Crunch time in SFC

SEVERAL outcomes remain possible as this year's Westmeath SFC group phase reaches a potentially nail biting and hugely exciting conclusion this weekend. In Division 1A, last year's champions Castledaly are scrambling to reach the knockout stages and need a victory against group leaders Garrycastle (Sunday, Moate, 7pm) to be sure of reaching the quarter-finals. With four points to their credit (the same amount as Castledaly), Maryland can also still reach the knockout phase but face a tough task against unbeaten second placed team Mullingar Shamrocks (Sunday, Cusack Park, 7pm). To make matters even more complicated in Division 1A, second from bottom Killucan still have an outside chance of finishing in the top three and reaching the knockout stages, but they need both Castledaly and Maryland to lose and to themselves defeat pointless Bunbrosna by a very big scoreline. If Killucan do win and both Castledaly and Maryland lose, the situation will be decided on scoring difference, with Maryland currently leading the way in this regard. Meanwhile, in Division 1B, Athlone and St Loman's Mullingar meet on Sunday at Cusack Park (7.45pm) and are more or less playing off to decide who qualifies for the knockout phase along, with group pacesetters Coralstown-Kinnegad and Tyrrellspass. Following an unexpected defeat to The Downs in their last outing, Athlone are now tied on four points with St Loman's. So, a thrilling weekend of ups and downs is expected as teams bid to secure a place in the knockout phase or to avoid the ignominy of relegation to intermediate level. Castledaly captain James Galvin - who last year became the first Castledaly player ever to lift the Flanagan Cup - knows his team are in a tricky position this weekend. Castledaly, of course, defeated Sunday's opponents Garrycastle in last year's county final while the sides drew at this stage of last year's competition. And Galvin expects a close encounter this weekend. "Victory is really essential for us and anything other than that leaves the situation in the hands of others. You have to look after your own business and hopefully we can do that on Sunday. It's always a good game between Castledaly and Garrycastle, and I expect Sunday to be no different. Our form has been poor to date but we only got going around this time in last year's championship and went on to win it," said Galvin. Castledaly could have defender Michael Gavin back in action this weekend but goalkeeper James Kinahan and Ciarán Henson are expected to miss out. In Kinahan's absence, deputy netminder Justin Coughlan could step between the posts. A win for Garrycastle would all but assure them a semi-final spot, but they have their own selection concerns with experienced duo Dessie Dolan and David O'Shaughnessy struggling with injuries. Dolan was substituted in the recent championship victory over Killucan while O'Shaughnessy played no part at all in that match. Manager Anthony Cunningham, who has guided his side to seven points from four matches, said he hopes both players will feature against Castledaly, but that their injuries are healing much slower than originally expected. Cunningham said: "I saw Castledaly against Maryland and they are one of the best and strongest sides I've seen so far this year. It's always tough when two local teams come head to head and it's going to be a close and hard fought game on Sunday." Maryland have already surpassed many people's expectations in this year's championship by been safe from the threat of relegation with one game remaining. Finbar Egan's side are competing at this level for the first time in 28 years and victories over bottom sides Bunbrosna and Killucan have left them in a position whereby qualification to the quarter-finals remains a possibility. To achieve this, they must, at the very least, avoid defeat against Mullingar Shamrocks and hope Castledaly lose to Garrycastle. Wins for both Maryland and Castledaly, which appears unlikely on paper, would see Castledaly qualify for the quarter-finals behind Garrycastle and Mullingar Shamrocks by virtue of their win over Maryland at the start of the month. Maryland manager Finbar Egan said: "We have already achieved our initial goal and that was to stay up, but we want to play well for 60 minutes against Mullingar Shamrocks and do our very best to get out of the group. Shamrocks are obviously are a top side and have seven points from a possible eight. I hope we can move the ball better than we did against Castledaly and you never know what could happen." In Division 1B, matters are slightly less clouded with Coralstown-Kinnegad and Tyrrellspass already guaranteed places in the quarter-finals at least. Both teams lead the way at the top of the group with six points but Coralstown-Kinnegad, who play St Malachy's at Cusack Park on Saturday (7pm), are in pole position to win the group having already beaten Tyrrellspass, whose weekend clash with The Downs at Cusack Park (5.45pm) is a curtain raiser to the Coralstown-Kinnegad match. Athlone also know what they have to do against St Loman's on Sunday. The sides are currently level on points and the winner will qualify to the knockout phase. Athlone manager Brendan Clarke, who must cope without the injured Gary Quinn, hopes his team can recover from their recent defeat to The Downs. "We didn't play well against The Downs and were hurt after that performance. It was the first time this bunch of lads failed to play well during the championship. Losing our last two matches has put us in a bit of a hole but hopefully we can dig ourselves out this weekend. We don't want to miss the boat and are very determined to reach the knockout phase," said Clarke.