Sligo Club Football & Hurling

[Teeling Gael]

Hard to believe after last weekend that the club championship is upon us. Part of me felt they should have just continued with the league but if Sligo progress from 1/4 final there would be a fixtures pile up in the club championship. In fairness it must be very hard for the county guys to go from the celebratory few days they are having, to the club championship, especially with one eye on Croke Park.

Tubber vrs Curry is undoubtedly the big match of the weekend in easily the most competitive group. Just about think Curry will win. Coolera vrs Ballymote should be an intriguing match with Ballymote mixing some excellent performances with some poor ones all year. Coolera have to step it from playing 1B teams but if their county guys heads are at all right , you would expect them to win. Harps should beat Marys whilst Johns unpredictability means its very hard to predict the outcome of their game with Castleconnor. Think Castleconnor might just have the edge. Bunninadden should beat Calry though Calry are improving as the year progresses .  I expect Geevagh to beat Shamrock Gaels in a tasty looking local derby and Easkey should have enough for Drumcliff  in the other match here.

In the Intermediate Harps will beat Tourlestrane and Curry should beat Ballisodare though both should be slightly weaker than in the league because of the 14 man league rule . Mholaises will beat Cloonacool and in one of the games of the whole weekend I expect the very unpredictable St Pats to beat Farnans in tight tense match.I wouldn't however rule Farnans out of winning the whole Championship. Expect Coolaney to beat Marys who I'd imagine will be using some of their better intermediates from last year for senior duty  but with Marys its always hard to know. Incidentially this would be Coolaneys first win since March but if thet got on a run they will be competitive in this championship. Despite our recent habit of starting Championships well  , enniscrone will fancy their chances against us . In fairness in the latter group you could make a case for each team to win or come bottom.

On paper , Id expect Tourlestrane , Curry , Harps and Coolera to be the main contenders in the senior with Tourlestrane getting my vote . The intermediate should be between Farnans , Harps , Mholaise and Pats with a reluctant vote here for St Mholaises.             

[magpie seanie]

Johnny Mac is out for Saturday and Karol O'Neill is doubtful for our weekend game with Ballymote. Such a crucial game for both clubs. I expect a dogfight with a point or two in it either way. I just hope we can swing it.

Some great ties elsewhere and Curry v. Tubber is the pick I'd say. Geevagh v. Shamrock Gaels will also be very tasty as will the intermediate tie between Farnans and Pats. Predictions below:

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Curry V Ballisodare - Curry for me in this one but not by a huge amount.

Tourlestrane V Eastern Harps - Harps will win this handy.

St Patricks V St Farnans - Should be Farnans but have they the wherewithal for championship battle? You'd think they have to come good sooner or later. Wouldn't put very much on it but will go for Pats in a tight one.

Cloonacool V St Molaise Gaels - After a good start to the season Molaise have wobbled a bit recently. Will have too much for Cloonacool though.

Owenmore Gaels V Enniscrone - Have the Owenmore lads got someone to hold Mark Gordon? I think they don't and that will be crucial. Sorry to my friends on here but Enniscrone by 4 or 5.

St Marys V Coolaney/Mullinabreena - Despite a second successive "annus horribilus" the 2005 Intermedaite champions to record a win here.


SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

St Johns V Castleconnor - John's have serious talent but venue (Enniscrone) will hardly suit them. Castleconnor have to win this or pack up the tent and their opening championship foray in recent years would have you worried for them. Still, think "home" advantage and more settled team will see them edge it.

Eastern Harps V St Mary's - Has to be Harps by about 5 or 6.

Ballymote V Coolera/Strandhill - See above.

Tubbercurry V Curry - Going to go out on a limb and call this one for Tubbercurry. They seem to be coming right at the right time.

Geevagh V Shamrock Gaels - Geevagh by 2 and 4 sent off.

Easkey V Drumcliffe Rosses Point - Easkey's experience to get them through by 4.

Calry/St Josephs V Bunninadden - Bunnies to win by 5 and get a dose of earache.

[Owenmoresider]

Meant to reply regarding the Championship before now but neglected to do so. Anyway the games this evening went as expected, barring the draw with Geevagh and Shamrock Gaels, with not a red card in sight much to one's disappointment. Coolera stumbled but got over Ballymote's challenge eventually, five points in it at the finish. Harps gave Mary's a hiding, Curry sneaked past Tubber to start their title defence also. In the Intermediate St. Molaise Gaels brushed aside Cloonacool with ease. No word from the North v West confrontations yet.

