Antrim Football Championships: Round robin format continues

Two Belfast derbies to look forward to

Senior Championship group one

Creggan Kickhams v Ahoghill

Sunday, Creggan, 2pm

Ahoghill got their championship off to a fine start with a 0-15 to 0-12 win over Portglenone. A fine result as Portglenone were county semi-finalists last year, and ran Lamh Dhearg to three games.

Ahoghill were knocked out of the senior championship in the first round last year so this year’s opening win was quite the boost for the club.

Their opponents this weekend are Creggan Kickhams. Creggan are under new management this year in the form of Thomas and Gerard McNulty who hail from the Naomh Eanna Club which has risen to the senior ranks.

Creggan, like Ahoghill, lost to Lamh Dhearg in last year’s opener. They played Portglenone on Wednesday.

Verdict: Creggan

Senior Championship Group two

Rossa v Lamh Dhearg

Sunday, Pairc Rossa, 2pm

Rossa v Lamh Dhearg is one of two Belfast derbies of the weekend, though it is the only west Belfast derby.

Lamh Dhearg, as beaten finalists will be favoured to win.

Last weekend, they got their championship off to a good start when they beat another West Belfast neighbour, St John’s by 1-11 to 0-11.

It was a close-run game throughout, as was expected from two close rivals.

Lamh Dhearg had eight different scorers during the match. Ryan Murray top scored with 0-5, but Brendan Herron got the decisive score when his late goal won the match for the Hannahstown men.

Rossa were due to play the Johnnies on Wednesday night.

Last year, Rossa were knocked out of the championship by Cargin in the quarter-finals.

Verdict: Lamh Dhearg

Senior Championship Group three

Cargin v Naomh Brid

Sunday, Cargin, 2pm

The county champions Cargin started their championship last weekend with a 3-14 to 0-4 victory over Naomh Seamus.

Last year’s intermediate champions got the toughest test possible for their arrival in the senior ranks, and they couldn’t compete with Damian Cassidy’s Cargin side.

Cargin had ten different scorers on the day.

Kevin McShane top scored with 1-2. Last year’s minor recruit Pat Shivers scored 0-3. Donnach McKeever came off the bench to score three points as well.

Naomh Brid lost their opener to Aghagallon1-13 to 0-12, but they are a team that has great potential after some good u-21 teams that have burst onto the scene in recent years.

Verdict: Cargin

Senior Championship Group three

St Mary’s Aghagallon v Naomh Seamus

Sunday, Pairc na Gael, 2pm

Aghagallon opened their championship with a 1-13 to 0-12 championship result against Naomh Brid. It was a close affair, but Aghagallon prevailed. They exited last year’s championship to St Gall’s after beating St Teresa’s but they should fancy themselves to get another win on the board in their meeting with Naomh Seamus. The Aldergrove side are up from Intermediate level and only managed to score four points against Cargin last weekend. They will want to up their game though, as Aghagallon are neighbours in south west Antrim.

Verdict: Aghagallon

Senior Championship Group four

Naomh Gall v Naomh Éanna

Sunday, Naomh Gall, 2pm

Naomh Éanna opened their championship with a hard-fought win over Gort na Mona. The game was a rematch of the Intermediate championship final which Naomh Éanna won in 2018.

This time the Hightown road men won by 0-13 to 2-4. Stephen O’Connor top scored by 0-6, five of those came from play. They had six other scorers on the day. Ruairi Scott managed 0-2.

St Gall’s are a team in transition. They still retain a contingent of the men who delivered so many championships during the past two decades. However, we are told to expect to see more younger players appear on the scene this year. They started their championship on Wednesday night when they played Gort na Mona.

Verdict: Naomh Éanna

Intermediate Championship Group One

St Joseph’s v MacDaibhead

(Sunday, St Joseph’s, 2pm)

St Joseph’s lost their opener to Moneyglass last weekend. After a dismal start when they were trailing 1-3 to no score after 21 minutes played, they did manage to get three points before half time. Unfortunately Moneyglass got another goal in the same amount of time and led 2-8 to 0-3 at half time. They did better in the second half but it wasn’t enough.

They played Glenravel on Wednesday night.

MacDaibheads also suffered at the back as they shipped four goals against Glenravel.

Glenravel had had a comfortable nine-point lead in the first half, but Davitts fought back and took the lead by the minimum. The Davitts missed a string of chances while Glenravel punished them.

