Senior quarter-finals take centre stage

GAA news

There are 16 teams still standing in the Senior, Intermediate and Junior Championships and that number will be reduced to a dozen after this weekend as the SFC quarter-finals are down for decision.

In what has been very much a slow-burner of a championship, it is hoped things may start coming to the boil now that some of the fancied teams are due to meet.

There were no real upsets of note in the 24 group games which added to the sense that it has been a forgettable renewal of the race for the Oliver Plunkett Cup. The championship has produced eight different winners in the last 11 seasons and most of the eight still in the hunt will fancy their chances.

Crosserlough are 11/10 favourites to claim the title for the first time since 2020, with holders Gowna currently rated as 3/1 shots by the bookmakers.

First up on Friday night is the meeting of the two Uniteds, Ramor and Laragh. The Virginia men won the title in 2021 and 2016 and were in the final in 2019 while Laragh haven’t made a senior semi-final in three decades.

However, the Stradone-based side have shown glimpses of their best form in this campaign. While they lost by a point to Cavan Gaels and heavily to Crosserlough, they were impressive in big wins over Lavey and particularly Mullahoran.

While Ramor have had a lot of injuries, their defence has been outstanding and if they can shut down dangerman Paul Smith, they will be well on the way to a sixth semi-final in eight years.

An attractive double-header on Saturday sees old rivals Kingscourt and Cavan Gaels do battle at 4pm followed by the meeting of Killygarry and Gowna.

The Stars won all of their group games, including beating the Gaels in round one with a late smash-and-grab Joe Dillon goal. They are going well and scoring more freely than in previous years, with Dillon and Jordan Morris adding a cutting edge to the attack.

The Gaels lost their opening two games but ground out an important win over Laragh and impressed before a late fade-out against Lacken. They come into the game unsure of their form to some extent but will be very dangerous given their pedigree and know-how. A close and likely physical game is expected with the Stars taken to just edge it.

Gowna’s form has been stuttering thus far; they won their opening three games without really impressing and were well beaten last time out by Ramor. However, they have a number of players who tend to be inconsistent and could potentially catch fire in the knock-out stages.

Killygarry left their poor league form, when they were missing a lot of players, behind them with a good start to championship but injuries to key men Mattie McKenna and Conor Smith may leave them vulnerable and Gowna get the nod in this deciding match of a trilogy (Killygarry beat them in the first round last year but Gowna reversed the result in the final).

The final quarter-final of the weekend is on Sunday evening as neighbours Crosserlough and Ballinagh face off. As the only unbeaten side in the county this year in all competitions, Jimmy Higgins’s side are hot favourites to advance to the last four.

Elsewhere, in the relegation play-offs, Castlerahan host Mullahoran and Lacken are at home against Lavey.

FIXTURES

Kiernan’s Service Stations Senior Championship 2023

Fri, 22 Sep, Venue: Kingspan Breffni, Ramor United V Laragh Utd 20:00, Ref: TBC

Sat, 23 Sep, Venue: Kingspan Breffni, Kingscourt Stars V Cavan Gaels 16:00, Ref: TBC

Sat, 23 Sep, Venue: Kingspan Breffni, Killygarry V Gowna 18:00, Ref: TBC

Sat, 23 Sep, Venue: Lacken GAA, Lacken V Lavey 15:30, Ref: TBC

Sat, 23 Sep, Venue: Fay Park, Castlerahan V Mullahoran 15:30, Ref: TBC

Sun, 24 Sep, Venue: Kingspan Breffni, Crosserlough V Ballinagh 18:00, Ref: TBC

McEvoys Supervalu Virginia Intermediate Championship 2023

Sat, 23 Sep, Venue: Pairc Naomh Fionnan, Cornafean V Drumgoon 15:00, Ref: TBC

Sat, 23 Sep, Venue: Rory O Moore Park, Belturbet V Bailieborough 15:30, Ref: TBC

Michael Fitzpatrick Architects Ltd Junior Championship 2023

Sun, 24 Sep, Venue: Kingspan Breffni, Redhills V Munterconnaught 14:00, Ref: TBC

Sun, 24 Sep, Venue: Kingspan Breffni, Killeshandra V Kill Shamrocks 16:00, Ref: TBC

Kiernans Service Station Reserve Championship 2023

Sun, 24 Sep, Venue: Emmett Park Butlersbridge, Killygarry V Cavan Gaels 14:00, Ref: TBC

McEvoys Supervalu Virginia Reserve Championship 2023

Sun, 24 Sep, Venue: O’Hagan Park Shercock, Knockbride V Killinkere 14:00, Ref: TBC

Michael Fitzpatrick Architects Ltd Reserve Championship 2023

Sun, 24 Sep, Venue: P.J Duke Park, Drumgoon V Crosserlough 14:00, Ref: TBC

Sun, 24 Sep, Venue: St Anne’s Park Bailieborough, Cootehill V Lavey 14:00, Ref: TBC