Farney championship reaching business end

FOOTBALL

MONAGHAN

By Shaun Casey

WITH two rounds of the group stages left in the Farney County, the competing teams are starting to jostle for positions as the knockout stages loom.

There is a three-way tie at the top of Group One with last year’s finalists Inniskeen and Scotstown along with the 2025 Intermediate Championship winners Carrickmacross all on four-points.

Latton and Corduff are at the bottom with zero and Latton are already in the relegation playoffs as they can’t reach the top three. Corduff are holding on for some hope, however, with two games left.

They need a result against Ulster Club champions Scotstown this weekend to remain in the running and anything other than victory will knock them out.

Inniskeen host Carrickmacross on Saturday afternoon and it’s the perfect chance for one of these teams to take a sizeable leap towards finishing at the top of the pile.

Carrick lost to Scotstown in round one but bounced back with victories over Latton and Corduff to stay right in the battle for top place.

Scotstown are still the team to beat and John McEntee’s Inniskeen face them in the final round in what could be a winner-takes-all top of the table clash.

In Group Two, only one point separates top and bottom so it’s a fine line between securing a guaranteed semi-final spot and ending up in the relegation zone.

It’s a bye weekend for Castleblayney, who saw off Clontibret two weeks ago. Paul O’Connor’s charges are currently second in the table (on score difference) but that could change over the course of the weekend.

Truagh are sitting in the number one position at the minute, and they are the only team who haven’t tasted defeat yet, although they’ve only played two games.

They are on home turf on Sunday afternoon when they take on last year’s Division One league winners Magheracloone, who have won their last two encounters.

Cremartin and Clontibret are at the bottom, joined on two points each, and they lock horns in round three. The winner here will take a massive step towards the knockout stages.

Whoever loses the tie, with Cremartin enjoying home advantage, will fight themselves at the bottom of the table heading into the final two rounds of fixtures, and that team could really struggle to avoid the relegation playoffs.

Cremartin have already been relegated through the league, losing their playoff final to Corduff, while Clontibret are also fighting for their lives.