Belfry Senior Championship Round 4 Previews

Back 27/08/2015 @ 13:47 | mainnews | Belfry Senior Championship Round 4 Previews

Curry v St. John’s

Saturday 6.30pm in Curry GAA Park

Two sides with contrasting fortunes thus far in the Belfry Senior Championship collide in a Group One tie at Curry next Saturday evening when Curry and St John’s clash at 6.30pm.

Should the home side win, they will be almost guaranteed top spot in the group and a safe passage through to the knockout stages, but if St John’s lose they will be more than likely be heading for a relegation dogfight.

When the teams met in the opening round of the competition Curry scored a 2-9 to 1-9 win at Markievicz Park in what was a close affair. With St John’s backs to the wall now following their loss to the groups other team, Calry/St Joseph’s, there will likely be huge hunger amongst the Carroroe-based side to cause a shock in this tie.

They have endured a torrid year thus far and are already heading for Division Two next year as they currently occupy bottom spot in Division One, but still have players within their ranks to turn their year around.

Without talisman Charlie Harrison they are a weakened force, but Ian Rossiter, David Rooney and Eoin Flanagan are useful players for St John’s and could help drive them to victory in this encounter.

That said, Curry are looking to preserve their 100% record here and on home ground they are likely to do just that. Adrian Marren’s scoring ability up front is a huge plus for the home side, with Cathal Brennan also proving to be a handful for most corner backs.

Kenny Morley and Seán Davey add experience and guile to the side, and both are still key players for the 2012 champions.

With such strength in depth, and a good start to the campaign behind them, it’s difficult to anticipate any other result than a Curry win. 


Coolaney/Mullinbreena vs Tubbercurry

Sunday at 6.30pm in Cloonacool Community Park

Next Sunday will see both Coolaney/Mullinbreena and Tubbercurry do battle for the second time this year in the senior championship with the return fixture taking place. The last time out Coolaney/Mullinbreena got the better of the current county champions Tubbercurry who last weekend got back to winning ways with a comprehensive win over Geevagh .

As both Coolaney/Mullinbreena and Tubbercurry have both beaten Geevagh this match next weekend could yet prove vital in deciding where both teams finish in the group.

Tubbercurry who scored 24 points last weekend against Geevagh were without Stephen Gilmartin and Brian Curran and still managed to be very convincing. Tubbercurry will take huge heart from the way they took care of Geevagh last week and with that said they will still feel sore from the opening round defeat against Coolaney/Mullinbreena and will feel that they would like to correct that result this coming weekend.

  Coolaney/Mullinbreena will feel themselves that they would like to continue in winning ways as they have two from two so far in this year’s competition and if they were to get another win next weekend it would show huge intent from their side that they will be among the teams fighting it out to win this year’s Owen B Hunt Cup.

If Coolaney/Mullinbreena can get Ray Connolly involved in the game and he can supply ball into Shane O’Brien there is no doubt that Tubbercurry will have a fight on their hands while Tubbercurry will feel the same if they can get Stephen Gilmartin to boss the midfield sector and he can link up with David Kelly who can supply the ball into the full forward they will cause problems for the Coolaney/Mullinbreena defence.

It’s a game to really look forward to this weekend where a draw could be most likely outcome. 


Coolera Standhill v St.Mary’s

Sunday at 6.30pm in Ransboro Park

Next Sunday will tell lot about this year’s Senior Championship with the first must win match of the year as nothing but a win for the home side Coolera Standhill will be enough to keep them in the competition after St.Molaise Gaels pulled off a surprise result last Sunday when they were four points the better team against St.Mary’s and with a win also against Coolera Standhill it has St.Molaise Gaels in a very strong position in the group.

The last time the sides meet in the opening round of the group stages St.Mary’s proved too strong for Coolera Standhill who will feel that they left that game behind game with some wasted opportunities but Mary’s punished them and will feel that they could do something similar next weekend.

Coolera Standhill will depend on Niall Murphy who had such good season with the Sligo team and he would be expected to drive his side on to victory and they will be boosted with the addition of Kevin Banks who was unavailable the first day out against Mary’s. But meanwhile Mary’s also can recall a number of players who were absent for a couple weeks and have Mark Bulter back from his travels.

Tommy Breheny will be hoping that his side can get back to winning ways after last week’s defeat against St.Molaise Gaels and he will expect his big players to have big games against Coolera Standhill next weekend with a lot expected of Johnny Martyn who has recovered from injury along with the very experienced Johnny Davey and Mark Breheny in attack.

Coolera on the other hand were unlucky not to get the better of St.Molaise Gaels last day out and will hope that they can play to their strengths and if they do they will feel they will have a great chance next Sunday.

Taking that all in consideration it will be a game that everybody in  north Sligo will be looking forward to and it’s hard to see which team will come out on the right side of the result.  


Drumcliffe/Rosses Point v Tourlestrane

Sunday at 1pm in Oxfield Park, Drumcliffe

Tourlestrane, having overcome a difficult challenge in the form of Eastern Harps last week, face an equally tasking trip to Oxfield to play Drumcliffe/Rosses Point in Group Three of the Belfry Senior Championship this Sunday afternoon at 1pm.

The South Sligo side travel to the base of Benbulben looking to preserve their unbeaten run in the group to date.

When the sides met in the opening round at Tourlestrane last June the home side ran out rather convincing eight-point winners, but with Drumcliffe/Rosses Point since getting their points total off the ground with a valuable win over Eastern Harps, this tie could be a lot closer.

Home advantage will count for a lot one would imagine for Drumcliffe/Rosses Point following their narrow win over Eastern Harps, and a similar result here would put daylight between the sides in the group and almost guarantee a quarter-final berth for Stephen Ward’s side.

That said, Tourlestrane will provide stern opposition as always but following their unspectacular win over Eastern Harps last weekend, they could be vulnerable.

Although a win at Fr Brehony Park is not to be sniffed at, most expected Tourlestrane – one of the contenders for the championship – to beat Eastern Harps – one of the contenders, based on results to date, for relegation – by more than a three-point margin (2-10 to 0-13 was the full-time score).

Although the likes of Eamonn O’Hara and David Durkin have exited the scene, the younger brigade are beginning to step up with John Kelly in particular a shining light in recent years. Cathal Henry and John Carr are also younger players capable of carrying on the mantle.

Drumcliffe/Rosses Point also have a youthful-looking side with Paul Logan providing the flair up front, alongside Niall Collery. Neil Ewing is also a key player for the North Sligo men and it will be interesting to see where he is deployed for his club, with his versatility a key feature of his inter-county career.

Ultimately, Tourlestrane should emerge with another win form this tie, but they will get nothing easy at Oxfield.