Semi-final spots up for grabs

JFC QUARTER-FINAL PREVIEWS

The JFC may be the third tier in Meath football but it is proving to be very competitive and at the moment, it's very tricky to pick out a favourite. The quarter-final pairings are very tight and there isn’t a lot between the four sides bidding to join Ballinlough and Slane in the semi-finals, writes Tom Gannon.

Last years finalists, St Vincent’s have not quite reached the heights that they did in 2024. They only just got the better of Syddan and Nobber and they were soundly beaten by Slane in a crunch game that decided the group winner.

Moylagh’s performance to get a draw with a talented Clann na nGael in the final game of Group C was a good one and they will take a lot of confidence from that heading into their clash with St Vincent's.

There is the possibility that St Vincent’s could improve and they certainly have the talent in their ranks to do but if they don’t, Moylagh may be able to stun Paul McManus’s charges in Rathkenny from 1pm on Saturday.

Clann na nGael were expected to top their group with relative ease but the fact that they’ve been tested on more than one occasion this year, may not be the worst thing for them either. They are a talented side and in Ben Corkery, they have one of the most exciting young forwards in the county at the moment.

Dunderry are a solid JFC team who deserve their spot in the quarter-final but if you remove Ballinlough, how strong was Group B? That remains to be seen. If Moylagh get the better of St Vincent’s 24 hours earlier, it would certainly suggest that Clann na nGael’s form is the stronger of the two sides in the second quarter-final at 11.30am in Bohermeen on Sunday and they might prevail.