After a break for the Six Nations, 2C action returns this weekend with the headlining game seeing Galwegians travel to Enniscorthy. Action all around the table certainly makes for interesting viewing.
Bangor v Clogher Valley, Saturday February 10th, Upritchard Park, 2:30pm
An Ulster derby with teams on opposite ends of the standings, Bangor hoping to overcome their Ulster neighbours and exit the bottom two.
The hosts lost to Omagh at the end of January and with that allowed Omagh gain ground in the race for safety, taking on Clogher will not be easy as their form of late has been far from ideal.
Clogher on the other hand sit top once again, defeating Galwegians they regained a spot they lost towards the end of last year. Winning 29-15 when the pair met in November and in great form at the moment they will be fancied to win this tie.
Bruff v Omagh Academicals, Saturday February 10th, Kilballyowen Park, 2:30pm
Omagh’s hopes of safety rest on results, taking a trip to face promotion chasing Bruff they need a strong performance to take those points.
Bruff have built up an unbeaten run in recent weeks enough to build up a sizeable gap to those outside the play-off places. They will not want to jump off the gas as we are in the crunch time of the season.
Omagh meanwhile sit just three ahead of Bangor and are not entirely safe just yet. Two wins in their last five, including a scalp over Clogher Valley they will want to kick on and get further wins in these coming weeks.
Clonmel v Ballina, Saturday February 10th, Ardghaoithe, 2:30pm
Bottom-placed Ballina are hopeful to keep their hopes of safety alive with a trip to Tipp to meet Clonmel.
The hosts look to be on course for a mid table finish, sat seventh they are currently eight clear of Omagh and 11 behind Scorthy in fourth. A win here would be important to solidify their spot in the table.
Ballina are five behind Bangor but with a massive score difference of 82 points even a bonus point win would not see them jump to ninth. It would take some incredible high scoring results to make that a possibility. This is a must win however going forward.
Enniscorthy v Galwegians, Saturday February 10th, Alcast Park, 2:30pm
Galwegians lost ground in the title race with defeat away to Clogher last weekend, now they travel to Enniscorthy for certainly another tough fixture.
Scorthy are currently on a losing streak and want to end that this weekend if they are to keep up their fight for promotion. Losing in a hard fought game out West in November they will want to avenge that loss this weekend.
The winning run for Wegians grinded to a halt last weekend with a tough away day at The Cran. A case to forget and move on and try and regain the lead in the standings, a quality squad missing key men in Finn Treacy and Hugh Gavin away with the Ireland U20’s.
Midleton v Tullamore, Saturday February 10th, Towns Park, 2:30pm
A promotion dogfight in Towns Park, two teams who can stake a claim to chasing fourth spot with a win this weekend.
Midleton are having a much better season this year, they look a real contender for fourth spot but need to get those results going their way. Ten adrift of Scorthy, with a mixed bag of results recently, they will rely on their home form to get them over the line here., unbeaten in their last four games on home soil.
Tullamore are a place ahead of their hosts, needing to cut just five points of a gap to Scorthy. Points difference not in their favour but a win here would see them be right on their coattails, well able to get points in recent weeks.
Diarmuid Kearney
Diarmuid Kearney is a freelance Sports Journalist based in Co Kerry. He has more than 5 years experience covering domestic and international soccer for different media organisations, while also working for local and national print and digital organisations covering GAA.