The man that St Joseph’s have to watch is Gerard Slane as he scored 0-4 from play for the Davitts. Stephen Tully and Padraig McParland can put frees over.

Verdict: Michael Davitts

Intermediate Championships Group one

Con Magees Glenravel v Padraig Sarsfields

(Sunday, Glenravel, 2pm)

Con Magees got a fright against Michael Davitts last weekend. After having led by nine points in the first half, they watched as the Davitts dragged themselves back into the game. But Glenravel showed plenty of grit to go on to win by 4-9 to 0-14. Eamon Fyfe scored 3-3, so he’ll be the one for the Sarsfields men to keep a close watch on.

Glenravel played St Joseph’s on Wednesday night of this week.

Sarsfields lost their opener to Dunloy by 3-11 to 0-7. The Sarsfields defence had a hard time holding the Cuchullains men. Niall McKenna only managed 0-4 from midfield. Conor Lavery, Jack Daniels and Tomas Skillen all chipped in with a point each.

Verdict: Con Magees

Intermediate Championship Group one

Moneyglass v Dunloy

(Sunday, Moneyglass, 2pm)

This should be a very entertaining game as it sees two teams who enjoyed good wins in the opening weekend.

Dunloy have a string of players to watch out for. Caolan Gillan, Seaan Elliott and Aaron Crawford played well against Sarsfields on the opening day.

Their defence, which is anchored by Aidy Scullion at full back and Callum Scullion at half back, were able to hold their Belfast opponents to just seven points.

Moneyglass scored 2-12 against Glenavy in their opener.

Verdict: Dunloy

Intermediate Football Championship Group Two

Ballymena v St Teresa’s

(Sunday, Ballymena, 2pm)

Ballymena beat Tir na nOg in their opening game by 0-14 to 0-7. They did so with Sean McVeigh sin binned which makes the result all the more notable. Michael McCarry was Ballymena’s top scorer from half forward as he hit 0-7. Conal Lemon got 0-3. Ballymean’s spread of scores was impressive. Their defence deserves credit for limiting Tir na nOg to just seven points.

St Teresa’s were 2-16 to 0-14 winners against St Mary’s Rasharkin.

Anto Taylor scored 1-3 for Teresa’s, John Mallon hit 0-7, while Joseph Rainey got their other goal.

Verdict: Ballymena’s

Intermediate Football Championship Group two

Rasharkin v Naomh Padraig

(Sunday, Rasharkin, 2pm)

Rasharkin’s competition opened with a 2-16 to 0-14 loss to St Teresa’s. While they lost, there were some positives to take from the result as they were competitive for long periods. The top scorer from that game for Rasharkin was Eamon McNeill who managed 0-7. Ruairi O’Boyle then hit 0-3.

Their opponents are Naomh Padraig who were edged out in round one by St Paul’s. Naomh Padraig won the Junior Championship last year, so they are out to prove that they can compete at this level.

Verdict: Rasharkin

Intermediate Championship Group two

Tir na nOg v St Paul’s

(Sunday, Randalstown, 2pm)

Tir na nOg had a disappointing opener in the Intermediate Championship as Ballymena outscored them by 0-14 to 0-7.

The All-Saints defence held sway over the Whitehill side, and only Ciaran Logan and Darragh Fagan scored more than a single point for their team. Both hit 0-2.

St Paul’s put away Intermediate Championship newcomers by 1-16 to 1-14.

Verdict: St Paul’s

Junior Championship round up

In Group one, St Agnes’s lost their opener to St Malachy’s by two points, 0-12 to 1-11. They play Laochra Loch Lao this weekend, who lost to McQuillans by 3-7 to 1-4 on day one of the junior championship. The other group one game on Sunday is St Malachy’s meeting with Na Piarsaigh. St Malachy’s played Laochra Loch Lao on Wednesday of this week, after winning that opening match. Na Piarsaigh played McQuillan’s Ballycastle on Wednesday night.

In Group two, Eir Og play John Mitchell’s on Sunday. Eire Og lost to Ardoyne by 1-13 to 0-5 in round one. John Mitchell’s were hammered in round one, and depending how things went against Ardoyne on Wednesday, might be hard pushed to get a result on Sunday. Ardoyne play St Comgalls on Sunday. Ardoyne’s win in round one was a good one. St Comgall’s first game was on Wednesday night.