Cavan Gaels' Paul Graham.

SFC previews: Could there be some upsets on the cards?

Paul Fitzpatrick previews this weekend's Senior Football Championship matches.

Kingscourt v Shercock
Fri, 8.15pm, Mullagh

This local derby has been a rare fixture of late – while the teams will be very familiar with each other from amalgamating at underage and playing county football as well as the managerial links, they have not met in a senior game for many years.
Things change quickly in a rapidfire championship. If someone had said a fortnight ago that Shercock might fancy their chances against the Stars, they may have been laughed at. But the last round of matches will have adjusted people’s perceptions – Kingscourt, who had beaten Lavey, were exposed by Lacken while Shercock, trounced by Crosserlough, should have beaten Gowna and ended up with a draw.
Suddenly, the village club may feel that the men from the neighbouring town are vulnerable. Are they? Certainly there have been a lot of changes in the Kingscourt dressing-room in recent seasons and the Stars are in transition but they do still have a strong spine. They are bringing through younger players, several of whom have done well, but it’s a big step up and a physical and fairly seasoned Shercock represents a real test.
With local bragging rights up for grabs, this one may be feisty. There is likely not going to be much in it but a Shercock win, while it would be a famous one for last year’s intermediate winners, would not represent a massive shock in our eyes.
That said, Kingscourt are still favourites and if they can get big performances from Barry Reilly and Joe Dillon in particular up front, they should win this with a few to spare. If they don’t, they can forget about winning the championship this year.
For Shercock, Ryan Clerkin was immense last time out and will again be a go-to man along with county players Killian Clarke and Niall Clerkin and their former Cavan colleague Brian Sankey.
Verdict: Kingscourt

Cootehill v Lacken
Sat, 2pm, Ballyhaise

Lacken are unbeaten in two championship matches (against Ramor and Kingscourt) and will come into this game as favourites but they would be well advised to underestimate the ‘other’ Celtics at their peril.
Cootehill sometimes struggle for consistency but on their day they can live with any side in the county – witness their championship draw with Cavan Gaels last year and victory over them the year before, their win over Castlerahan in this year’s league and, most pertinently for this weekend, their win over a bouyant Crosserlough last time out.
Lacken beat Cootehill by five points in the league back in April but the Hoops have picked up since while Lacken’s form tailed off for a while, although they ended a winless seven-match run last time which should boost confidence.
It’s hard to know what sort of performance Cootehill will turn in but what’s certain is that they have pace in key areas which could potentially hurt Lacken, who are not the fastest side, ball-carrying big men Thomas Galligan and Niall McKiernan aside.
Both of those were excellent last time out but while Cootehill may possibly struggle to handle a big target man like McKiernan, the wily former county man John McCutcheon could well limit the influence of Galligan, who is a decade or so his junior.
Cootehill will know that if they can stop those two, Lacken will struggle for scores but there is no lack of character or endeavour in the Crowe Park outfit.
In boxing, they say styles make fights and this clash has the makings of a cracker between two sides with contrasting qualities. Lacken need more from the likes of talented forward Paul Leddy and may even throw veteran Finbar O’Reilly in from the start this time in search of scores – if it’s not one of those, maybe Shane Moynagh may chip in with a few like he did against Kingscourt.
The venue should suit Cootehill, who have a wider spread of dangers up front in Colm Smith, Tom Hayes et al and with the gifted Enda Hessin coming back into the mix, they may just about snatch this one.
Verdict: Cootehill

 

