The first round of the Intermediate Championship for the two five team groups (C & D) commences this weekend. This year will be the last year that there will be three teams relegated from Intermediate to Junior which in reality means there are more teams trying to avoid relegation than having hopes of winning it.

In predicting who will win the Mattie McDonnell Cup this year and play Senior Championship in 2023, form would indicate one team (Dunshaughlin) ahead of the rest of the field with Oldcastle and Rathkenny the only teams really capable of putting it up to Dunshaughlin. Although Dunshaughlin will be well aware that no team in the past 20 years have gone straight back up to Senior. Those three teams will win their groups with Dunderry being the other group winner, more so because they are in a very weak group. One other team who would be expected to get a quarter final spot would be Duleek/Bellewstown, the other three spots one probably going to St. Pats and the other two up for grabs mainly due to the uneven make up of the groups.

For instance, in Group A which is really the group of death, all four teams on form would be considered to be among the top eight of the Intermediate teams but one of them will be heading for the relegation Semi-finals, while in Group B you have Dunderry and three other teams who on form would be considered to be in the bottom five of the 18 Intermediate teams, one of those three lower ranked teams are going to make an Intermediate Quarter final. More on those two groups in two weeks' time when they start.

So the reality is that the teams who finish last in Group's B, C & D will in all likelihood be the three teams to be relegated as the fourth team in Group A should be strong enough to beat all of them in the relegation semi-finals and Final.

In Group C this weekend's results will probably tell more about who will be heading to the relegation semi-finals as both losers (although they will still have a further three rounds to play) will then be in a battle to avoid the last place relegation spot, particularly the loser of the Bective and Kilmainham game. Indeed if the games in Group C go to form, before the last round is played both quarter-finalists could very well be decided and the last round game between Blackhall and Kilmainham could be an almighty battle to avoid the relegation semi-final.

The two games this weekend could be close enough but I predict St. Pats to beat Blackhall and Bective to beat Kilmainham (despite their 2B final win). Dunshaughlin get a bye.

In Group D it looks like the outcomes of this weekend's two games are more predictable with Rathkenny to beat Ballivor and Duleek to beat Clan Na Gael (which could be a bit closer). Meath Hill get a bye.

So my Group predictions:

Group A 1st Oldcastle 2nd St. Michael's 3rd Walterstown 4th St. Vincent's

Group B 1st Dunderry 2nd Drumbaragh 3rd Nobber 4th Longwood

Group C 1st Dunshaughlin 2nd St. Patrick's 3rd Bective 4th Blackhall Gaels 5th Kilmainham

Group D 1st Rathkenny: 2nd Duleek/Bellewstown 3rd Meath Hill 4th Ballivor: 5th Clan Na Gael

It is much more difficult to predict who will be relegated than who is going to be champions. It is not nice predicting who is going to go down but I will stick my neck out and pick the teams who I think will finish last in groups B, C & D to be the ones who will go down, Longwood, Kilmainham and Clan Na Gael.

