Achill v Kilmeena
Saturday, August 13 at 7pm
In Westport
This all West Mayo meeting on Saturday evening looks like it could be one of the games of the weekend. Achill have been knocking on the door of winning the junior title for the past number of years, coming up short in the final two years ago, and in the semi-final last year. This year they won three from three in the group stages hitting 4-37 in their round robin games, seeing off Crossmolina, Lahardane, and Charlestown on the way. Kilmeena for their part are looking to re-establish themselves after a couple of fallow years and they came out of group three in second place. They booked their place in the final eight with a win over last year's beaten finalists Killala on the last day of the group stages. That 2-8 to 0-11 win came thanks to an amazing 2-4 by Ryan Feehan off the bench.
Verdict: Achill
Louisburgh v Ardagh
Sunday August 14 at 3.45pm
In MacHale Park
The seaside men topped their group with a 100 per cent record, they only played two out of the three games with Kilfian giving them a walk over in round one of the competition. But over the 120 minutes of football they did manage to rack up 3-33, with a big win over Ballycroy in round two where they scored 2-21, and in their final group game they were pushed hard by Cill Chomain before they ran out five point winners on a score of 1-12 to 1-7. Ardagh finished second in their group behind runaway winners Balla, winning two from three. They set up their last eight place with a one point win over Swinford B in round one on a score of 1-11 to 0-13, before they beat fellow north Mayo men Ballina Stephenites B in another tough encounter by two points on a scoreline of 1-10 to 1-8. Ardagh have had a good few years in the championship, but this could be a bridge too far for them this year.
Verdict: Louisburgh
Ballycastle v Crossmolina Deel Rovers
Sunday August 14 at 2pm
In James Stephens Park
The north Mayo men have really pushed on this year in the top junior grade and were the winners of a hard fought group three in the round robin stages of the competition. They won two of their group games and drew the third en route to topping that tough section that also included last year's beaten finalists Killala, fellow quarter-finalists Kilmeena and Ballintubber B. On the way to topping the group they saw off the challenge of Ballintubber in round three and Killala in round one, while they were held to a draw by Kilmeena in a round two which finished 2-9 to 1-12 after the hour. The Deel Rovers men who made the last eight last year are back there again this year after they finished in second place behind Achill in group one of the competition. The Deel Rovers won their first two games against Lahardane and Charlestown, scoring 3-29 in those two games, before they were turned over by Achill in the final group game in a high scoring encounter which finished 3-13 to 0-11 after the hour.
Verdict: Ballycastle
Balla v Cill Chomain
Sunday August 14 at 3.45pm
In James Stephens Park
The west has awoken in Balla this year, following years of good work on the underage scene the Balla men are looking to make progress in the adult grade and they really laid down a marker in the group stages of the competition winning three from three in group four. Doing that they beat Ardagh, Ballina Stephenites, and Swinford on the way and managed to rack up an impressive 8-37 in their 180 minutes of championship football so far this season. Cill Chomain finished in second place in their group behind Louisburgh winning two from three and on the way they showed they know how to hit the target scoring 5-12 against Kilfian and 3-19 against Ballycroy in their wins, before they went down by five points to Louisburgh in the last group game.
Verdict: Balla
