Football Championship Round 2 Weekend Gets Underway

The second weekend of action in the group stages of the Club Football Championships is known as ‘moving weekend’ and what is an action-packed weekend of games throws in this evening (Thuesday) with three games on the schedule, one in the Fairyhouse Steel Senior Football Championship and two in the Meade Farm Intermediate Football Championship.

All games throw in at 19:30.

Tickets for the below games which are priced at €8 plus booking fee (a reduction on the admission fee for 2024) are available by clicking the link: Meath GAA Club Championship Tickets

Dunganny is the venue for the meeting of Trim and Rathkenny in Group C of the Fairyhouse Steel Senior Football Championship with both sides coming off the back of opening round wins over Meath Hill and Dunshaughlin respectively.

These sides met in the opening round of the Championship last year when Trim edged a tight encounter by a solitary point, 1-14 to 2-10. The town side came from seven points behind in the second half to come away from Páirc Tailteann with the victory. On the day it was Tom Carmody who stepped up in the absence of talisman Aaron Lynch to lead the scoring charge with 1-08 and it was his second half goal which really sparked the Trim fightback.

Rathkenny were left to rue their second half fadeout and ultimately it was that defeat which consigned them to the relegation playoffs as they drew with eventual semi-finalists Skryne the next day before losing out to Ratoath on the final day.

Joey Farrelly will have been delighted with how Rathkenny performed against Dunshaughlin on the opening day this year, pulling off a famous victory and he will know that a second win here would leave Rathkenny in pole position to top the group. Keith Curtis landed 2-11 out of their total score of 2-16 the last day and Rathkenny will likely need a better spread of scorers if they are to take down Trim. David Curtis is operating further from goal at midfield this year but he will likely need to chip in with a few scores as will Christy Meade and the livewire Luke Kealy if that win is to transpire.

Trim took care of newly promoted Meath Hill almost two weeks ago and are motoring very well, having claimed the J.M. Food Services Division 2 League title earlier in the season. In Lynch and Carmody they have an impressive double act in their inside forward line but they’re not a two man show as Sean Foley has shown he is adept at chipping in with crucial scores.

Ben Holden is teak tough at full back and the wily James Toher will hold down the centre back berth, allowing Ciaran Caulfield the opportunity to embark on his trademark marauding runs. If he can penetrate from deep on a regular basis then he has the capacity to create havoc in the Rathkenny rearguard. However, few know Caulfield as well as Joey Farrelly so it will be interesting to see what plan Rathkenny have in place to limit his influence.

The Group A meeting of Moynalvey and Walterstown in the Meade Farm Intermediate Football Championship is a game between one side who had an impressive victory in the opening round against another who fell to an eight point defeat and who only managed seven scores over the hour.

Moynalvey struck 2-19 on that opening weekend whereas Walterstown could only muster 2-05. Will the men in black be able to restrict the free-scoring Moynalvey side at one end of the pitch and at the other, come up with a match winning tally or will the difference between the top end of Division 2 of the League and the top end of Division 3 prove too much to overcome?

Padraic Harnan and Adam Murphy were excellent at midfield on the opening weekend for Moynalvey as they took care of Ballivor and if they can get the upperhand over Mark Foy and Lorcan O’Connor for Walterstown then that will be a big step towards securing a second victory of the Championship for the Barry O’Keefe managed side.

Both sides have big game players in their attack with Moynalvey spear headed by Cillian O’Sullivan, Shane Lenehan and David McLoughlin while Walterstown have Barry O’Connell, Ruairí O’Dowd and O’Sullivan’s cousin Neil McGinley within their ranks. Was the game against St. Patrick’s an aberration for the blacks? If so, this trio will likely be the ones who lead the way this evening in Dunshaughlin.

The Group B game in Páirc Tailteann sees Oldcastle and Curraha face off and once more we have a game between sides coming off the back of contrasting fortunes on the opening weekend. Oldcastle looked sublime at times against Drumbaragh Emmets, similar to their opening weekend win in 2024 over St. Patrick’s, while Curraha who got relegated on penalties in 2024 from the Senior ranks fell to a disappointing eleven point defeat to Longwood.

Both of these sides were in Division 2 of the League with Oldcastle finishing in eighth on nine points while Curraha finished second bottom on three points before losing their relegation playoff, consigning them to Division 3 football in 2026. When these sides met in Round 5 of the League back on April 26 it was Oldcastle who came away from Ardcath with the win on a scoreline of 2-15 to 0-11 but how much can be read in to a game from almost four months ago when both sides will be much changed in Páirc Tailteann?

Oldcastle brought Colin Hawdon on as a second half substitute against Drumbaragh Emmets and he is set to start at top of the left this evening as part of an exciting forward line which also includes Jason Scully at centre forward and the exciting Pat Crawley at right corner forward. They are however minus the services of CJ Healy who doesn’t make the thirty on this occasion.

Having been named at midfield two weeks ago. Diarmuid Moriarty is named at centre forward for this game with Brian Joyce and Neil Shortall forming the midfield pairing for the Curraha side. Getting Moriarty close to goal and getting enough ball to him will be pivotal to the fortunes of Curraha and he will relish the opportunity of facing Paddy Rahill should both players line out in the positions they are selected.

There is a boost for the men in green and gold with Liam Hogan named to start between the uprights. His availability has been curtailed due to working as a physio with the Williams Formula One team and the travelling around the world that goes along with the job but his experience and leadership will be required this evening against one of the form sides this year in the Intermediate ranks.