A battle for top spot in Donegal

By Michael McMullan

SOMETHING must give in Carndonagh on Saturday afternoon (3pm) when Convoy and Naomh Ultan complete Group B of the Donegal Junior Football Championship this weekend.

Both teams have won all their games to date and Convoy (+29) are ahead of Naomh Ultan (+22) at the top of the table.

The group winner will join the winners of Group A in the semi-finals. But it isn’t straightforward. With Urris failing to field against Naomh Conaill, score difference cannot be used to define top spot.

Na Rossa and Naomh Conaill will meet in a play-off with the winner going straight to the semi-finals as group winners. The losers and third-placed Muff will qualify for the quarter-finals.

In Group B, Convoy needed scores from Lee Bogan, Patrick Dolan and John Toye to see off Moville by a point in their last outing with Toye’s late score proving the winner.

Naomh Ultan were also winners over Moville in their last game with Cian Kennedy the star of the show.

Kennedy landed 10 points on top of goals from Darragh Murrin and Kyle Breslin in a six-point win in Dunkineely.

It’s a Naomh Ultan side that took former Donegal ace Michael Hegarty off the bench.

A draw would be enough to leave Convoy in top spot and into the semi-finals.

Both sides are guaranteed to advance to the knock-out stages with third-placed Moville already in the quarter-finals.

In the senior championship, there is a relegation play-off on Saturday with Killybegs taking on St Naul’s while the St Michael’s v Milford game will take place the following weekend.

There is a weekend off in the senior grade ahead of the preliminary quarter-final fixtures which has thrown up the following pairings: Gaoth Dobhair v Dungloe, Glenswilly v Glenfin, MacCumhaill’s v Four Masters and Cloughaneely v Ardara.

The quarter finals in the intermediate championship will also take place on the weekend of September 23/24 with the following lineup: Malin v Bundoran, Buncrana v Fanad, Termon v Naomh Columba and Downings v Red Hughs.

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