Down championship gets underway

There is a full round of football action this weekend in Down.

Glen were 1-21 to 0-19 extra-time winners over Ballyholland on Thursday night in the Senior Shampionship.

Clann na Banna (2-16 to 2-15) edged out Saval and Rostrevor were 2-28 to 0-9 winners over Ballymartin in the Intermediate Championship on Thursday night.

Here are the details of the other games at the time of going to print.

Check the Down website for any changes before travelling.

DOWN SENIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND ONE

LOUGHINISLAND V DOWNPATRICK

Friday, Teconnaught, 7.15pm

JUST three points, and two places, separated these two sides during the league so this game should go right down to the wire. Loughinisland may just shade it, but it’ll be close.

Verdict: Loughinisland

CASTLEWELLAN V BURREN

Friday, Mayobridge, 7.15pm

Burren have reached the last two county finals but haven’t got their hands on the Frank O’Hare Cup since 2018. They remain one of the big hitters in the county however, and Castlewellan may not pose much opposition.

Verdict: Burren

SAUL V CARRYDUFF

Saturday, Downpatrick, 3pm

CARRYDUFF are one of the teams on everyone’s lips as a side that could potentially end the Kilcoo stranglehold. Finnian Moriarty’s side will have bigger tests down the road and will open their account with a win.

Verdict: Carryduff

CLONDUFF V LIATRIOM

Saturday, Castlewellan, 5.30pm

SATURDAY evening pins a Division One side against a Division Three team and given Clonduff’s superior experience and the fact they’ve been playing at a higher level all year, they should come through unscathed.

Verdict: Clonduff

MAYOBRIDGE V DRUMGATH

Sunday, Clonduff, 3.30pm

DRUMGATH will be playing Division Three football this season and while Mayobridge may not be the force of old, it’ll take a lot to see an upset coming here.

Verdict: Mayobridge

WARRENPOINT V BREDAGH

Sunday, Kilcoo, 6pm

THIS has the potential to be the game of the weekend and is impossible to call. Bredagh head into the contest having won Division Two while Warrenpoint survived the drop from the top tier.

Verdict: Bredagh

KILCOO V BRYANSFORD

Monday, Liatroim, 7.30pm

KILCOO really are the unbeaten team in the Mourne County it seems and Bryansford have drawn the short straw, facing the Magpies in the opening round. Kilcoo will be keen to get their championship campaign up and running with a win.

Verdict: Kilcoo

DOWN INTERMDIATE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND ONE

ATTICALL V ST PAUL’S

Friday, St John’s, 7.15pm

ST PAUL’S finished bottom of their section in Division Four while Atticall ended the league campaign in the middle of the Division Three table so they should have the upper hand here.

Verdict: Atticall

AN RIOCHT V TECONNAUGHT

Saturday, Dundrum, 2pm

TECONNAUGHT topped the table in Division Four but they’re coming up against an An Riocht side that have been operating in Division Two so this may be a step too far for them.

Verdict: An Riocht

LONGSTONE V DARRAGH CROSS

Saturday, Bryansford, 4pm

LONGSTONE just missed out on the drop to Division Three, while Darragh Cross just missed out on promotion from the third tier so these sides could be at a fairly even level which should lead to a tight contest.

Verdict: Longstone

ST JOHN BOSCO V NEWRY SHAMROCKS

Sunday, Ballyholland, 2pm

THERE wasn’t a whole lot between these two teams in the league, just four points in the end, and that should mean the two are fairly equally matched. This Newry derby could go right down to the wire and be decided by the smallest of margins.

Verdict: St John Bosco

DROMARA V ST JOHN’S

Monday, Drumaness, 7.15pm

ST JOHN’S won just two games all year and suffered relegation from Division Two, but still played in a higher grade than Dromara, who spent the season in Division Three, and that could stand them in good stead.

Verdict: St John’s

TULLYLISH V ANNACLONE

Monday, Glenn, 7.15pm

ANNACLONE finished at the top of the Division Three league table while Tullylish finished at the very bottom and that is surely a decent indication of how this game will go.

Verdict: Annaclone

DOWN JUNIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND ONE

GROUP 1

DUNDRUM V GLASDRUMMAN

Friday, Dundrum, 7.15pm

GLASDRUMMAN beat Dundrum by the minimum of margins in the league, at Dundrum, at the start of June and they’ll hope to achieve a similar result this weekend.

Verdict: Glasdrumman

AGHADERG V EAST BELFAST

Friday, Aghaderg, 7.15pm

WHEN the split in the league arrived, East Belfast were operating in the top tier while Aghaderg were struggling in the bottom so East Belfast will hold no fear of their away day trip this weekend.

Verdict: East Belfast

GROUP 2

ARDGLASS V ST MICHAEL’S

Friday, Ardglass, 7.15pm

ST MICHAEL’S failed to pick up a single point in the entire league campaign and while Ardglass didn’t trouble the promotion stakes, they should have too much for Friday’s opponents.

Verdict: Ardglass

DRUMANESS V KILCLIEF

Friday, Drumaness, 7.15pm

THESE teams finished with identical records in Division Four with seven wins and four draws from their 11 outings. In such an even affair, home advantage could just swing it in the favour of Drumaness.

Verdict: Drumaness