Castlerahan v Ramor
Sat, 2pm, Crosskeys

This is the tie of the round, without doubt between the sides ranked second and third respectively in the betting to win it outright. Both are unbeaten to date – Castlerahan drew with Cavan Gaels and beat Cootehill while Ramor shared the spoils with Lacken and beat Killygarry.
In a way, from a neutral point of view, it’s a pity that the circumstances were not different. A loss for either side would not be fatal, although it would mean they need to win their final group match to go through to the quarters, a position neither will want to be in.
The form players on each side include Paul Smith and Brían O’Connell. Castlerahan must limit O’Connell’s dominance around the middle third, particularly on kick-outs, while Conor Bradley is the pulse of the Ramor attack and along with Jack Brady, has the potential to score heavily. Needless to say, they will also take some watching.
However, aside from Smith (the launchpad for so many attacks), Castlerahan have aces in their defensive pack in county players Fergal Reilly and Oisin Kiernan. Cian Mackey and Ronan Flanagan have been doing quite well but have more in the tank and if they are to win this match, they will need them that talented duo to contribute more.
It’s a toin coss, this one so we will, accordingly, stay on the fence.
Verdict: Draw

Crosserlough v Ballinagh
Sat, 6pm, Ballymachugh

Ballinagh, after a torrid start to the league, improved greatly and looked to be going places but their form has deserted them to an alarming degree in the championship. And with key man Patrick Carroll having picked up an injury, things look to have gone from bad to worse for Ollie Fay’s charges.
Crosserlough were flat against Cootehill but are surely better than they showed on that occasion and definitely seem to have more pace than their near neighbours.
Ballinagh have been a great side for a number of years but they are aging and the old defiance may have been diluted a little. Unless they can rediscover their best form and get huge games out of chief score-getters Niall McDermott, Eamon McEvoy and Co, a relegation battle beckons.
Verdict: Crosserlough

Cavan Gaels v Gowna
Sat, 6pm, Crowe Park

This fixture could be the most revealing of the weekend.
Have reports of Cavan Gaels’s demise been exaggerated or are they really on the wane? To be fair, it says a lot about the standards the team have set under Jason O’Reilly that two losses (one by a point) and a draw can be construed as a mini crisis.
Gowna are unexposed at present, having beaten Ballinagh well and while they will feel they underperformed against Shercock last time out, such variances in performance levels are common to young sides and Gowna are that right now.
They veered wildly in the league too but when they were good, they were very good, with the draw against Saturday’s opponents an eyecatching result. Oisin Pierson and Cian Madden were the marquee names on the Cavan minor side which reached the All-Ireland semi-final last year and both have continued to develop, while the powerful Conor Brady has impressed greatly too.
The Gaels, though, represent a real step-up from Ballinagh and Shercock. The county champions may be regarded as a stylish attacking side – and any team with ball-strikers of the quality of Martin Dunne et al is certainly that – but their defence is as mean as any too, in the literal sense.
They will welcome the challenge of taking on the young Gowna strikeforce. Could the Gowna lads come of age and shoot their side to an unexpected win, in the process almost certainly dumping the champions out of the competition? Yes, they could. Will they? Probably not.
The Gaels have too much experience and too much quality and if they get a lead here, they could potentially post a cricket score. But if Gowna can hang with them until the third quarter at least, we will get the answers to a few of these questions about the potential of the boys from the lough shore and whether the Gaels’ bellies are full. A fascinating match is in store.
Verdict: Cavan Gaels

Lavey v Killygarry
Sat, 6pm, Virginia

This championship just keeps on giving. This game should draw a large crowd to Dolan Park on Saturday evening as two of the leadings teams in the county lock horns.
Both play a similarly attractive brand of football. The Lavey half-back line was exceptional last time out while Killygarry attacking duo Martin Reilly and Conor Smith starred against Cavan Gaels. Something has to give and it could come down to a traditional midfield battle.
Ryan Brady and Paddy Lynch have done fairly well there thus far while Lavey’s Damien Smith and Paul Gilchreest excelled against Ballinagh.
The feeling is that Lavey are coming into form at the right time but Killygarry probably don’t get the respect they deserve based on the fact that they haven’t yet made a championship final.
But they’ve been there or thereabouts for a decade now and are probably as strong now as they were at any time. A shoot-out is likely here and it genuinely could go either way.
Verdict: Killygarry