GLEN DIMPLEX ALL-IRELAND PREMIER JUNIOR CAMOGIE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND THREE
(all games Saturday)
FIVE of the six knock-out places are already booked as we head into the final round of games. Cavan and Tipperary are in a head-to-head to see who tops Group 1, while Clare and Roscommon will decide the top spots in Group 3.
Meanwhile, in Group 2, Armagh will top the group, barring a disaster against Offaly, while Limerick will claim the second spot.
The real championship only begins in July and it would surprise me if the Croke Park finalists are not from a group of three – Clare, Armagh and Cavan – with the quarter-final and semi-final draws key to who avoids one of the other two and canters into Croke Park on August 6.
Group 1
Cavan v Tipperary (Kingspan Breffni, 2pm)
A DRAW for Cavan will be enough to put them top of the group and possibly into a semi-final spot.
Along the way to last year’s semi-finals they defeated Tipperary and that certainly was a big result for a county that only re-organised at adult level in 2020 and won the Division Three league at just their second attempt.
This year they played in Division Two and performed well, even managing to retain their status there for next season.
Nothing can be read into the 7-20 to 1-9 hammering they delivered to Wicklow four weeks ago in the opening game of the championship. Rather, their performances in the Ulster intermediate championship is their benchmark; a semi-final win over Armagh and then a narrow loss against Antrim after extra-time in the final. That suggests that they can dream of an appearance in Croke Park in six weeks’ time.
Tipperary will test them. Indeed this should be a very competitive game, but, provided the Keenaghan and Fitzsimons siblings, Sinéad McKenna and Róisín O’Keefe are all accurate when chances arrive, they can take advantage of the home surroundings.
Verdict A narrow win for Cavan
Group 2 (5pm)
Offaly v Armagh (Birr)
Mayo v Limerick (Toreen)
ARMAGH have been solid in their two performances to date, pulling away in the opening half of each with the result in the bag by half-time. It has meant that manager Sean Hughes has had the opportunity to give a number from this subs’ bench decent time on the pitch – and those cameo performances could turn out to be invaluable later on in the championship.
Verdict Wins for Armagh and Limerick
Group 3 (5pm)
Roscommon v Clare (Ballyforan)
Tyrone v Louth (O’Neills Healy Park)
CLARE are the team with their tails up at the moment after winning Division 3B of the league with a narrow victory over last year’s premier junior champions Antrim, who actually needed two periods of extra time in the semi-final a year ago to get past the Banner.
They are genuine contenders and won’t have any bother in this game.
Tyrone’s big game was in round one when they lost narrowly to Roscommon. They will beat Louth.
Verdict Clear-cut wins for Clare and Tyrone