Meathball (Meath) - Posts: 140 - 05/07/2022 09:06:23    2429775

Brownepat (Meath) - Posts: 532 - 06/07/2022 14:12:36    2430095

Meathball (Meath) - Posts: 140 - 19/07/2022 08:01:53    2432833

ALLGAA32 (Meath) - Posts: 64 - 25/07/2022 16:19:00    2434348

After getting 8 out of 8 predictions correct so far in the first two rounds of groups C & D, I will give another lash at the 8 games this weekend, what else would you be doing on a wet bank holiday Monday.(predictions more difficult this week).
MY PREDICTIONS are wins for: Oldcastle & St. Michael's in Group A, wins for Dunderry & Drumbaragh in Group B, wins for Dunshaughlin & Bective in Group C and wins for Duleek/Bellewstown & Meath Hill in Group D.
We finally get to see the teams in Group's A & B as there are games in all four groups this weekend. Group A: is fascinating and really is the group of death, before a ball is thrown in, all 4 teams have genuine claims of making the Quarter finals. The competitive nature of this group makes every game very important. The clash of last year's beaten finalist (Oldcastle) and beaten semi-finalist (Walterstown) is the top Intermediate tie of the weekend and takes place Sunday evening in Kells. When they met in the group stages last year it ended in a draw. For Walterstown to win this game Paul McCarthy's side would have to improve significantly on their league form which was poor, where they ended up bottom of the Division 1B table (10th) and were relegated. Jude McNabb had a very good first year on the job for Oldcastle and losing last year's final to a really good Trim team was a big improvement on the year before. They have Jason Scully who missed a lot of the A league playing with Meath and Meath under-20 Pierse Sheridan and should start off with a win.
The outcome of the St. Michaels V St. Vincent's (Junior Champions 2021) game in Seneschalstown on Sunday could well decide which of these teams makes the Quarter finals. Would imagine it will be very close and should be a great game but St. Michaels to just about get over the line.
Group B: The weakest of the four groups in the Intermediate Championship. Dunderry look like to be the only genuine contenders in the group and start off their campaign against Nobber, a team now without Jordan Morris, looking like a team that are on the slide. Nobber were relegated in the league (Division 2A) while Dunderry finished 3rd in the Division above them (1B), so a Dunderry win. In the other game Drumbaragh with an inform Hughie Corcoran should beat Longwood. Drumbaragh have a great chance of taking a QF berth from this group but it would mean beating Longwood & also beating Nobber in their last game.
Group C: Blackhall after their bye week will feel confident going into their game against Bective as the most recent form (both teams have already played St. Pats) suggests they should win but with Dermot Carty now thought to be out through injury it will make it more difficult for them. The margin of defeat (11 points) to St. Pats is very worrying for Bective and after beating Kilmainham the first day out, it was surprising how poor a 2nd half they had. The toughest game to call, could end up a draw but I will give my vote of confidence to Jekyll & Hyde Bective to keep their very slim hopes of getting a QF spot barely alive.
St Pat's won't have any fear going into their game against Dunshaughlin having won their first two championship outing's including having a great 2nd half display against Bective winning by 11 points, whereas Dunshaughlin only showed a few flashes of brilliance against Kilmainham in their nine points win. St. Pats have already performed way better than last year when they got only 1 point from their three group games and ended up in the relegation play-offs. St. Pats would have been planning this game for a while and will have a game plan in place to keep Dunshaughlin from putting up a high score on the board. The Pat's haven't conceded any goals and only conceded 8 points in each of their two championship games to date and currently have the best defensive record in this year's Intermediate championship. Up front St. Pats are not lacking top class scoring talent, led by Donal Landy who is joint 2nd top scorer of the Intermediate championship after 2 games. For the 2nd game in a row the Pat's introduced Sean Emmanuel at half time but they will surely start him for this one, his introduction along with fellow Meath Minor medallist John Mannion against Bective had a big impact on that game where they outscored Bective 3-6 to 0-2 in the 2nd half. Dunshaughlin also introduced a few players the last day who were returning from injuries and they still have a few more to come back from injury. Five of the six Dunshaughlin forwards who were part of last year's successful under 20's team combined to score (1-15) all bar one point of their total in their win against Kilmainham. Whoever wins this one will have as good as nailed the first spot in the group with 2/3 rounds to go and the loser would still be able to get the 2nd QF spot by winning their remaining games. Expect it to be close in Ashbourne on Friday night and despite St. Pats having a very effective defensive system, Dunshaughlin's young guns will score enough to grind out a win. Pointless Kilmainham have a bye but will have got encouragement from how well they played against Dunshaughlin.
Group D: Ballivor recovered well from their first-round defeat to Rathkenny to beat Clan Na Gael comprehensively in their last game and will be up against Duleek/Bellewstown who recorded the biggest winning margin in the 2022 Intermediate Championship to date while also defeating Clan Na Gael. Duleek/Bellewstown are expected to have Alan Bowden back from injury for this one and as that will only increase their dominance up front, it will ensure the Men from East Meath should get their 2nd win from two, in what could be a very high scoring game in Walterstown on Friday evening. Meath Hill will be expecting to bounce back after their defeat to Rathkenny and beat Clan Na Gael who have been poor in their first two games. The only positive statistic for the Athboy men going into this game is that they scored more in both of their defeats than Meath Hill did in their defeat. The game is scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Kilmainham and although Meath Hill only managed six scores over the hour against Rathkenny, it is hard to see how Clan Na Gael can avoid another defeat especially considering they have conceded 5-37 in their first two games. Rathkenny who have two wins out of two have a bye this weekend.
We didn't have any drawn matches in the first two rounds so far but we could have one or two this weekend. However, I will stick my predictions.

Meathball (Meath) - Posts: 140 - 02/08/2022 12:34:49    2435876

"Easy for Dunshaughlin in Ashbourne"

Never easy, but progress all the same. On now to BHG's with some hope and confidence.

aghref (Meath) - Posts: 150 - 07/08/2022 09:53:12    2436504

Groups A & B round 2, Groups C & D Round 4

After going so well the first 2 weekends, I fell flat on my face only getting 4 from 8. Upsets in Groups A & B makes them both really exciting now, but Groups C & D with 2 rounds still to go, have the four Quarter finalists as good as decided (Dunshaughlin, St. Pats, Rathkenny & Duleek/Bellewstown), last place relegation semi-finalists to be decided with Bective the only other team in those 2 groups that mathematically cannot be relegated.

