Mid Cork braced for big junior football semi-finals

THE Ross Oil Mid Cork Junior Football Championship has reached the business end with two semi-finals this weekend.

There is more interest than usual in this season’s divisional junior A football championships as the winners of the various divisions will be promoted to the 2023 Cork Premier Junior Football Championship.

In other years, clubs had to emerge from their division and then win the county championship to earn promotion to the county ranks, but this year each winner of their respective division will take their place in the new county grade in 2023.

In Mid Cork, four teams are left standing. The clash of Canovee and Kilmurry, two teams from the same parish and traditional rivals, will draw a huge crowd to Macroom this Friday evening, 7.30pm, in the first semi-final of the weekend.

Kilmurry, who won all three games in Group 1 of the championship, were too strong for Éire Óg in their recent quarter-final, winning 0-11 to 0-4, while Canovee also won both their Group 2 games before getting the better of Grenagh in the last eight. James Moynihan hit a hat-trick for Canovee in that win.

This Saturday, 3rd, defending champions Aghinagh, who won the Mid Cork JAFC title for the first time ever in 2021, play Inniscarra at Ballincollig at 6.30pm.

Champions Aghinagh were made to work hard in their quarter-final against Ballincollig. It took late points from Sean Kelleher and Liam Twohig to snatch an Aghinagh win after Ballincollig produced a rousing second-half comeback. Aghinagh had finished second in their three-team group, losing their opener to Inniscarra, but have responded well since. Now they meet Inniscarra again, with the latter firing a real warning shot in their impressive 3-19 to 0-9 quarter-final win against Kilmichael. David O’Keeffe kicked 2-1 and Cork hurler Sean O’Donoghue added 1-3.

The Mid Cork junior football final will be played the following weekend.