As to tomorrow, hard to know how our game will go. Enniscrone have been brutal in the league, but then so have all four teams in the group. We could do it but I'd be doubtful until the end of injury time in Tourlestrane. Elsewhere Mullinabreena, Harps, Curry, Farnan's to win, and the Bunnies to win in Senior, though Calry won't make it too easy for them.

For the groups overall, bearing in mind that the SFC won't resume until next month:
A - Harps and who knows. Mary's are not going well and may not get out of it. If John's won tonight, and then don't bend over humbly when meeting their neighbours then they could get through.
B - Curry and Coolera (tonight's results did give a better position to call this though)
C - Easkey and Geevagh (Drumcliffe game critical for them and Shams)
D - Tourlestrane and Bunnies

Intermediate (only one game played yet, and a no-brainer at that):
A - Harps and Curry
B - Farnan's and Pat's
C - SMG and St. Michael's
D - Mullinabreena and Enniscrone, sure we're glad just to be in it etc. etc.

[Owenmoresider]

The results from Round One, all the surprises saved for Sunday's action:

McCormack Fuels - Intermediate Championship

Group A Round 1
          Curry                         3-11          Ballisodare                           1-6
          Tourlestrane                0-9           Eastern Harps                       0-4

Group B Round 1
          St Patricks                   1-10          St Farnans                           2-12

Group C Round 1
          Cloonacool                   1-9           St Molaise Gaels                    1-18

Group D Round 1
          Owenmore Gaels           1-9           Enniscrone                          1-9
          St Marys                     3-11          Coolaney/Mullinabreena          1-11

Sligo Estates - Senior Championship

Group A Round 1
          Eastern Harps               1-14          St Marys                             0-8
          St Johns                     0-14          Castleconnor                        0-6

Group B Round 1
          Ballymote                    0-9           Coolera/Strandhill                 1-11
          Tubbercurry                 0-9           Curry                                 0-11

Group C Round 1
          Easkey                       2-7           Drumcliffe Rosses Pt              0-13
          Geevagh                     0-11          Shamrock Gaels                    0-11

Group D Round 1
          Calry/St Josephs           2-9           Bunninadden                       0-11


Pretty bizarre game in Tourlestrane today. Enniscrone, not noted as the dirtiest side (at least not by the high Western standards ), managed to reach half-time with 13 against our 15, after a stupid kick out at our man by their wing-forward, and then a one-man verbal assault on the ref, which went on repeatedly (booking already got) until the obligatory red was brandished, head-the-ball stuff. To make matters worse we led 0-4 to 0-1, but Enniscrone then got control to go in front, as we made a hames of the extra men situation. A fortunate goal put them back ahead, and then they got a "point" (blatant wide to all bar the Enniscrone umpire) to go four clear near the end. We got it back to three before our Connacht medallist went on a charge in injury time, ending up burying the ball to the net, agus sin é.

A point won, but one lost at the same time. They aren't hectic and their infighting is remarkable, taking off your leading forward when two men down isn't nominally advisable, even though they were better as time wore on. Won't win nothing, and neither will we, but a QF place is very much up for grabs now. A big surprise in the other game - Mullinabreena's year goes from bad to worse, beaten by Mary's. Harps' loss to Tourlestrane is a puzzler too. And Farnan's might come good yet, beating Pat's in their local derby.

In Senior, Bunninadden are on the way to another handy group muck-up, losing to Calry. Elsewhere yesterday John's beat C'connor well, look good for the QF's after that. Two draws in Group C, Easkey and Drumcliffe ending level also.

[Owenmoresider]

Contrary to speculation, it's league fare for all sides next weekend. Round 13 to be played on the 28th/29th also. Championship on the backburner.

