Newbridge reach their first Derry final since 1991
Kilcoo will face Burren in their third Down Final meeting in four years
- Published
Newbridge reached their first Derry Senior Football Final since 1991 as Shane McGrogan's late fisted goal earned a 1-7 to 1-4 win over Magherafelt at Owenbeg.
The Sean O'Leary outfit led 0-3 to 0-1 at half-time in a very cagey contrast.
As Magherafelt fought back, the sides were level at 1-4 to 0-7 with a minute left but McGrogan's dramatic goal set up a final meeting with All-Ireland champions Glen and Slaughtneil who meet in Sunday's second semi-final at Owenbeg.
Newbridge's win was even more noteworthy because they were without county star Padraig McGrogan as Magherafelt were able to parade Derry players Eoin McEvoy and Conor McCluskey.
The opening Derry semi-final started a big weekend of club football action in Ulster with county finals taking place in Antrim, Down and Donegal plus semi-finals in Monaghan.
2022 All-Ireland champions Kilcoo will be going for a sixth successive Down title when they face old rivals Burren on Sunday at Pairc Esler (15:00 BST).
In Antrim, Cargin will be aiming for a third straight title on Sunday at Corrigan Park (15:00) as they face a Portglenone outfit that have never won the Padraig MacNamee Cup.
Sunday's Donegal decider at Ballybofey (16:00) sees 15-time champions St Eunan's take on a Dungloe club whose last of seven county titles came way back in 1958.
Dungloe have not appeared in the Donegal final since 1964 with Eunan's most recent success their 2021 decider triumph over Naomh Conaill.
Both Monaghan SFC semi-finals take place at Clones on Sunday with Clontibret facing Ballybay (14:00) before holders Scotstown take on Inniskeen (16:00) in a repeat of last year's decider.
Kilcoo aim for 22nd Down title
The Down decider is third final meeting of Kilcoo and Burren in four years.
Kilcoo won all three including last year's 2-12 to 0-9 victory which was somewhat overshadowed by the controversy which eventually led county referee Paul Faloon to opt out of taking charge of the game.
Burren will have high hopes of being a lot more competitive a year on given the presence in their ranks of Down players Odhran Murdock, Liam Kerr, Danny Magill, Ryan Magill and Peter Fegan - not to mention Armagh's All-Ireland winner Paddy Burns.
The last Burren's 14 county titles came six years ago when they defeated Kilcoo 2-12 to 2-9.
Kilcoo are the Down record holders with 21 titles and while Burren will do better than 12 months ago, it's hard to back against the experienced Magpies.
Former Derry player Enda Lynn will hope to help Portglenone land a first Antrim SFC title
Cargin will go into the Antrim decider as favourites but won't underestimate a Portglenone outfit whose players include county captain Dermot McAleese, Niall McKeever, Oisin Doherty plus ex-Derry forward Enda Lynn.
Portglenone lost three finals to the great St Gall's team in the noughties and their semi-final victory over a fancied Lamh Dhearg side came after five successive defeats at the last-four stage.
Cargin can still call on experienced campaigners, the McCanns, Michael and Tomas, Kevin O'Boyle, James Laverty, Justin Crozier and Pat Shivers but also have an array of talented relative newcomers including Benen Kelly, who was drafted into the Saffron county panel by Andy McEntee this year.
The Erin's Own have dominated Antrim football over the past decade by winning seven of the last nine county titles.
Eunan's favourites in Donegal
St Eunan's have been favourites to lift the Donegal title at MacCumhaill Park since beating three-in-a-row seeking Naomh Conaill in the quarter-finals.
The Letterkenny outfit, who then edged out Gweedore 0-8 to 0-7 in the semi-finals, include the three O'Donnell brothers Conor, Shane and Niall in addition to other Donegal stars Shaun Patton and Ciaran Moore.
Dungloe shocked Michael Murphy's Glenswilly in the last eight before also squeezing past St Michael's by a point in the semi-finals two weeks ago.
Their key personnel include Donegal defender Mark Curran plus Daire Gallagher, Ryan Connors and Oisin Bonner.
In the Derry SFC semi-finals, Newbridge will be aiming to clinch a first final appearance since 1991 when they face 2019 champions Magherafelt on Saturday evening.
But the big game of the weekend in the Oak Leaf will be the meeting of All-Ireland champions Glen and their parish neighbours Slaughtneil, with the latter have looked the most impressive outfit thus far in the championship.
Slaughtneil beat Glen in the opening series of round-robin fixtures, with the four-in-a-row seeking Maghera side were somewhat fortunate to battle past Lavey by a point at the last-eight stage two weeks ago.
In Monaghan, Inniskeen will continue their quest for a first county title since 1948 when they meet Scotstown in a repeat of last year's final after the earlier semi-final tussle between Clontibret and 2022 champions Ballybay.
CLUB FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES
Saturday
Derry SFC Semi-final
Magherafelt 1-4 Newbridge 1-7
Sunday
Derry SFC Semi-final
Slaughtneil v Glen, Owenbeg, 16:00
Antrim SFC Final
Portglenone v Cargin, Corrigan Park, 15:00
Down SFC Final
Kilcoo v Burren, Pairc Esler, 15:00
Donegal SFC Final
St Eunan's v Dungloe, Ballybofey, 16:00
Monaghan SFC Semi-Finals
Clontibret v Ballybay, Clones, 14:00
Scotstown v Inniskeen, Clones, 16:00