Group B, round three
Crossmaglen Rangers v Granemore (Saturday, 6pm)
DEFENDING champions Crossmaglen returned to action after the loss of teammate Caolan Finnegan last Sunday when they won a nip-and-tuck clash away to Sarsfields last Sunday.
The Rangers’ first half finishing was poor and their hosts kept pace with them until the three-quarter mark in the game when Cian McConville found his range and Cross pulled away to win by three in the end.
Experienced full-back Rico Kelly went off with a hamstring strain last Sunday and may not feature in this second/third place play-off. However, Rian O’Neill is back from suspension and last year’s skipper Jamie Clarke has also rejoined the squad.
“We came down to Sarsfields and all we were asking for was a result,” said Cross manager Anthony Cunningham.
“We got that and now we go into the last game. We’re looking forward to it, it’s a home game for us and there’s something in it for Granemore as well. It’s championship and we want to win all the games – we didn’t win against Clan na Gael at Davitt Park but we pressed the reset button and we got the result in Sarsfields and move on to the next one.”
The Oliver Plunkett Park clash is a repeat of the 2022 county final which Cross won by 12 points. Visitors Granemore are defensively solid and they posted a double-scores win against Sarsfields in their opener but then fell to a double-scores loss to Clan na Gael in their second game.
The winners will face Silverbridge in the play-off round next weekend, with the losers taking on Killeavy.
Clan na Gael v Sarsfields (Saturday, 6pm)
WITH top spot in the group already in the bag, Clan na Gael manager Ronan McManus may opt to rest his Armagh duo Stefan Campbell and Shane McPartlan for Sarsfields’ visit to Davitt Park.
The Clans, finalists last year, were good value for their opening-weekend victory against an arguably out-of-sorts Crossmaglen and they went on to complete a handsome win over Granemore in their second game.
Opponents Sarsfields have lost two-out-of-two but with Thomas McAlinden contributing four points they were always competitive against Crossmaglen last Sunday until they ran out of steam in the final quarter.
“We expected to win the game against Cross,” said manager Brendan Hughes.
“We set out with an aim of getting 75 per cent scoring conversion and if we’d got that we would have won the game. Bottom line is we didn’t and that’s why we lost it.”
Sarsfields are dropping to intermediate level after a disappointing league season that ended with relegation from Division 1B. However, they’ll hope to finish the group with a victory.
“We have been decimated with injuries,” Hughes added.
“Some of them have come back and played and they’re putting their bodies on the line.”
Play-off round
Ballymacnab v Clann Eireann (Sunday, Pearse Og Park, 5.15pm)
CONOR Turbitt will return from suspension for Clann Eireann’s winner-takes-all clash with Ballymacnab in the Cathedral City on Sunday evening.
The Armagh All-Ireland winner was red-carded during his club’s one-point loss against Maghery in round two and so he missed last weekend’s one-point win against Madden. Despite losing that game, Madden won the group on scoring difference because of the three-way tie at the top of Group C (Maghery also finished on four points). Clann Eireann came in runners-up and drew Ballymacnab who finished third in Group D.
Clann Eireann manager Ruairi Lavery has handled his Sam Maguire-winning trio delicately so far and, given the long season they had with their county that seems like good management. Although he was togged out, Tiernan Kelly didn’t feature in the clash with Maghery and Barry McCambridge came on for the second half. Attacking spearhead Turbitt missed last weekend’s round three clash but Clann Eireann had eight scorers on the day with the goal coming from Daniel Magee. Champions in 2021 and semi-finalists last year, Clann Eireann will take some stopping at full-strength.
Ballymacnab will need a season’s-best performance to halt the Lurgan club’s charge. Managed by former Armagh ladies’ coach Ronan Murphy, the Round Towers have had a torrid time of it this year.
While Clann Eireann’s consistency saw them take the Division 1A title with a single defeat, Ballymacnab were relegated from Division 1B after four wins in 14 games.
Armagh star Rory Grugan was on county duty for much of the league season and he was injured late in the All-Ireland final and hasn’t featured in this campaign. Neither has Jack Grugan who led Ballymacnab’s attack when they reached back-to-back county finals in 2018 and 2019. Also missing this season has been former Armagh man-marker Ryan Kennedy, so ‘the ‘Nab’ haven’t any sorrows to seek.
A place in the quarter-finals looks there for the taking if Clann Eireann produce anything like their best at Pearse Og Park.
