Killeavy
This has the potential to be the game of the weekend in the Junior Championship as Eire Og and Middletown lock horns. Both sides will have their sights firmly set on reaching at least the quarter-finals.
Eire Og picked up two victories in their group, defeating both Dorsey and St Michael’s. That gave them a winner takes all clash in the last round with An Port Mor, where they just came up short.
Middletown opened their account with a win over Lissummon before drawing with Redmond O’Hanlon’s. They went into the final round at the top of the table, but ended up finishing third due to their defeat to Ballyhegan.
Ballyhegan v Killeavy II – Sun 31 Aug – 2pm – Granemore
James McCormack and Peter McGrane were back into the fold for Ballyhegan last weekend. They were two massive additions for Paul Dynes and his team as they defeated Middletown to finish second.
Ballyhegan, who finished second in the Division 3A league, are one of the favourites for the Sean Quinn Cup. Killeavy IIs pose a potential banana skin in the playoffs, so they will be wary of that.
Division 3B league champions Killeavy racked up a huge tally of 4-22 last weekend to beat Mullabrack. They’ll know that the challenge of Ballyhegan is a major step up, but one they’ll certainly embrace.
Clady v St Michael’s – Sun 31 Aug – 4pm – Ballymacnab
There is a bit of a derby feel to this one and both sides will be confident of getting a result. Reaching the quarter-finals of the Junior Championship would be a sign of progress for whoever comes out on top.
Clady were really impressive winners over St Peter’s IIs and defeated Killean last weekend as well. They go into Sunday’s showdown without Kieran Connolly however, who suffered a season ending injury against Killean.
St Michael’s lost their opening two games in the championship against An Port Mor and Eire Og. They finally got off the mark last weekend when they saw off Dorsey, winning 0-12 to 0-10 in the end.
