With the majority of Junior League games finished for the Christmas period, the focus in Connacht this weekend is on the Cups where the Cawley Park final and Curley Cup semi-finals are down for decision.
The Cawley Cup decider takes place on Saturday at Crowley Park in Galway (k/o 2pm) where Creggs take on Castlebar for the right to take home this year’s trophy. Creggs saw off Connemara and Monivea en route to this year’s final while Castlebar overcame Ballinasloe and Westport.
In the Curley Cup the first of this year’s semi-finals is at 2pm on Saturday when Dunmore play host to Ballyhaunis, then at the same time on Sunday it’s the meeting of Loughrea and Ballinrobe. The final will take place later in the season.
Meanwhile the five senior Connacht clubs will look to finish 2018 on a high this weekend when they play their final games in the All-Ireland League before the annual Christmas break.
Ballina will look to solidify their place at the top of Division 2C of the AIL when they travel to City of Derry for their 9th game of this year’s campaign. The Mayo side have won 7 of their 8 games so far this season, a brilliant return after making their long-awaited return to the AIL last summer. Midleton and Bruff remain hot on their heels however, sitting 3 points and 5 points behind them respectively.
In Division 2B Sligo aim to make it three wins in a row after overcoming Corinthians in the Connacht derby last time out. They play host to Belfast Harlequins in Strand Hill while Corinthians make the trip to Wanderers in Dublin. Both sides have identical record in 2B so far, picking up three wins and 16 points.
Moving up to Division 2A where Galwegians’ latest search for an elusive victory sees them host Nenagh Ormond at Crowley Park. Nenagh are directly above ‘Wegians at the foot of the table but 11 points still separates the sides.
Lastly in 1B Buccaneers play Ballymena in a game which could have big ramifications on who avoids automatic relegation to 2A. Both sides are level on 14 points at the bottom of the table, but a better points differential for Buccs has them slightly ahead.
