Club scene hit by 48 hours of seismic shocks

Few things resonate more in the latter stages of the club championship than an underdog dumping out a favourite – and over the weekend there were enough shocks to cause seismic activity.

A look at the fallers over the weekend speaks volumes.

Glen have featured in two of the last three All-Ireland finals but Rory Kavanagh's side were taken apart by Magherafelt in the Derry semi-final.

Corofin made history in 2020 by becoming the first club to lift the Andy Merrigan Cup three years in a row, but their Galway three-in-a-row hopes were ended at the semi-final stage by Salthill-Knocknacarra.

Crossmaglen are, of course, no stranger to the All-Ireland stage and while their star may have dulled a bit from their glory days, seeing them throw away a 10-point lead to neighbours Cullyhanna in the Armagh semi-final raised eyebrows.

In the other semi-final, Clann Éireann, favourites for the Orchard title, were downed by Madden meaning there will be a first-time winner in two weeks’ time.

The back-to-back curse remains alive and well in Tyrone as holders Érrigal Ciaran were beaten 1-13 to 1-11 by Trillick. The Ballygalwey side made it all the way to Croke Park last year – beaten by a Cuala side already out in Dublin – but the loss means you have to go all the way back to 2005 for the last time a side retained the title in Tyrone when Carrickmore went back-to-back.

Down in the Kingdom, East Kerry – with David Clifford, but not Paudie, in their starting 15 – were expected to have too much for Rathmore in the quarter-final – but they were not so much beat as destroyed with a massive 14 points the difference in the end.

At the far end of the country, in Antrim, Dunloy – noted small-ball technicians – showed they’re handy with the big ball too as they ended a 89-year wait by beating a Cargin side aiming for a ninth title in 11 years. Again, this was no fluke with a very comfortable seven points between the sides in the end.

The same in Cavan, as underdogs Kingscourt, who had lost to Gowna by 17 points in the final just two years ago, gained revenge – and with a healthy nine points to spare.

Portarligton in Laois and Coolera-Strandhill in Sligo came close to suffering shock defeats too but did enough to earn replays with first-time finalists Courtwood and Shamrock Gaels respectively.

The bug even extended to the hurling finals.

While Kildare’s Naas and Armagh’s Middletown fulfilled their seven-in-a-row ambitions, Carnew ended Bray’s hopes of a magnificent seven in Wicklow.

Maybe the new rules – in football anyway – have changed the mentality of the underdog, purple patches can produce much more in a scoring return, but it’s rare that so many favourites have fallen by the wayside in the space of 48 hours.

The club scenes continues to throw up a plethora of stunning plot-lines.

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