Sligo Park Hotel - League Division 1A

Round No. 12

Ballymote                   V Bunninadden                       Sat 21-Jul-07  7:30 PM      Michael Duffy
Castleconnor                V Eastern Harps                      Sat 21-Jul-07  7:30 PM      Dermot Mullaney
Easkey                      V Tourlestrane                       Sat 21-Jul-07  7:30 PM      TJ Keavney
St Marys                    V Curry                               Sat 21-Jul-07  7:30 PM      Marty Duffy

EJ Menswear - League Division 1B

Round No. 12

Calry/St Josephs           V Drumcliffe Rosses Pt              Sat 21-Jul-07  7:30 PM      Tomas Walsh
Coolera/Strandhill          V St Johns                            Sat 21-Jul-07  7:30 PM      Ciaran O'Donnell
Enniscrone                  V Tubbercurry                        Sat 21-Jul-07  7:30 PM      Trevor Feeney
Shamrock Gaels            V St Farnans                         Sat 21-Jul-07  7:30 PM      Des Henry

Leonard Building Supplies - League Division 2A

Round No. 12

Coolaney/Mullinabreena    V St Michaels                         Sat 21-Jul-07  7:30 PM      Seán Rooney
Eastern Harps              V Geevagh                           Sun 22-Jul-07  12:00PM      John Niland
Owenmore Gaels           V St Molaise Gaels                   Sat 21-Jul-07  7:30 PM      Dan McKeon
St Patricks                  V Coolera/Strandhill                   Fri 20-Jul-07  8:00 PM      Pat McDermott

Murphy & Sons Auctioneers - League Division 2B

Round No. 12

Ballisodare                  V St Marys                           Sun 22-Jul-07  12:00PM      Declan O'Boyle
Calry/St Josephs           V Cloonacool                          Fri 20-Jul-07  8:00 PM      Michael Harte
St Michaels                 V Curry                               Sun 22-Jul-07  12:00PM      Eugene McHale

[Owenmoresider]

Looking at the tables, a defeat for Mary's next weekend means the end of their top-flight status, first time to happen them, and I'm sure the regulars here have plenty of sympathy for their fall. Coolera and Tubber could/will be promoted from 1B, Enniscrone to go down from it, Harps can go up from 2A, and Coolera drop down, and Curry and Cloonacool can go up in 2B. A tough task for us, with Pat's seeking a probable win, and Mullinabreena trying to avoid capping off a nightmare year - they might save that for the next round of Championship!

Senior League Division 1A - Sponsored by Sligo Park Hotel

Team  Played   Won   Drawn   Lost   G F   P F   G A   P A   Points   
Tourlestrane  11   9   1   1   11   102   6   80   19   

Curry  11   8   1   2   13   98   5   70   17   

Eastern Harps  11   8   0   3   15   117   7   90   16   

Ballymote  11   4   2   5   4   107   11   95   10   

Easkey  11   4   1   6   12   97   12   108   9   

Bunninadden  11   4   0   7   9   110   9   105   8   

Castleconnor  11   3   0   8   9   85   11   121   6   

St Marys  11   1   1   9   4   74   16   121   3   




Senior League Division 1B - Sponsored by E.J's Menswear

Team  Played   Won   Drawn   Lost   G F   P F   G A   P A   Points   
Coolera/Strandhill  11   9   0   2   11   122   7   92   18   

Tubbercurry  11   7   2   2   15   98   10   84   16   

Drumcliffe Rosses Pt  11   5   3   3   15   95   9   97   13   

Calry/St Josephs  11   4   3   4   5   100   7   97   11   

Shamrock Gaels  11   5   1   5   12   96   8   107   11   

St Farnans  11   3   3   5   11   102   16   98   9   

St Johns  11   3   1   7   11   93   14   100   7   

Enniscronne  11   1   1   9   6   69   15   100   3   




Intermediate League Division 2A - Sponsored by Leonard Building Supplies

Team  Played   Won   Drawn   Lost   G F   P F   G A   P A   Points   
Eastern Harps  11   10   0   1   15   133   7   78   20   
Geevagh  10   8   0   2   16   108   5   66   16   
St Molaise Gaels  11   7   1   3   9   111   9   71   15   
St Michaels  11   5   1   5   6   94   15   81   11   
Owenmore Gaels  11   3   2   6   9   78   12   89   8   
St Pats  11   3   1   7   12   78   7   123   7   
Coolaney/Mullinabreena  9   2   2   5   8   56   11   83   6   
Coolera/Strandhill  10   0   1   9   6   39   15   106   1   



