GERARD O’KANE: My picks to progress

THERE are five big games across the Ulster Club scene this weekend in football and I am going to build myself the biggest fence ever to sit on with respect to one of them.

My own club Glenullin is in the semi-final of the intermediate championship, where they will play Carrickmacross from Monaghan.

Given my own close relationships within the squad of brothers, cousins, friends and former teammates, it would be unfair of me to assess the potential outcome, and any opinion I have would be very, very biased anyway!

All I can say is Glenullin have been fairly impressive in their two Ulster games so far, and after celebrating our 100-year gala last week, the club is on a high. It would cap off a great month for the club if the players were to go one step further than any other team within the club has gone before.

In the other Intermediate semi-final, there is the all-conquering Clonoe from Tyrone. I gather they are unbeaten through 15 league and four championship games in Tyrone, plus their sole outing in Ulster to date.

Twenty out of 20 is fair going so Cuchulainns from Cavan will have to be at their very best. I have seen them a few times at close quarters and they are a good side.

Their conditioning is on a par with most senior sides and they have serious quality to boot. Niall Carolan is their talisman, an ever-present with the Cavan seniors, but don’t be surprised to see one or two more called up after this campaign is over. The bookies are heavily favouring Clonoe but I expect this one to be a lot tighter than expected.

There won’t be much more than two or three points in this game either way though if I were pushed I would have to say Clonoe’s greater experience might pay off. They have a team littered with senior championship winners. That sort of experience can’t be bought, especially at this time of the year as winter football is a different type of ball than summer ball.

Moving into the senior end of the competition, my own club Glenullin is pitted in a double-header with Newbridge and Scotstown. This should be a clinker of a game.

While Scotstown stuttered in their county final, they came out and threw the shackles off against Naomh Conaill and won by a margin of six points even without Conor McCarthy. The extra fortnight’s rest will have done him the world of good.

For this group of Scotstown players, they have been knocking on the door in Ulster for a long time now. Two Ulster final defeats in the last number of years is bound to hurt them. They seem to have a great injection of youth this year, coming off the back of a minor-winning championship team, and those young players add to a massively experienced core.

Matching up against them is Newbridge, who like Glenullin, celebrated 100 years in existence in the last few weeks. Added to their current Ulster campaign, this has given the whole area a real boost. There is a different feel about them this year, and from listening to them talk about Ulster they seem to have a real determination to kick on.

Two six-point victories so far would suggest they have adapted to football at this time of year and they are coming to the boil nicely. This is the first day they might go in as slight underdogs which is no shame against an experienced side like Scotstown. Still it really is a 50-50 game and for me, from seeing Newbridge in such close quarters a few times, I am going to go for a Newbridge victory after extra-time. This one could go all the way so bring a warm coat!

The other semi-final will see an Erne Gaels side who came through an epic quarter final against Kingscourt test themselves against the evergreen Kilcoo. Every year, even within Down, the demise of Kilcoo is being written with the coming of Carryduff or Burren but whatever it is about them, they just keep coming back with minimal fuss. They find themselves heavy favourites to make it through to another Ulster final. It is truly remarkable what they continue to do.

I didn’t see the first round game versus Loughmacrory but by all accounts they managed the game superbly and were always in control. Erne Gaels will come into it with a free hit. They are under no pressure from anyone to win but they themselves will fancy a rattle at Kilcoo. They will take great heart from battling against Kingscourt when the game seemed to be slipping away from them.

While this game might prove to be one step too far, don’t rule out the game still being in the melting pot in the last 10 minutes. As mentioned earlier with Clonoe, experience at this level is a massive benefit and Kilcoo’s extra experience will see them close the game out.