The 'Lough' and the 'Wood' expected to march on

JFC PREVIEWS

TOM GANNON

The JFC and Junior B FC knockout stages get underway this weekend and there is plenty to be settled in the various quarter-final ties. Can Daire Shine fire Ballinlough to victory once more? Will last year's JFC finalists Clann na nGael get the better of St Ultan’s? Are Carnaross able to continue their incredible form in the Junior B?

Ballinlough v Dunsany: These two well-matched sides will both feel that they have an excellent chance of besting the other as they enter the knockout stages of the JFC with quite a high level of confidence.

Dunsany are off the back of a fantastic group stage showing where they topped group C which included last year’s finalists Clann na nGael. Dunsany kicked off their junior campaign with a good win over Kilmainham before besting Clann na nGael by three points.

However, as a result of group C being a three-team race, that win was almost a month ago. Will they be sharp enough for this test against a team on the rise, a team that produced a marvellous performance in the final round of group games to qualify?

Ballinlough headed into the last round of the group stage requiring a comprehensive win against St Brigid’s as well as needing favours from elsewhere. The ‘Lough’ put St Brigid’s to the sword and St Vincent’s win over Dunderry confirmed Ballinlough’s spot in the quarters.

Ballinlough are a young side who, on any given day, can beat anyone in this JFC. They had a fantastic league campaign and with Daire Shine leading the line, the sky is the limit for the ‘Lough’. They have what it takes to get the better of Dunsany in this one. Verdict - Ballinlough.

Clann na nGael v St Ultan's: Given how tough their group was on paper, not many people would have expected St Ultan’s to get this far. They had what many people still consider warm favourites to claim the title, Slane and a very talented Syddan side.

Despite losing their final match, St Ultan’s had done just enough in previous rounds to secure their spot at this stage. A four-point win over Syddan was followed up by a one-point victory over Moylagh.

However, Martin Hughes’ men will have to improve further if they are going to get the better of a Clann na nGael side who are hungry to make amends for last year’s final defeat. Clann na nGael as a club have made great strides this year. They had some gritty performances in the group stage of the small ball and Eamon O Donnchadha has been a stand-out star for them in both codes.

Beaten finalists do have an extremely good record of getting back into the final the following year for another crack at glory. Expect Clann na nGael to take another step forward in solidifying that statistic with a win over St Ultan’s here. Verdict - Clann na nGael.

JUNIOR B FC

The Junior B quarter finals kick off on Thursday evening with the so far very impressive Carnaross taking on Cortown. In their two group-stage games, Carnaross racked up an incredible combined tally of 9-31. Cortown have not had such luck and they are yet to get off the mark in the championship. It's hard to see this quarter-final ending in any other way other than a comfortable Carnaross victory.

Saturday sees another side who have racked up a big group stage scoring tally, Moynalty take on struggling Clonard. This one should be a relatively straightforward victory for Moynalty.

Also on Saturday, off the back of their convincing win over Cortown, Kilmainhamwood will take on Boardsmill in the third quarter-final of the JBFC. Under the guidance of former IFC winning manager, Sean Carolan, the ‘Wood’ did well to top group A and are not to be underestimated. They should have enough to see off Boardsmill in this one.

Probably the tightest encounter of the four Junior B FC quarter-finals is the meeting of St Mary’s and Drumconrath. Both sides finished second in their respective groups with both sides having decent performances in one of their games to date. St Mary’s might just have enough to edge this one. Verdicts – Carnaross / Moynalty / Kilmainhamwood / St Mary’s.