Having come through the epic battle that was the intermediate county final, Oughterard will now play the Roscommon champions Tulsk Lord Edwards in Hyde Park on Saturday afternoon at 2pm.
A late rally from Tulsk helped them to overcome a game Leitrim Gaels outfit last Saturday. Gaels, who had led for most of the match, were denied by the Roscommon side who hit six unanswered points in the final 10 minutes to go four points clear before a late goal brought juut back to just the minimum.
The three-week long break since the county final replay will have been beneficial for Oughterard after successive battles against Michael Breathnachs, allowing the players a chance to recover sufficiently. Tommy Finnerty will need his team now to rise to another level to continue through this intermediate Connacht championship. With the semi-final on Saturday and the final two weeks later, he will be looking for one more push from his side before a bit of a break over the Christmas.
The winners will face either Geevah or The Neale who contest the other semi-final at the same time in Markievicz Park.
Salthill Knocknacarra minors won their third Connacht minor club championship in five years on Friday evening in Bekan. Having previously won the competition in 2015 and 2016, they defeated St Brigid’s of Roscommon 1-12 to 2-08. Brigid’s had been aiming to win the competition for the third time in succession, but were stopped by a fantastic Salthill outfit. With Salthill/Knocknacarra leading 1-10 to 105 with 10 minutes remaining, Brigid’s gave an almighty push to bring the game to a single point, but could not get past the eventual winners’ defence to force an equaliser.
Kilkerrin/Clonberne
Kilkerrin/Clonberne Ladies are set to face Foxrock Cabinteely in the All-Ireland semi-final on Sunday afternoon at 2pm in Kilkerrin Clonberne GAA grounds.
Having won their seventh county title in a row before winning their fourth Connacht title, Kevin Reidy’s side will be geared for a big charge to advance to an All-Ireland final. He has talent at his disposal, and hopefully a large crowd will turn up to help push them over the line. Foxrock Cabinteely will be without their influential defender and three-times All-Ireland winner Sinead Goldrick. The defender has moved to Australia in recent weeks to play for AFLW side Melbourne Football Club.