Intermediate Football Championship Semi-Final preview

Sunday Sport

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Intermediate Football Championship Semi-Final preview

A double-header on Saturday in Duggan Park, Ballinasloe will decide the two teams left in the race for this year's Intermediate Football Championship and who the recipients of the John Cotter Cup will be for 2024. At the start of the campaign, Division 1 outfit St. Michael’s were seen as the favourites for this year's championship after a disappointing 2023 which saw them get relegated from the Senior Football Championship for the first time in fifteen years, but Oranmore/Maree footballers are on the crest of a wave right now after winning both the Under-19 A and the Under-17 A championships in the space of a week. While many see the clash of Oranmore/Maree and St Michaels as the semi-final most likely to provide the winners of this year's title, those involved with Glenamaddy and Caltra will be quietly rubbing their hands at the draw that both sides wanted.

In an extraordinary twist, three of the four semi-finalists came from the same group, Oranmore/Maree, St Michaels and Glenamaddy. In the very first game of the campaign in August, Oranmore Maree came with a late burst to defeat the city side 2-16 to 0-19. St Michaels led that game by 0-18 to 1-10 with ten minutes to go, but Oranmore Maree finished like a train and a late Johnny Kelleher goal proved the difference as they won by three points. Both sides have won every game since, with unbeaten Oranmore Maree topping the group with further victories over Glenamaddy and Menlough, while St Michaels beat the same two sides and then overcame Cortoon Shamrocks (0-8 to 0-5) and St Gabriels (3-15 to 0-5) to make it to the last four. In their quarter-final, Oranmore Maree defeated St Brendans 1-17 to 1-7. It's the first match in Duggan Park on Saturday and might well be the game of the weekend.

In the second semi-final, Glenamaddy take on Caltra at 4 o'clock, with both sides coming into the game on the back of very different results. Caltra cruised to top spot in Group 4 of the Intermediate Championship with comfortable wins over Micheal Breathnach (2-13 to 0-12), Cortoon Shamrocks (2-10 to 0-9) and Kilkerrin Clonberne (0-18 to 0-10) and then dispatched Kilconly 3-9 to 2-7 in the quarter-finals. After beating Menlough (3-9 to 1-9) in the opening round, it went downhill for Glenamaddy as they lost to both Oranmore Maree and St Michaels in Group 3 and ended up having to battle past An Spideal (1-8 to 0-9) in a preliminary quarter-final and then Clifden on penalties to make it to the semi-finals. Caltra will be the favourites, but Glenamaddy will feel that lady luck is finally shining on them this year. An intriguing battle awaits.

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