In Group A the big game on Sunday in Kells is between the joint leaders of the Group, Walterstown and St. Michaels and the winner will grab the first Q.F spot in that group. Walterstown having won their first game in Kells must be delighted to play their 2nd game there too, bringing back great memories of their glory days in Senior when they played a lot of big matches in Kells. Walterstown now that they eventually got going will get a 2nd win.

Oldcastle recovering from the shock of losing to the Blacks will bounce back with a win against St. Vincent's in Trim on Sunday to get their show back on the road and leave them with a chance of Qualifying going into the final game.

In Group B the two shock joint leaders Longwood & Nobber play each other in Bective on Saturday evening and with both playing so well in their first outings it is a hard one to call. Despite Longwood scoring 5 goals and having a much more experienced side I will give the nod to Nobber to cause another upset. One amazing fact from the Dunderry/Nobber game was that the top two individual scores of the 16 games played in the Intermediate Championship so far were in that game. Sean Meade, Nobber & Adam Kelly, Dunderry both scored 1-7. Dunderry play Drumbaragh in Carnaross on Sunday, both teams have to win to stay in championship and its unlikely Dunderry will lose two in a row especially when they have a player like Kelly who scored all his 1-7 from play the last day, outdoing the 1-5 (1p) scored by Drumbaragh's own top scorer Hughie Corcoran.

In Group C Dunshaughlin take on Blackhall Gaels in Moynalvey on Saturday evening and although it is a local derby where you would expect fire and brimstone, it is hard to see anything other than a Dunshaughlin win. Blackhall were missing some of their top players in their 5-point loss to Bective due to a wedding and will be hoping their return will inspire Blackhall to put it up to their neighbours. In the other group game St. Pats play Kilmainham on Sunday, a win for the Pat's should be enough to clinch a Q.F berth. Kilmainham will see this game as a game where if things went right for them, they could get a vitally important win against a team who had the life sucked out of them against Dunshaughlin. Two of the leading contenders for the Intermediate Golden Boot Award come up against each other, Donal Landy (0-20 from 3 games) and Michael Newman (0-12 from 2 games). I will stick with a Pat's win. Bective have a bye week.

In Group D it looks like it will be a straightforward enough win for high scoring Duleek/Bellewstown over Meath Hill who were disappointing, leaking 4-9 when losing to Clan Na Gael, who had themselves conceded 5-37 in their prior 2 games. It is a case of the top offensive team in the championship playing the next to worst defensive and next to worst offensive team. Meath Hill are the only team in the group with no points and won't pick any up here and might give Duleek/Bellewstown their biggest winning margin yet. Rathkenny should also have a comfortable enough win over a resurgent Clan Na Gael. Ballivor have a bye week.

Meathball (Meath) - Posts: 140 - 18/08/2022 16:45:40    2437934

Quite a mad week in terms of some of the results seen coming in from this weeks games…

Group A:
Oldcastle beating St Vincent's by 17 points is quite a hammering for what we know is a very defensive Vincent's team conceding 3-15 I believe and maybe this was Oldcastles way of laying down a marker for their crucial game with St Michaels in two weeks time with a win surely needed to see them through. The Vincent's may very well give Walterstown a game with their very defensive set up I think Walterstown will certainly struggle with the long ball in to O'Dowd and O'Connell but should see it through with a win.

St Michaels beating Walterstown comfortably in Pairc Colmcille. I was disappointed with the performance from Walterstown as I know their a team that can certainly do very well with some great quality on the field. O'Dowd just never seemed to get into the game and find his rhythm and also with Barry O'Connell back I thought he struggled. St Michaels looked solid all over the field from 1 to 15. Matthew Halpin and Oran Meehan were excellent yesterday. I think Walterstown will win their last game but by how much is the question and I think the last game between St Michaels and Oldcastle should set up to be a great shootout and a tight affair.

I see on Hoganstand it says St Michaels are through but surely that's not guaranteed yet with the chance of 3 teams all being on level points with score difference to come into play?

Group B:
Nobber once again pulling it out of the bag with another big win over Longwood on Saturday evening. After what was a very poor league campaign their into the quater finals with a game in hand. Sean Meade once again being the key man to that nobber attack and will cause problems for any defence in the championship. Ryan Moore obviously being the other stand out player for Longwood. Do Nobber have enough quality all over the field to go on and cause an upset? For me I don't think so and I think they'll need more players to step up if they want to advance any further.

Dunderry what was an 8 point victory over Drumbarragh certainly didn't look like that. Dunderry were disappointing yesterday for a team I expect to do very well in the Intermediate grade they didn't show that. The game itself was poor but was neck and neck almost all the way up until the last 10 minutes when Dunderry finally pushed on to secure the much needed win. Dunderry will need to find something more in the forward line if they want to advance any further in the competition. Drumbarragh relying on Corcoran, O'Higgins and Jimmy Corcoran who was out the field yesterday for scores and to get the ball going forward. Nobber to beat Drumbarragh and Dunderry will need to up their game big time to see through a win over a tough longwood side. Nobber and Dunderry to advance.

