Rebel Óg minor football round-up: Semi pairings set at Premier 1 and 2

AFTER games over the weekend and midweek the semi-finalists in the Rebel Óg MFC are now known at Premier 1 and 2 level.

Going into ties over the weekend there were a number of permutations for sides across all groups and lots to play for.

At Premier 1 level both Ballincollig and Nemo were through to the semi-finals ahead of their clash on Saturday, with the winner topping the group.

Both sides had good wins in midweek, with the Village defeating Na Piarsaigh and Nemo way too strong for Douglas.

This meant that both sides were already through but Nemo topped the group after their 2-15 to 1-7 win.

The Trabeg boys have been impressive from the start of this championship and must now be considered favourites to go on and win the title.

They won’t be getting carried away and with Colin Corkery at the helm they have someone who has done it all.

He will keep their heads down and concentrating on the task at hand and won’t be getting carried away.

But Ballincollig are far from out of this championship and had a number of injuries that they hope will be fit ahead of their next outing. Douglas, who had a disappointing campaign rounded off their group games with a win over Na Piarsaigh.

In the other group, the only certainty going into Saturday’s ties was that St Finbarr’s were through and it was a case of who was going to join them.

St Michael’s were making the trip to Togher to take them on, with Bantry Blues hosting Mallow in the other group game.

Wins for the Barrs and Mallow would see them both progress, but neither managed to do that on the day.

Massive credit must go to the Dazzlers who showed their midweek win over Bantry was no fluke as they were fully deserving of their draw with the Togher outfit.

It ended St Finbarr’s 2-9 and St Michael’s 1-12, which then meant the latter was waiting on the result of the other game to see would it be enough to see them through.

Bantry Blues were at home to Mallow, and the home side knew they weren’t going to qualify no matter what happened. But to their credit, they finished the group stages on a high, with a 5-11 to 3-7 win over the visitors.

Two goals from Dara Sheedy and an opportunistic effort from Fionn O’Donovan put the home side in control and further second-half green flags from Paddy Cronin and Cillian O’Brien helped secure their win.

But the combination of results meant that Barrs topped the group on five points and Michael’s midweek win and draw on Saturday put them on three points and this secured the second semi-final place for them.

So the pairings for the semi-finals are Nemo Rangers v St Michael’s and Ballincollig v St Finbarr’s, with details to be confirmed in the coming days as to when and where they will be played.

In the Premier 2 competition, the clash of Bishopstown and Éire Óg meant the winners would top the group and the losers would also qualify in second spot.

Both were determined to come out on top and in a tight game, the Ovens side managed to win by 1-10 to 2-6 to secure top spot.

The other group had one game on Saturday and the other on Sunday and going into Sunday’s tie both Kinsale and Kilshannig knew they were certain to qualify for the knockout stages.

Carrigaline’s win over Valley Rovers meant the former finished on two points and the latter on one.

With Kinsale already on four and Kilshannig on three, before they met on Sunday evening in Kinsale they both knew semi-final spots were secure.

So all that was at stake was who would top the group and take on Bishopstown, with the losers facing Éire Óg.

In a close game, Kilshannig took the points to top the group.

Attention now switches to the final games of the hurling round robin series next weekend before semi-finals in both competitions will be known.

Premier 1 semi-finals: 

St Finbarr's v Ballincollig; Nemo Rangers v St Michael's.

Premier 2 semi-finals: 

Éire Óg v Kinsale; Kilshannig v Bishopstown.