The quest for the Boston championship titles continues this
weekend at the ICC in Canton. Seven
semi-finals will be decided, along with the bonus of a playoff for a place in the
Ladies senior football final to see who will advance to finals, and have a
chance to represent the division in the North American Finals.
Senior Football
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| Sean Boyle will be key for Donegal |
In senior football there are 2 semi-finals on tap. The first sees Shannon Blues and Donegal meet
in a battle that has the potential to be a fiery encounter. Each team has reason for motivation. The last time the teams met Donegal gave the
Blues a severe drubbing, something that the Blues will desperately want to make
amends for after having had two weeks to digest the defeat. Donegal almost crashed out of the
championship last week against Kerry. It
took a last minute point to see them through to this stage. The key to the game will be how well the
Blues can marshall the dynamic Donegal forward line containing Steven Griffin,
Daniel McLaughlin, and Sean Boyle. With
the ability to move the ball at lightning speed, Donegal can put up scores very
quickly. The Blues have scoring threats
in Sean O’Connor, Paul O’Connor, and David Clifford. It promises to be an exciting encounter.
Wolfe Tones and Aidan McAnespies meet in the second of the
senior football semi finals. The Tones,
to many people’s surprise, knocked out reigning champions Connemara Gaels with
room to spare last week. McAnespies
present a different challenge. Corner
forwards Daniel McKinless and Liam Boland will require a close eye. McAnespies will attack with speed and
strength. At center back Declan Lally
embodies both qualities and can quickly turn defence into attack. The Tones have made a habit of doing the same
thing. Last week the forward line had the
shooting boots on. Last year the Tones
lost out because of some inaccurate shooting down the stretch, last week was
quite the opposite with the forwards putting the critical scores over the bar
in the last 10 minutes. It will be
interesting to see if the Tones can make it back to back playoff wins, or if
McAnespies can maintain the psychological edge over their opponents.
Senior Hurling
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| Galway and Tipp clash Sunday in the Senior Hurling Semi Final |
Galway and Tipperary will meet to determine who will advance
to challenge Fr. Tom Burkes’s for the senior hurling title. Both teams made a late run to make it to this
stage. Starting with the reliable James
Skehill Galway are sound at the back.
The Half back line is anchored by Greg Lally at center back and the Gort
native has proved his credentials in recent outings. Paul Holden and Rory Hickey in the half
forward line are scoring threats, while John Moylan can produce the spark if
needed. Sound keepers with inter-county
credentials are a theme in this game.
Tipp have Waterford’s Clinton Hennessy between the posts. Hennessy was a fixture between the posts for
Tipp during his Boston days and is arguably the best keeper to have played in Boston
before or since. Rory Sludds, Cronan Dempsey, Mark Kavanagh, and Jack Kelleher
will need to be on their best form to pull out the win, and although Galway
might have the edge on paper, Tipp have shown in recent games that they can
produce the goods when needed.
Ladies Senior Football Playoff
 |
| Leanne McCrystal and Shamrocks will look to knock off Champions Connacht Ladies Saturday. |
Boston Shamrocks and Connacht Ladies meet in a playoff to
determine who advances to meet the unbeaten Tir na nOg. The teams split the spoils this season, and
third game is required to separate the two.
The Shamrocks have returned to relevance in the Ladies senior football
championship. With some bite in a
defence that contains the likes of Brittany McGuire, and threats going forward
with Clodagh “Mango” McGovern, Shannon Kelly, Linda Cronin, and Leanne
McCrystal, the Shamrocks have the tools to overcome the two time
champions. A hallmark of Connacht Ladies
championship teams has been the ability to open up defences like a hot knife
through butter. This season we have seen
flashes of that. Full forward Catriona
Foley is a major threat, and is ably supported by her cohorts in a forward line
that also contains Jane Ward, Aisling Kerr, and Catriona Smith. The teams are evenly matched and this one can
go either way.
Junior Football Semi Finals
 |
| Cork junior A team will be looking to advance to the final Sunday. |
On the junior football front there are back to back semi
finals on tap. First up is Donegal and Aidan McAnespies. Donegal have been the front runners this
year. With the likes of Hugh Devine,
Mark Dunphy, Pauric McLaughlin, and Christy McLaughlin, Donegal have strength
throughout the field. The same can be
said of their opponents. McAnespies
field a strong side. From Barry Smith at
the back, Neil Donaghy in midfield, and Aaron McKenna at corner forward, this
game is likely to be as close as they come.
Connemara Gaels will meet Cork. The Gaels may not have been expecting to find
themselves contending for a junior championship at the start of the season,
though Cork will prove to be a tough opponent to overcome. Cork were unlucky to finish second in the
standings. Cathal Moriarty at corner
forward can turn it on and is ably supported by Jack Lynch, Mick Lyons, and
Colm Caffrey further back the field. The
Gaels can blow hot and cold. Big
performances will be required from the Gaels, including key men Chris Devlin,
Brian Joyce, Ciaran Lee, and Emmet McConnell, to pull off a surprise and make
it to the final.
Saturday sees the junior B semi finals between the hot side,
Shannon Blues, taking on Hartford, while Cork will meet Donegal to see who
advances to next weekend’s final.
By Rory O'Donnell
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