Check out our power rankings as the Carbery JAFC reaches the business end
1. Tadgh MacCárthaigh – The five-time winners of the Carbery Junior A Football Championship sit on top of our rankings. They are deserving favourites going into the penultimate stages of the competition. Physically strong, experienced with an abundance of youthful talent it’s very hard to point out a weakness in this Tadgh MacCárthaigh side. Led by the dominant O’Driscoll brothers (Brian, Colm and Kevin) they have the advantage of having a core of players who have played at the very highest level. Tadgh MacCárthaigh have impressed so far in this year’s championship, going three from three in their group, and most recently dispatched a plucky St Colum’s outfit with ease in the quarter-final stage. They face their near neighbours and fiercest rivals Kilmacabea in a semi-final that could well prove to be the game of the year.
2. Kilmacabea – An underwhelming league campaign has been all but forgotten now as the Kilmacabea train is moving at pace, again. Having coasted through the group stages with ease, and overcoming Carbery Rangers’ second string in the quarters, they now face their biggest challenge of the year: Tadgh MacCárthaigh in the semi-final. When speaking of the most influential members of their squad it’s hard not to mention their prolific scoring threat, Damien Gore. However, the Leap outfit is not a one-man show. They have big, physical presences throughout the team, with players like Ian Jennings, Martin Collins and Daniel O’Donovan being a headache for any side. As they go in search of their fourth title in seven years, they must find a way past the Tadgh Mac’s juggernaut. The Leap lads have shown before that they can do it on the big day, and they’ll need to call upon that resilience once more on Sunday.
3. Barryroe – After the second round of the championship, Barryroe were many people’s favourites for the junior A title. However, they had played a St Mary’s team riddled by absentees and a poor Clonakilty second string. Since then, Barryroe have been pushed all the way by both St Colum’s and Castlehaven but to their credit showed the resilience to come out on top. They are a youthful outfit with a mix of experience. Former Tipperary and Carbery Rangers senior footballer Robbie Kiely is their standout player, but they can also call upon the O’Donovan cousins, Ryan and Olan, for inspiration. This is Barryroe’s first junior A semi-final since 2007, so they’ll be up for it. They face a threatening Ballinascarthy team who themselves will fancy their chances of getting back to another final. This semi-final is a complete 50/50 contest and could go either way.
4. Balinascarthy – The Bal men came out on top of their group after three hard-fought contests against Carbery Rangers, Newcestown, and Kilbrittain. They followed that up with an equally impressive win over a resilient Argideen Rangers side in the quarter-finals. The two-time winners haven’t tasted success in this competition in 40 years and will be hoping to go all the way this year. Like their opponents, they aren’t without a few standout players. Brian O’Donovan up front, the Ciaráns, O’Neill and Nyhan, around the middle, and the quarter-final hero Dan Twomey at the back rounds off a strong Ballinascarthy core. Like their semi-final opponents, a lot of their concentration went into the smaller ball this year, and akin to Barryroe they fell at the penultimate stage. They will be looking to do the Ibane double this weekend and they will fancy their chances.
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The Bandon Co-op junior A football semi-finals, Ballinascarthy v Barryroe and Kilmacabea v Tadhg MacCárthaigh, are pencilled in for this Sunday, October 22nd at 3.30pm in Enniskeane and Skibbereen respectively.