Intermediate League Division 2B - Sponsored by Murphy & Son's Auctioneers

Team  Played   Won   Drawn   Lost   G F   P F   G A   P A   Points   
Cloonacool  11   9   1   1   11   87   8   67   19   

Curry  10   8   1   1   7   75   8   49   17   

St Michaels  11   6   2   3   10   92   7   83   14   

St Farnans  11   5   2   4   13   81   12   82   12   

Calry/St Josephs  11   2   2   7   10   76   19   80   6   

Ballisodare  10   2   2   6   12   93   16   96   6   

St Marys  10   1   2   7   12   42   11   68   4   

Easkey  8   2   0   6   10   30   4   51   4   

[magpie seanie]

Glad I'm not betting on cub fixtures! Would have been carnage!

Nice to see that we're been given every chance to resurrect our Div 2A fortunes. FFS.

[Teeling Gael]

Dont fully understand your last comment there Seanie and likewise better stick to the day job regarding predictions.

In the Senior Chmapionship Harps had their expected win over Marys whilst Johns give further evidence that there is nothing better than losing a manager mid season to arouse a bit of interest. On current form Johns will beat Marys too. Coolera and Curry had excellent wins in their group but you'd imagine Tubber will be up for it against Coolera so nothing can be taken for granted in that group. Calry shocked Bunninadden who now have to beat Tourlestane to make the 1/4 finals. 2 draws in the remaining group means that anything can happen.

In the intermediate the main talking point has to be the performance of the 2nd Teams with Tourlestrane beating Harps a huge shock. 2 things that spring to mind here are Harps league team is backboned by a few young players who mustn't be eligible for this championship and secondly the fact that Tourlestranes 1st team weren't playing presumably meant a few guys who will play senior football in the next round are still eligible.Ballisodare got a bad beating from Curry. Farnans got the monkey of Pats of their back and could push on from here. On league form they are favourites for this championship. Mholaises had their expected win over Cloonacool. In our group the continued demise of Coolaney is incredible but Marys are a good championship side with presumably Paul Newton doing his annual party piece. OMS accurately summed up our game . Afraid we were totally unable to cope with a numerical advantage after dominating early on and this coupled with 90% of frees going to Enniscrone in the second half in a traditional referees effort to balance things up meant we were very lucky to escape with a draw. Unlike OMS I was relatively impressed with Enniscrone and if they get their act together regarding discipline then I think they will be competitive in this championship.

[magpie seanie]

Sorry TG - modified my comment there. Having our game v. Pats fixed for Friday evening is a bit weird isn't it?

[Teeling Gael]

Sorry Seanie, I should have copped that. Its very weird in a weekend where the Sunday is free !!

[Saffron exile]

Sligo Senior Hurling Championship Round 1 Fixtures:

Sunday July 22nd:

12noon: Tourlestrane v Western Gaels    Ref: Pat Maguire

3pm:   Tubbercurry (holders) v Coolera/Strandhill  Ref: Malachy Maher

6pm: Calry/St. Joseph's  v Naomh Eoin    Ref: Ciaran O'Donnell.

First named teams at home.

[magpie seanie]

Saw that earlier on sligogaa.ie and it explains why Sunday was left free. We have a very young hurling team and all but 3 or 4 of them play football regularly too.

[Owenmoresider]

A few quick things:

-Harps lost their best 7/8 players to the seniors, that's them fucked altogether now. T'strane had no senior game so they won't feel the squeeze yet.
-Newton was the showstopper, scored a goal but caused all sorts of trouble for C/MB.
-And finally:

Tubbercurry (holders) v Coolera/Strandhill  Ref: Malachy Maher

Calry/St. Joseph's  v Naomh Eoin    Ref: Ciaran O'Donnell

Jaysus, do they want lads killed or what?

[Teeling Gael]

OMS in particuliar : Do you know the fixtures for round 2 of the championship (who's playing who)

[magpie seanie]

Harps lost their best 7/8 players to the seniors, that's them fucked altogether now.

They should still be good unless a lot of Harps first team of last year are not making it now and were not regraded.

Newton was the showstopper, scored a goal but caused all sorts of trouble for C/MB.

Would have thought they defo have one person (McHugh I think it is) who would work Nuisance. Morale must be savage low in their camp.