Trio of local sides face crunch quarter-final ties

ON what promises to be a scintillating weekend of local Gaelic football action, three local clubs do battle for a coveted place in the semi-finals of this year's Pat Flanagan Cup, with the undoubted main event being the hugely-anticipated meeting of traditional rivals Athlone and Garrycastle at Moate on Saturday evening (6.30pm). Much of the pre-weekend focus will be centred around this meeting of great old foes, as Anthony Cunningham's reigning champions bid to oust Malachy's Gately's promising but slightly out-of-form Athlone. Tubberclair, meanwhile, also have a match of equal importance, as they face The Downs in the other weekend quarter-final at Cusack Park, Mullingar on Sunday (6.30pm), for the right to face Mullingar Shamrocks in the semi-finals. Athlone have been dealt a major blow in the build-up to the biggest game of the campaign so far, as crucial centre-back Damien Kelly - described by manager Malachy Gately as the best in his position in the county - has damaged his ankle and is likely to be ruled out. "Damien is out of contention and that's a big blow for us," admitted Gately. "It's disappointing and very unfortunate but we've got to get on with it and accept it. This is a huge game for both ourselves and Garrycastle, and neither team will want to lose to the other," added Gately. Athlone will also be missing another potentially pivotal player, with Alan Gaughan unable to line-out due to his contractual commitments with rugby club Garryowen. Tom Stuart-Trainor is also nursing an injury but should be okay to feature, while John Egan is a long-term absentee because of a knee injury. Garrycastle looked certain to top their qualifying group but a last-day defeat to Mullingar Shamrocks saw them miss out on an automatic semi-final spot. They have a major injury concern over James Duignan, who is an important player for Anthony Cunningham's men, but David O'Shaughnessy returned to the fray against Mullingar Shamrocks and will be expected to contribute in some capacity on Saturday. Perhaps the most important point of note though, is the return to the team of star man Dessie Dolan, who missed the seven-point defeat to Shamrocks due to his honeymoon. And Anthony Cunningham is hoping Garrycastle's greater experience at this stage of the competition will make a difference. "I suppose we're hoping our greater experience of this type of game will stand to us and hopefully get us through," he said. "But it's going to be ever-so-close and the local rivalry potentially makes it an even tighter contest. Athlone have had a good run in the championship and will have every incentive to beat Garrycastle, but it's the very same for us. We're very familiar with Athlone and vice-versa, but the most important thing is putting scores on the board on the day, not the local rivalry, and we're confident we have the players to do that," added Cunningham. Garrycastle's early group form was very impressive, with wins over Tyrrellspass, The Downs, St Malachy's and Castledaly leaving them odds-on favourites to top the division, before that last-day defeat to Mullingar Shamrocks, who await the winners of Tubberclair and The Downs in the semi-finals. Athlone also showed good form early on, notching a trio of wins over St Loman's, Tubberclair and Maryland, before their form dipped and they suffered defeats to Coralstown-Kinnegad and eventual table-toppers Killucan. The winners of Saturday's crunch tie in Moate progress to face Killucan in the semi-finals. Tubberclair manager Tom Lennon has been delighted with his side's progression to the quarter-finals, and hopes they can keep their run going against The Downs on Sunday. Tubberclair needed only a draw from their last group game to secure a quarter-final berth, and managed to beat neighbours Maryland by two points to rubber-stamp their place in the knockout phase. Key forward Fergal Wilson made an unexpected return from injury in that victory over Maryland, and scored a crucial point, before been carried from the field after suffering a heavy challenge late on. Many feared Wilson's knock could be a recurrence of his recent knee problem, and although the bang incurred was to the same knee, Wilson could still play some part this weekend. Tom Lennon could also call on the services of David Cassells and David Ganly in that high-pressure game against Maryland, with both scoring after coming on as subs', and they will be involved this weekend, too. "Both those lads had been injured and it's great to have them back at this stage in the year," Lennon said. "I suppose a lot of people didn't expect to see us in the championship at this point in the year, but we're delighted to be there and every team that's left in the competition has the ability to go further," added Lennon. Tubberclair had exceptional performances against Maryland from, amongst others, two-goal hero Ian Coffey and Jeffrey Farrell, and Coffey could again be the difference this weekend. Lennon said: "Ian was exceptional against Maryland and took his goals very well. His early goal really settled us and his performances tend to give some of the other players a big boost. Hopefully, we'll get more of the same from Ian this weekend." The Downs crept into the quarter-finals thanks to their last-day win over St Malachy's (coupled with Tyrellspass' defeat of Castledaly), and manager Johnny Murray has injury doubts over the vastly experienced Tommy Cleary, Luke Folan and Sean Loughlin, the latter two who recently picked up injuries playing hurling. Murray said: "We've been trying to blend in a few younger players with the more experienced lads this year, and it's taking time to get to where we want. I think it will be very close against Tubberclair, as they're a very hungry outfit. They scored 2-12 against Maryland and that's a very impressive score. I've been generally happy with the progress we've made from last year, which was a poor year for the club, but we need to prove we're capable of competing for the entire 60 minutes." The Tubberclair and The Downs game is preceded on Sunday by the Westmeath SFC relegation play-off between Coralstown-Kinnegad and St Malachy's (5pm), while the Westmeath IFC quarter-final between Tang and Caulry takes place on Saturday before the Athlone/Garrycastle match at Moate (5pm). THIS WEEKEND'S WESTMEATH SFC QUARTER-FINALS Saturday Moate: Athlone v Garrycastle (6.30pm, winner plays Killucan in semi-finals). Sunday Cusack Park: Tubberclair v The Downs (6.30pm, winner plays Mullingar Shamrocks in semi-finals).