Group C:
I don't think I need to mention anything on Dunshaughlin really. A 1-16 to 1 point win over Blackhall Gaels has to be one of the most convincing wins we've seen in a long long time. The question is how good is this Dunshaughlin side? Can they do it against a good side? Is there anyone to stop them? At the minute I don't think they'll be beaten but at the same time they haven't had a proper test yet and will be interesting to see how they go against one of the bigger sides in this grade.

St Pats with a good win over Kilmainham. I think this group is definitely the weakest group and don't think the second team out of this group will cause a threat to any of the other teams. St Pats I don't think have what it takes and same with Bective, certainly two teams not to be taken as an easy game but in terms of quality I don't think they have enough to go much furter. Is Sean Emmanuel and John Mannion playing with St Pats? I haven't seen or heard much from either and are certainly two players that would be a great boost to St Pats if playing. Dunshaughlin and St Pats to advance

Group D:
Rathkenny with a very comfortable win over Clan na Gael. This Rathkenny team are a great outfit and are one of few teams that can cause problems for Dunshaughlin. Rathkenny although having top quality defence line, lack a little bit upfront. Two inter county standard footballers in Keith Curtis and Caolach Halligan would cause nightmares for anyone along with the addition of David Curtis. Inter county footballers all over from back to forward and are a team who will take a serious good outfit to beat.

Duleek Bellewstown losing out to Meath Hill surely has to be one of the shocks of the championship. Duleek would've guaranteed favourites to win this match outright and secure a spot in the quater finals spot but now the group is thrown wide open with Meath Hill and Balivor now able to qualify if results go their way I believe correct me if i'm wrong. Meath Hill after a poor display two weeks ago bounce back against a top team and pull it out of the bag with a last minute goal save to I believe. Rathkenny to advance and Duleek to go through just about.

Any standout players across the games this week? Anyone to look out for at Senior and U20 county level next year?

redracoon (Meath) - Posts: 57 - 22/08/2022 13:12:21    2438269

For Group A, Michael's aren't quite through yet. If they lose to Oldcastle and Walterstown beat Vincent's, it'll come down to points difference between the three.
Nobber are, as far as I can see, guaranteed top spot in group B. They've beaten both Dunderry and Longwood already so they'll be ahead of either on head to head even if they lose their last game.
Would really fear for Blackhall Gaels at this stage. Thought they'd do enough to stay out of trouble but scoring a solitary point in 60 minutes is dismal and those sorts of results can affect a team mentally. Wouldn't put money on them staying up if they finish bottom.
For group D, Duleek/Bellewstown must be kicking themselves after that result. As far as I can see, Ballivor have nothing to play for (they can't finish in the top 2 and can't finish bottom) so I can see Meath Hill beating them (as they can both finish in the top 2 or finish bottom depending on results). If Duleek/Bellewstown lose to Rathkenny, Meath Hill would go above them on head to head with a win.

Ratoath Royal (Meath) - Posts: 1374 - 22/08/2022 16:37:11    2438298

Looks to me that if meath hill lose to ballivor in last round they will go into relegation play offs due to losing to clan NaGael in head to head, bizarre situation in a group of 5 teams. Win & qualify for Q final, loss and your relegated

fred2 (Meath) - Posts: 25 - 22/08/2022 22:00:24    2438323

PatrickTopping (Meath) - Posts: 119 - 23/08/2022 09:09:30    2438328

royler (Meath) - Posts: 278 - 23/08/2022 09:43:45    2438333

PatrickTopping (Meath) - Posts: 119 - 23/08/2022 09:59:24    2438341

houndinbound (Meath) - Posts: 22 - 23/08/2022 11:16:50    2438363

PatrickTopping (Meath) - Posts: 119 - 23/08/2022 11:50:21    2438374

Blackspot09 (Meath) - Posts: 1003 - 23/08/2022 12:19:35    2438381

It seems to me that Dunshauglin like Trim the last few years are definitely the most talented team in intermediate. But I could see them getting pipped in a sort of dour game by Rathkenny or St Michael's. And the loss in the league final might be in their mind in a close game. If Dunshauglin could get over a proper test against one of those teams there would be nothing stopping them going on a run like Trim last year and competing for Leinster and all Ireland. But they still have questions to answer in a close game

LeitrimRoyal99 (Meath) - Posts: 1523 - 23/08/2022 13:04:32    2438396

Brownepat (Meath) - Posts: 532 - 23/08/2022 20:21:25    2438484

Jimmycricket (Meath) - Posts: 113 - 24/08/2022 07:55:24    2438496

LeitrimRoyal99 (Meath) - Posts: 1523 - 24/08/2022 09:15:18    2438501