Antrim Senior championship
The first round games in the various Antrim adult championships are scheduled for this week with Senior games on Tuesday, Intermediate on Wednesday and the seven Junior ties stretching over Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The Antrim Senior championship has shifted this year to a group format producing semi-finalists for Tuesday 10th September.
Holders Loughgiel are chasing a sixth successive title and are drawn in the group with last season’s beaten finalists Cushendall and Portglenone.
In the other group Dunloy, the last team to beat Loughgiel in the Antrim championship, are drawn with Rossa and Ballycastle. Dunloy meet Ballycastle on Tuesday while Cushendall face Portglenone in the opening games in each group.
Dunloy beat the ‘Castle in last year’s first round game and twice this season in the league. Indeed they led Loughgiel in last month’s Senior Feis final right through until the last ten minutes when the Shamrocks hit an unanswered 1-3 to win by 3-11 to 2-15.
With the Martin sisters back from their cruciate problems of the past year and a strong group coming through after winning the minor title in May, the Cúchulainn’s are expected to secure a victory over Ballycastle.
Cushendall have had a strong showing in the league this year winning six of their 11 games in comparison to Portglenone who have taken three wins and a draw also from 11 games.
However a number of the Cushendall team has gone to the USA at the start of July and were not expected to return until early September which would mean they will miss this key game. They will also be without Colleen Patterson who is suffering the curse of the cruciate. A lot therefore will hinge on the performance of Siobhan McKillop and Orla O’Hara.
Portglenone depend a lot on county captain Katie McAleese for scores while the O’Kane sisters are strong in the central defensive positions. This could turn out to be a very close game with a semi-final spot at stake.
On Wednesday there are three Intermediate championship ties with Brídíní Óga Glenravel, runners-up over the past two campaigns, getting a bye into next week’s semi-finals where they will meet the winners from the Cargin v Ballycastle tie.
Cargin have struggled in the league this season, but Ballycastle will lose a couple of players to grading on Tuesday and that might just give the Toome side an opening.
Holders Loughgiel are strong favourites to beat Belfast side Naomh Eoin who have only won one of their league games this season.
In the last of the quarter-finals Tír na nÓg have to travel to Dunloy who won both their league encounters. Again Dunloy will lose to the grading system but are still expected to have a strong enough team with the remaining minors in contention for starting spots.
In the Junior championship, Loughgiel once again is the team to beat and Portglenone will struggle to hold them. Brídíní Óga reached last season’s final and backed it up with a good league run, but will have a tough task in St Paul’s on the Shaw’s Road.
Elsewhere there should be wins for Armoy, Ahoghill, Gortnamona, Rasharkin and Creggan.
The next round of both the Intermediate and Junior title races take place next week, while the first round losers go into the respective Shield competitions, also next week.
U16 CHAMPIONSHIP 1B
SEMI-FINAL
Monday 12th August: Portglenone v Rossa
U16 CHAMPIONSHIP 2A
SEMI-FINALS
Monday 12th August
Creggan v St Enda’s
Gort na Móna-Glenavy v Rasharkin
U16 CHAMPIONSHIP 2B
SEMI-FINAL
Monday 12th August
Tír na nÓg v Moneyglass
SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
Round 1 – Tuesday 13th August
Ballycastle v Dunloy
Cushendall v Portglenone
INTERMEDIATE CHAMPIONSHIP
QUARTER-FINALS
Wednesday 14th August
Replays on Saturday 17th August or Sunday 18th August
Naomh Eoin v Loughgiel 2
Cargin v Ballycastle 2
Dunloy v Tír na nÓg
JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
PRELIMINARY ROUND Thursday 15th August
Replays on Saturday 17th August or Sunday 18th August
Portglenone 2 v Loughgiel 3
Rasharkin v Cushendall 2
St Enda’s v Armoy
St Paul’s v Brídíní Óga Glenravel 2
Friday 16th August
Replays Sunday 18th August
Gort na Móna v Sarsfield’s
Ahoghill v Ballycastle 3
U16 CHAMPIONSHIP 1B
SEMI-FINAL
Friday 16th August :
Brídíní Óga Glenravel v Cargin
JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
PRELIMINARY ROUND
Saturday 17th August
Replays Sunday 18th August
Creggan v Rossa 2
Antrim
Championship fixtures for rest of this week and next week (7.15pm throw-in
unless otherwise stated)
Please note :
1. All championship matches are 30 minutes each way except for under 14 which
is 25 minutes each way.
2. Should a knockout game finish level, the game goes to extra time and then a
replay. The exception is a final, which does not have extra time, but goes
straight to a replay. This also does not apply to the senior championship group
games (see No 5 below).
3. To accommodate extra time, all games this week
should throw in at 7.15pm latest.
4. In under 14 and under 16 championship, first
named team has home advantage up to and including semi-finals.
At adult level only semi-finals and final will take
place at a neutral venue
5. In Senior championship group games, two points
is awarded for a win, one point for a draw.
(a) Should two teams finish on the same points,
with both qualifying, score difference will decide positions 1 and 2 in group.
(b) Should two teams finish on the same points, with
one to be eliminated, there will be a playoff game between the two clubs, with
extra time if required