Longford SFC: Rathcline spring surprise to rattle under pressure Mullinalaghta
Round 2 games in the Championship on Thursday, Friday and Saturday
With the notable exception of Rathcline’s surprise win against Mullinalaghta, all the other five games in the opening round of the Senior Football Championship turned out as expected.
Spurred on by a strong start, the Lanesboro outfit established a comfortable six point lead (1-6 to 0-3) with Oisin Kenny scoring the decisive goal with 22 minutes gone on the clock.
While St Columba’s gradually closed the gap, resilient Rathcline managed to hold out for a great victory (1-11 to 0-12) and the pressure is now firmly on the former Longford and Leinster kings.
Mullinalaghta are facing a very tough battle against Clonguish in Round 2 this weekend while Rathcline will be hard pressed to get a result against Abbeylara.
Wins are also predicted for Killoe (v Carrickedmond), Longford Slashers (v Fr Manning Gaels) and Colmcille (v Mostrim) while the most intriguing game is the meeting of St Mary’s and Dromard.
While Granard ran Killoe close on Saturday evening last with Emmet Og winning by the narrow margin of two points, Dromard fielded their best possible team in the easy win over Mostrim and will be a tough nut to crack in the quest to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Peter Hanley Motors Senior Football Championship
Round 2 Fixtures
Thursday 24 July
Group A
Glennon Brothers Pearse Park: Carrickedmond v Killoe Emmet Og, 8pm
Prediction: Killoe
Friday 25 July
Mullinalaghta, The Laurels: St Mary's Granard v Dromard, 8pm
Prediction: Dromard
Group B
Newtownforbes, Allen Park: Fr Manning Gaels v Longford Slashers, 8pm
Prediction: Slashers
Ardagh, Keenan Park: Rathcline v Abbeylara, 8pm
Prediction: Abbeylara
Saturday 26 July
Ballybrien: Mostrim v Colmcille, 7pm
Prediction: Colmcille
Monaduff: Clonguish v Mullinalaghta St Columba's, 7pm
Prediction: Clonguish