SFL Division two Final - Roslea favourites

The SFL Division two final this Friday evening at Brewster Park will be contested by Roslea and St Josephs and it will be Roslea who will be going into the decider established as warm favourites to collect the silverware.

The Shamrocks have a lot of plus factors going for them, not the least being the fact that just a few weeks ago, they travelled to Ederney for a league assignment and came away with an untroubled seven point victory.

The presence of Roslea in this season's second division was something of a surprise in the first place, but they had unexpectedly slipped into the top flight relegation zone last autumn despite having picked up what should have been sufficient points to avoid the drop.

They came into this current season as the prime contenders for immediate promotion. They had an early hiccup but chastened by that they have subsequently been the foremost team in the division and their prompt return to the top grade was never in any serious doubt.

St Josephs on the other hand are unexpected finalists. They have been labouring in the second grade for approximately a decade and with stiff opposition apparently coming from Irvinestown and Kinawley, they had their work cut out to make an impact.

But the collapse of Irvinestown and the erratic form of Kinawley, has allowed St Josephs to squeeze themselves into the top two.

It has been a thoroughly deserved reward for them for they have been generally consistent all through the campaign and no one could question their right to be headed for next season's first division.

But for this weekend's final with Roslea, St Josephs have to be looked upon as distinct underdogs and their chances of staging what would be an upset have been further eroded by the fact that they will be missing pivotal figure Martin McGrath.

McGrath has got a well merited call up for the Ireland International Rules squad, presently in Australia. A great honour for the St Joseph's icon and one which couldn't be turned aside.

But his absence has left a massive hole in the club side's lineout and it is difficult to see them being able to successfully overcome his departure.

Still they will be coming into Friday's contest with no great expectation to burden them down. In fact they should be in stout heart for they have already gained the important prize of promotion and have really nothing to lose here.

And no game is a cast iron certainty. Just a few seasons ago, St Josephs enjoyed an incredible run in the senior championship as they swept past a clutch of first division sides to reach the final.

So no game is beyond reach and highly rated Roslea will presumably be keenly conscious of that sporting fact of life.

For St Josephs, much will be looked to from defenders Dwayne McAlynn and Aaron Dennison while further up the park the main scoring threat will presumably be engineered by Declan and Darren McCusker and Enda Ferris.

Younger players who have been doing well for them this season have included Conor Maguire and Michael McAleer. A tidy, bustling side overall who will delight in giving Roslea a testing hour.

But Roslea at the end of it all should carry far too much firepower.

Currently playing extremely well for them is midfielder James Sherry and if he maintains his present run of form, the Shamrocks will have a rock solid foundation in the middle of the park.

Dotted elsewhere are proven quality players, Peter Sherry, Kevin Cosgrove, Peter Lynch, Martin Renfrew, Conor and Aaron Mulligan.

Roslea will be especially keen to wrap up their season in the league backwaters with the appropriate prize and unless they allow complacency to derail them, they should be celebrating a success that they always looked likely to collect from the onset of the year.

Division three semi finals.

Sunday will see both of the division three semi finals staged.

Unexpected team in the shake up here is Irvinestown who have been struggling from the opening day. Their promotion challenge was almost immediately under question and over the course of the league campaign they shipped a string of defeats.

Over the past few weeks however they have managed to improve and are ending the programme on a more upbeat note. They face Aughdrumsee and would appear to have too much in hand for the team which has finished in bottom place.

With Shane Goan, Gary Maguire and Conor McGuigan to orchestrate matters they should come through.

Aughdrumsee will be looking to Eugene Kearins, Fergal Reilly and the enthusiastic Aiden Bannon to motivate their effort but Irvinestown would seem to have the better balance.

The second semi final features Erne Gaels v Derrylin. The Belleek team have an Ulster championship assignment to look forward to and this semi will be an excellent warm up for them. They are the side who have a clearer focus at this late stage of the year.Derrylin on the other hand have been undergoing some difficulty over the past few weeks.

A more concentrated Erne Gaels could edge this tie.

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