Championship action at every level in the Saffron county

THERE is a whole host of championship action taking place in Antrim this weekend.

Top of the list is the return of the senior competition. The round-robin tournament throws in on Sunday with a string of games down for decision.

There are a few exciting derbies to watch out for. The big one will be Lamh Dhearg’s meeting with the St John’s.

Lamh Dhearg will feel that they missed out on last year’s championship after taking so many games to get to the final. Cargin beat them after a replay in the decider.

The Johnnies are their near neighbours and will want to knock the Hannahstown men down a peg or two.

In Group One, Portglenone versus Ahoghill is a south-west derby. Portglenone will be fancied though as they should build on last year when they took Lamh Dhearg to three games in the semi-final.

There’s another tasty game to look out for in Group Four when Naomh Éanna take on Gort na Mona. This pairing met in the 2018 Intermediate Championship final.

Naomh Éanna were a Division One team at the time, taking on the Gorts who were Division Two. Both played Division One football last year and they were able to maintain their status. Gorts might see this game as an opportunity to show their muscle. When the two teams met in that Intermediate final. there was huge interest as west Belfast took on north Belfast-based Glengormley.

The reigning champions are Cargin, and perhaps they might regard their meeting with last year’s Intermediate champions Aldergrove as something of a banana skin. Cargin have no changes to the team that won the 2019 title, they will be expected to go another strong run this season.

The meeting of Aghagallon and Naomh Bríd has the potential to be good too.

Aghagallon won the Antrim U-21 Championship in 2016, Naomh Bríd were champions in 2018. So here are two teams with great potential.

The Intermediate Championship is also a round-robin affair. There are a few games to watch out for, but Moneyglass will be one of the fancied sides after they lost last year’s championship decider to Naomh Seamus, Aldergrove.

It might also be worth watching Tir na nOg who won the Ulster Intermediate league title. They are managed by Ronan Rocks, the former Derry midfielder who played his club football for the Loup when they won an Ulster title, and later Bellaghy.

There’s another intriguing tie when St Patrick’s, Lisburn take on St Paul’s. St Patrick’s have enjoyed a good run in recent years and won the Junior Championship last year, having been in the two previous deciders. The interest will be how they take to the next level.

St Paul’s reached last year’s Intermediate Championship semi-final but lost to eventual winners Aldergrove despite having led 1-3 to 0-1 in the first half.

In the Junior Championship it looks like it will be a battle between Ardoyne Kickham’s, who lost last year’s final to Lisburn, and Ballycastle. The latter side reached the junior semi-final but lost to Ardoyne. O’Donnell’s lost to Lisburn in last year’s junior semi-final so they may be worth watching as well.

By Ronan Scott

r.scott@gaeliclife.com