Last chance saloon for several clubs in football championship
WE’RE approaching the business end of the Galway senior club football championship with the final round of the groups stage taking place this weekend.
A handful of teams have already qualified for the quarter-finals, and are battling it out for the top spot to earn a seeded draw (table-toppers face group runners-up in the last eight, which is decided by an open draw).
Teams that finish third are safe, and will have no further involvement this year. There are a number of teams who already know they’ll be in a relegation battle but there is still everything to play for in terms of retaining senior status: teams that finish fourth in their group will have two chances to avoid the drop to intermediate and fifth placed teams will have just one chance at staying senior.
A number of teams, such as Caherlistrane, could finish second, third or fourth in their group; An Cheathrú Rua versus Claregalway is a straight shoot-out to avoid a relegation play-off and the winner of Monivea/Abbey and Moycullen advances to the quarter-final.
Meanwhile, in the intermediate championship quarter-finals on Saturday, in a double-header at Pearse Stadium, An Spidéal face Menlough (3pm) and Oranmore/Maree take on Mícheál Breathnach (4.45pm); on Sunday, in Rosmuc at 3pm Aran Islands face Clifden, and at 4.15pm in Tuam Stadium, Dunmore take on Headford.
GROUP ONE: Saturday
An Cheathrú Rua v Claregalway
(Moycullen, 3.30pm)
This season was all about consolidation for Claregalway, the 2017 intermediate champions, and this relatively young side will achieve that aim with a win here to secure third place. Wing-back Jack Glynn, injured against Cortoon, is okay again. Midfielder Conor Glynn is one of a few players away in the United States who will be available in the coming weeks but obviously manager Alan Moran is hoping that won’t be necessary.
An Cheathrú Rua were in pole position against St. James’, seven points up midway through the first-half, but were undone by the brilliance of Eoin Concannon and lost by five, a 12 points turnaround. Turnovers from short kick-outs proved costly. The Connemara men are always hardworking and honest but a few key men went missing and they relied too heavily on Oisín Ó Gríofa. They’re on a slippery slope having lost their last two games, including a morale sapping tanking to Corofin. The losers face a relegation battle.
Verdict: Claregalway
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
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