PREVIEW: Big games in second round of Offaly Senior “B” and Intermediate Football Championships

THERE are some huge games down for decision in the second round of the Senior “B” and Intermediate Football Championships this weekend.

The Senior “B” Football Championship is once again going to be extremely competitive and there is no clearcut favourites yet.

Tubber were fancied but suffered a shocking defeat by a very good Ballycommon team in their first group 2 game. While a second defeat won't put them out, they face an early make or break tussle with Gracefield on Saturday evening.

Gracefield did very well to beat Clonbullogue in the first round and with Jamie Evans and Ruari Allen back on board, they could be a force to be recknoned with.

Group 2 is the toughest of the two groups by a distance. It has four potential championship winners and one of those will end up in the relegation play off – the top team in each group qualifies for the semi-finals with second and third in two quarter-finals.

While Tubber's first round demise against Ballycommon raises serious questions about their prospects, at the moment, we have to take this as a blip and they can't be ruled out of contention yet. Every team is capable of beating each other in this group and there could be plenty of twists and turns before it is over.

Clonbullogue face Ballycommon this weekend and while the first round performances means the latter are the favourites, this is a 50-50 tussle.

Group 1 looks to be more straightforward. Cappincur had a good win over Ballycumber in the first round. Cappincur were relegated from senior last year but will get stronger now – Eoin Carroll, back from Australia, is eligible to play again while his brother Bill is due back from America for the third round. They are now favourites to top the group and make the semi-finals.

Walsh Island hammered St Rynagh's in the first round but we shouldn't read too much into that. A 5-15 to 0-10 win can't be argued with but in this case, it says as much about where the losers are as the victors. St Rynagh's are struggling for numbers and players and will do well to fulfill all their fixtures. Hopefully they will be able to do that as it would look very bad for a team to concede a walkover at this level but they are swimming against the tide. They look to be headed for the relegation play off and they are capable of pulling a rabbit out of the hat there.

Friday's game against Ballycumber will tell a lot more about Walsh Island. Despite having a handful of players well in their 30s, they have continued to confound the odds in recent years and you rule them out at your peril. At the same time, they are championship outsiders.

This weekend's games are:

Group 1

Walsh Island v Ballycumber: Friday in Durrow at 7.30pm.

Verdict – Ballycumber.

Cappincur v St Rynagh's: Saturday in Clara at 6pm

Verdict – Cappincur.

Group 2

Ballycommon v Clonbullogue: Saturday in Daingean at 6pm.

Verdict – Ballycommon.

Gracefield v Tubber: Saturday in O'Connor Park at 4.15pm

Verdict – Tubber.

Intermediate Football Championship

Raheen and Daingean have emerged as the early front runners in the Tullamore Court Hotel Intermediate Football Championship and their clash on Friday is the pick of this weekend's games.

Raheen had a comfortable win over parish neighbours, Ballinagar in their first group 2 game while Daingean showed good form when beating Tullamore. Their meeting this weekend is likely to decide who will top the group and go straight into the semi-final.

Raheen's star player, Dylan Hyland hurt his leg in a car accident the day after their win over Ballinagar and if he misses this, it will make Daingean favourites – Raheen are not a one man team but Hyland is absolutely central to their championship prospects while county U-20 player Cathal Ryan was sent off for Daingean against Tullamore and will be a big loss, if suspended.

The meeting of Ballinagar and Tullamore in group 2 is also very interesting. It is more or less a knockout game with the winners likely to make the quarter-finals and the losers into the relegation play off. It is a real 50-50 game.

In group 1, Erin Rovers defeated Ferbane and St Brigid's accounted for Shannonbridge in the first round. Erin Rovers and St Brigid's are favourites to progress now and they can take a giant leap towards securing that this weekend – they clash in the final round.

This weekend's games are:

Group 1

Ferbane v St Brigid's: Friday in Tubber at 8pm

Verdict – St Brigid's.

Shannonbridge v Erin Rovers: Sunday in Doon at 12 noon

Verdict – Erin Rovers.

Group 2

Daingean v Raheen: Friday in Gracefield at 7.30pm

Verdict – Daingean.

Ballinagar v Tullamore: Friday in Geashill at 6.00pm

Verdict – Tullamore.