Senior Championship Group 2: Geraldines look capable of another long run
ANCHOR TOURS SENIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GROUP 2 PREVIEW
Of the four groups drawn out of the hat this year, this is the only one to contain three teams that contested Division 1: Dreadnots, St Fechins and last year’s beaten semi-finalists Geraldines.
GERALDINES
The Blackrock based club had a championship resurgence in 2022. Four goals helped them on their way to a comfortable win over Mattock Rangers, before Shane O’Hanlon rose to the occasion with seven second half points to defeat St Brides.
They were again under the cosh in the quarter finals, needing extra time and a late Conor Raferty goal to seal an unlikely win after extra time over St Fechins, 4-11 to 3-13, a tie the Termonfeckin men dominated in for long stretches.
Their run did eventually come to an end at the hands of Newtown Blues, 1-13 to 1-2, as they proved a step too far.
Looking to their more recent form, the Haggardstown based side had a respectable showing. They did enough to make it into the top half prior to the league split, but were well off the race for the title. They finished with a record of six wins, two draws and 10 losses.
DREADNOTS
Their first opponents will be the Dreadnots, a team that has had decent, albeit pretty unmemorable, last 12 months on the field.
The Clogherhead men lived to regret two first half goals as they lost out to local rivals St Fechins, 2-8 to 1-9, despite strong performances from the likes of Jay Hughes and Pepe Smith.
Their championship was then ended at hands of Naomh Mairtin. They pushed them hard, but couldn’t get enough scores as they fell to a 0-16 to 1-9 defeat.
Looking to the league, they were a much improved outfit, having needed a play off to fight off relegation to Division 2 last season. They finished the league in the bottom half, but with a decent final tally of seven wins, seven losses and two draws to make sure this wasn’t an issue in 2023.
Boasting county players such as James Califf and Anthony Williams, plus the aforementioned Hughes and Smith, this is a team that could cause some shocks.
ST FECHINS
Rounding off the group is 2021 Intermediate champions St Fechins, who returned to the Senior ranks last year with a big win over Dreadnots. Ronan Holcroft and Bevan Duffy goals saw them build up an early cushion, which they did well to never relinquish.
Niall McDonnell could be a key asset between the sticks for the Termonfeckin men this year. But despite his heroics, making six big saves, alongside some dogged defending, they were eventually defeated by Naomh Mairtin, 1-16 to 0-12, before being shipped out in the quarters by Geraldines.
Their form of late is grim reading for fans of the dual club, as they barely avoided relegation, having ended the year with just five victories, nine losses and two draws.
Bevan Duffy has looked superb this season playing for Louth in a more defensive role, even bagging a man of the match award in their defeat to Mayo. They will also have the likes of Sean Kerrisk and Ryan Walsh in attack too, fresh off winning the hurling title.