Coming up this Saturday, the 23rd of February at the Stinger Dome –

• 6pm – Na Fianna Rouges vs St Henri Harps
• 7pm – Concordia Warriors (Men’s) vs Griffintown Gaels (Men’s)
• 8pm – Griffintown Gaels (Ladies) vs Goose Village Blackrocks (Ladies)

We’re firmly in the business end of the season now, and this week sees a crucial fixture in the Hurling for the St Henri Harps, a chance to go top of the league for the Concordia Warriors in men’s football, and a visit to the last chance saloon for the Griffintown Gaels in the ladies’ football.

First up we have hurling action with Na Fianna Rouges facing off against the St Henri Harps. Na Fianna are currently undefeated this season, and last week were the first team in the entire superleague to book their place in the final with a closely fought win over PSC Cu Chulainn. With all the hard work done, onlookers might expect the Rouges to take this handy and concentrate on the finals, but if they were expecting an easy game to coast through, then they’ll be sorely disappointed. The Harps have yet to put points on the board this season, but there’s still time for them to turn things around and claim a place in the finals, as PSC only have two points to their name and could well be caught. But that comeback will have to start here, which means that the Harps will need to see off a team that’s soundly beaten them twice already this season. It’s a tall order, but if there’s any team up the challenge it would be the St Henri Harps. Expect plenty of scores and even the occasional broken hurl in what is sure to be a hotly contested game.

Next we turn our attention to a league that’s found it’s to be a much tighter place. In the men’s football we have the Concordia Warriors taking on the Griffintown Gaels. The Warriors currently find themselves in third, a point behind the second placed Verdun Vikings and two adrift of the leader, the Goosevillage Blackrocks. A win for the warriors here would bring them at least up to second, and could even put them in first if the goal difference is great enough. And they’ll be thankful they’re facing off against the Gaels who have been struggling to find their form this season. That confidence could be their undoing, as the Gaels have the makings of a team that could rival any in this league, and have a well documented habit of having a stronger second half of a season than the first. Both sides will need a win here, for the Gaels it’d be the shot in the arm their season needs, and for the warriors it’d be exactly what they need to keep their path to the finals on track. Whose to say which way this fixture will go, but we do know it’ll be a great game to watch.

And wrapping things up for us are the Griffintown Gaels lining out opposite the Goose Village Blackrocks in ladies’ football. The Blackrocks have had a funny couple of weeks, from narrowly beating the Vikings two weeks ago, to being routed by that same side last week, you could forgive the Blackrocks for feeling disorientated going into their third fixture in as many weeks. But if there was ever a time for a steady hand to right the ship, that’d be now. A first or second place finish will most probably rest on the performances given during the run in, and the Blackrocks would have to know that any slip up here would be pounced upon by their rivals. The Gaels, like their male counterparts, haven’t had the best start to the season, but they might well be smelling blood in the water going into this. It’s a rare sight of late to see the Blackrocks beaten so soundly, and the Gaels might be hoping to compound their misery with a smash and grab performance to pluck two points for themselves. If there was ever a time for that, it would surely be now.
Will the Blackrocks get back on course, or is it time for the Gaels’ engine to finally start firing? Either way, this should be a cracker of a game to see out the day.