FRIDAY evening will see the beginning of the knockout phase for both the Senior and Junior Football Championships after a fantastic group phase which rounded off a fortnight ago.
Some huge clashes will take place this weekend with a repeat of the 2022 Senior final when Cargin face-off against St Mary's Aghagallon at Dunsilly on Friday evening before a tasty Saturday evening with high-flying St Brigid's hoping to overcome a strong Dunloy side.
Sunday's double header includes Creggan against Rossa at Hannahstown followed by the huge clash at Dunsilly as St Gall's and Portglenone go to war.
The Junior level will see battles of North and West when Ardoyne welcome neighbours Pearse's to the Crickey whilst O'Donnell's face fellow West Belfast side Éire Óg as they battle for a semi-final spot at Woodlands.
Junior Quarter-Final Preview
Ardoyne Kickhams v Pearse's (Friday 7pm - Crickey)
A North Belfast derby is on the offing on Friday evening as Pearse's face off against Ardoyne Kickham's for a spot in the Junior semi-final where Laochra Loch Lao awaits the winner of this tie.
Pearse's have won two of their three championship ties in the group phase with a huge victory at Woodlands a fortnight ago giving them the edge and earning them second spot in the group.
Ardoyne will be hoping they can avenge their league defeat to their opponents and with a big win over O'Donnell's in the group alongside running favourites St Agnes' closest so far, Kickhams will be hopeful of a victory.
Prediction: Pearse's
Éire Óg v O'Donnell's (Friday 7pm - Woodlands)
The Óg's looked set to clinch top spot in Group B of this year's Junior Championship but a home defeat at the hands of Pearse's felt like a hammer blow to the Finaghy Road natives but has set up a more favourable tie as they face O'Donnell's at home.
O'Dees have been far from impressive this season and their championship campaign is a far cry from the side who reached the 2022 final having only mustered a single draw against St Malachy's followed by hammer blow defeats to Ardoyne and St Agnes'.
Éire Óg should be favourites for this tie, but knockout football often throws up an annual surprise therefore O'Dees must not be ruled out of the running just yet.
Éire Óg and Pearse's are both in action this Friday night
Prediction: Éire Óg
Senior Quarter-Final Preview
Cargin v St Mary's Aghagallon (Friday 7:30pm Dunsilly Pitch 1)
The surprise package in this year's quarter-final is certainly Aghagallon. After a poor league campaign little was expected from them and the opening game loss to Ahoghill gave weight to that belief but a huge victory away to St Paul's give them a hefty advantage on score difference which proved important.
Erin's Own have enjoyed an invincible campaign so far having taken the scalps of St John's, Randalstown and Dunloy in the process.
Cargin will be confident of the win with their eyes fixated on the fourth title in a row and will no doubt be favourites but an upset could be on the card if John Hannon and Adam Loughran can get their shooting boots on.
Prediction: Cargin
St Brigid's v Dunloy (Saturday 5pm - Erin's Own Cargin)
The perennial dark horses are certainly the Biddies as they enter yet another championship knock-out game building hope of clinching success at last and a flawless group win usually sets up a favourable draw, but in this case, Dunloy are most likely the team to avoid.
Both sides have been high-scorers in the championship so far, Dunloy have struck 82 points whereas the Biddies are just three scores off a century as they remain hopeful that this is finally their year as the Antrim Senior Football title remains elusive.
This one should be game of the weekend with a star-studded cast on show and no doubt a lot of scoring.
Prediction: St Brigid's
Rossa will be hopeful their county stars can spur them onto victory against Creggan
Rossa v Creggan (Sunday 1pm - Hannahstown)
Creggan's late flurry against St Gall's earned them top spot in the 'Group of Death' in this year's championship but it was far from convincing as the Milltown men will rue a late black card which swung the momentum in the final moments.
Rossa enjoyed two wins in their group to earn a spot in the quarter-finals this year but like Sunday's opponents it was far from convincing after a late flurry in their final game helped them squeeze the victory over Glenravel.
This one has 'cagey affair' nailed on as the return of county stars Michael Byrne and Dominic McEnhill have no doubt had an impact but whether it will be enough to get them over the line remains to be seen.
Prediction: Creggan
DARK HORSE: St Brigid's will be hopeful as they face a strong Dunloy on Saturday
Portglenone v St Gall's (Sunday 4pm - Dunsilly Pitch 1)
Sunday's blockbuster will round off a fantastic weekend of championship football as St Gall's face-off against the in-form Portglenone at Dunsilly.
St Gall's have had a great championship campaign and until the final moments against Creggan looked set to make it three wins out of three but a black card for Conor Burke with five minutes remaining put that in jeopardy when two-pointers from Conor Small and late points from Joe McAteer and Matty Rodgers snatched victory from the jaws of defeat for the South Antrim side.
Portglenone will strive to rectify last year's short-comings when Cargin defeated Portglenone at Corrigan Park to break their hearts, but an impressive rebound this year has seen Group B's winners win three games and enjoy a high-scoring group stage.
This one will no doubt be tight as either side could really use this as a platform to win outright, and to be the best you have to beat the best.
Prediction: St Gall's
