Minor football preview: Bishopstown head to rivals Ballincollig in huge group game

Two big games tonight in section one of the Premier 1 MFC as the sides bid to put one foot in the semi-finals.

In the battle of near-neighbours Ballincollig are at home to Bishopstown, while the other tie sees Éire Óg host Douglas at Ovens. Bishopstown are the form team at the moment and went through the league undefeated and showed that was no fluke in their opening round of the championship.

There were at home to Éire Óg and in the type of display that will see them as one of the favourites for overall honours they came out on top by 6-10 to 1-11. They took the lead after 10 minutes when Bill Cahill hit their opening goal, and they managed to stay in front for the rest of the half.

Larry Tompkins is the manager of this side and he has been involved with them for a number of years and it’s showing.

He has done it all and has worked hard with the squad over the last few seasons to turn them into one of the best football sides in the county.

Of course, he will be well aware that nothing has been won yet and there is a long way to go, but if they continue in this form then they will be very tough to beat.

They have lots of talented players and the switch of one of them against Éire Óg proved crucial in their win.

Éire Óg played some good football in the opening period and were right in the game, but Bishopstown swapped wing-forward Callum Caplice with midfielder Gary Holland – a move that certainly changed the game as he scored 2-1 inside the first 10 minutes of the second half, which put the game out of their opponents reach.

They will look to build on that win tonight but will also be well aware that the Village will be a tougher test, especially at home.

For their part, Ballincollig showed they too are a quality side as they came from behind to draw with the defending champions Douglas in the opening round. They looked out of it but rallied in the second half to come from seven points down to deservedly draw.

Cian O’Connor came on as he returned from injury and the Cork minor showed all his class, along with the likes of their top-scorer Danny Miskella and Cian Ahern. David O'Leary and George Howard are also key players but they have lost dynamic midfielder Ben O'Connell for the coming weeks with a hamstring injury.

It has the hallmarks of being a thriller and a difficult one to call.

The other tie should be close as well, but Douglas will need to win if they are serious about defending their title. If they hit form then it should be enough to see them come out on top.

But no matter what happens places in the semi-final will go down to the final group games in two weeks.

FIXTURES

TUESDAY

Premier 1 MFC: Éire Óg v Douglas, 7pm; Ballincollig v Bishopstown, 8pm.