Football scene daunting

GAELIC GAMES:THE WEEKEND'S activity in the club championships saw the departure of the last provincial champions when Portlaoise were eliminated by the team they succeeded nearly 12 months ago, Dublin's Kilmacud Crokes.

This means there will be no defending provincial champions in the spring’s All-Ireland semi-finals, as all four of last year’s hurling semi-finalists have also been evicted from this year’s championships.

Whereas the hurling has been opened right up with Ballyhale Shamrocks and Portumna – winners of the past five All-Irelands – beaten in their county championships, football is already taking on a familiar look, even though there’s been a complete changing of the provincial guard.

Kilmacud, although considerably short of first-choice players, are hot favourites to win Leinster and challenge for the All-Ireland title they won two seasons ago – the club’s first coming back in 1995. But the configuration of likely contenders is daunting, with Nemo Rangers and Dr Crokes of Killarney heading the betting list in Munster and four-times champions Crossmaglen odds-on favourites in Ulster.

In Connacht, St Brigid’s are recent champions, having won in 2006, but opponents in the final, Galway’s Killererin, haven’t won the province.

For all the heavyweight contenders, club football remains ultra-competitive, with nine different winners over the past 10 seasons, compared with six clubs in hurling.

This year’s hurling All-Ireland is almost certainly going to produce new winners. Antrim’s Loughgiel Shamrocks is the only club remaining to have won the title and that was 28 seasons ago and they are long odds to repeat the feat.

The Galway clubs Clarinbridge and Loughrea, who replay their county final at the weekend, are the only others in contention to have reached the St Patrick’s Day final.

Football on the other hand is well stocked with former winners, apart from Kilmacud. Five of the clubs remaining have won the All-Ireland. Two of them meet head-to-head at the weekend with Crossmaglen, winners three years ago and finalists in 2009, facing Burren the Down champions – who won two All-Irelands in 1986 and ’88 – in the Ulster semi-finals.

In Munster, Nemo Rangers, still top of the roll of honour with a most recent title in 2003, and Dr Crokes, for whom Colm Cooper is in terrifying form, are chasing a first in 19 years having lost to Crossmaglen in the 2007 final.