Last-eight and SFC relegation decider pairings to be finalised this weekend 

The Donegal SFC ramps up this weekend with four Preliminary quarter-finals taking place as well as two huge relegation play-off encounters all down for consideration. 

First up in that last chance saloon on Saturday are the meetings of St Eunan’s and Termon in Convoy with Naomh Conaill and Termon taking place later on in Ardara. 

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The first relegation play-off clash between Aodh Ruadh and Glenfin is also down for consideration in between, in Donegal Town. 

On Sunday, it’s a double header in O’Donnell Park as MacCumhaills tackle Downings while Four Masters are up against Glenswilly. 

In the other relegation play-off St Naul’s square off with Ardara in Fintra. 

Saturday

St Eunan’s v TermonDonegal GAA Centre, 5pm 

With the sides tangling at the weekend in the fourth and final round of the group stage, it was St Eunan’s that just got over the line at the Burn Road.

3-12 to 1-15, it’s fair to say that last year’s IFC winners put it up to the current Dr Maguire holders, who trailed their hosts by four nearing the midpoint there.

But a Philip Doherty goal for Barry Meehan’s men was hugely significant. And with the wind at their backs in the second period, the Letterkenny side went on to edge it.

Caolan McDaid’s outfit just pipped Glenfin to 12th spot and avoided a relegation fight thanks to two late Ardara goals, with Termon’s superior scoring difference the deciding factor.

Ricky Gallagher, John James Sweeney, Cormac Brady, Jack Alcorn and Oisín Harkin all held their own on Saturday last against the champions, but others are going to have to step up to the plate this time out if they’re to cause what would be a seismic upset.

It’s knockout football from this point on and St Eunan’s, lacklustre enough to date, surely have a gear or two to reach for as the serious business begins.

Eoin McGeehin hit 2-2 last weekend and must be one of the best ball-winning club footballers in the county.

Conor O’Donnell jnr has been prolific this term, while namesake Conor O’Donnell snr, a little like McGeehin, remains one of the most influential middle-third players in the county.

Shane O’Donnell is settling back in nicely and was impressive in that previous victory over Termon. He, alongside Ciaran Moore, are the players Eunan’s need going well if it’s to jumpstart overall efforts from this point on.

Shaun Patton remains out on his own, and by a considerable distance, when it comes to what he offers his team.

St Eunan’s should win this one and it will be interesting to see if Termon, when the chips are really down, can hang with them like they did in the group stages.

So St Eunan’s don’t just need a win, they need a performance, if they are to suggest that they mean business from this juncture on.

VERDICT: St Eunan’s.

Naomh Conaill v KillybegsPearse Memorial Park, Ardara, 7.30pm 

Naomh Conaill losing two group games wasn’t on anyone’s radar as they fell to Glenswilly and, more recently, St Michael’s in their final regulation outing.

And an eighth-place finish means they must now take on Killybegs this weekend to earn the right to progress to the quarter-finals.

Naomh Conaill are probably in a little bit of transition as the likes of mainstays and club legends Anthony Thompson and Leo McLoone get used to impact roles in off the bench.

But with Finnbarr Roarty breaking onto the scene like he has, and Kieran Gallagher back in the ranks, they are two very able replacements.

Eoghan McGettigan’s return up top should offer a new dimension to their attacking play while Ethan O’Donnell’s return from Australia is a massive boost.

So there probably is just some bedding in to be done and anyone writing the Glenties side off at this stage could well end up with significant egg on their faces.

Naomh Conaill’s form, patchy as it is, won’t be the thing weighing heavily on Martin Regan’s mind now the SFC enters the knockout stages.

Ciaran Thompson’s absence through injury for the remainder of the season remains a huge blow. He is the side’s leader and he is the one who has always set the standard on the pitch.

Naomh Conaill could probably have done with the extra week’s break to get to work on ironing out their creases.

Killybegs, with Hugh McFadden leading the charge, presents a real challenge for Dr Maguire heavyweights Naomh Conaill.

Kieran Gallagher went toe-to-toe with Michael Langan last week and even though McFadden was full-forward in the Fishermen’s 4-14 to 3-12 win over Aodh Ruadh, Pauric Bonner might have to draft the player back to the middle third for this one.

Eoghan Bán Gallagher, like Roarty on the other side, offers directness and pace and that duel, even if it’s not in direct competition, will have a significant impact on the eventual outcome of this one.

With so much of Naomh Conaill’s attention focusing on those obvious two, the door could be left ajar for the likes of Jack McSharry and Evan Broderick to step up to the plate.

Much like St Eunan’s, Naomh Conaill not only need to win but they need to win with a little swagger and go into the last eight proper with their feathers flexed.

Naomh Conaill need a reaction on Saturday and if they can do that, they’ll also serve notice to the rest of the pack that they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

VERDICT: Naomh Conaill.

SUNDAY

Four Masters v GlenswillyO’Donnell Park, Letterkenny, 5pm 

This one - on paper - looks difficult to call. Four Masters took five points from their four outings with two wins, a draw and a loss under their belt.

They saw off St Naul’s and Glenfin in the group stages but lost away to Termon in between.

However, going away to Dungloe is as difficult as it currently gets in Donegal club football and to take a share of the spoils in Rosses Park, it’s definitely Masters’ best SFC showing to date.

Dungloe needed a late two-pointer to square that game and the fact Barry Dunnion’s side stood up to the rigours in that environment against one of the best-conditioned sides in the competition, they’ll see Glenswilly as beatable opposition.

But Gary McDaid will be feeling the exact same way this week in the lead-in to Sunday. After that huge opening-day win over Naomh Conaill, Glenswilly shared the spoils against MacCumhaills in a game they trailed at one stage by 13 points.

With Michael Murphy still absent, there would have been plenty to be optimistic about even if they did suffer a two-point loss to Dungloe at home.

But last weekend’s 4-20 to 1-10 drubbing at the hands of Kilcar will have set some alarm bells ringing at Páirc Naomh Columba.

And while a top-four finish was beyond them last weekend, a 19-point loss is still a difficult one to fathom - even with the foot off the gas in Towney. 

But one thing is for certain, going into the knockout stages, they’re going to need talisman Murphy if they’re to progress in the competition. 

So it will be interesting to see if the player makes an appearance this time out.

If he’s on the teamsheet or even named on the bench, the nod would go to Glenswilly. But without him, you’d feel Four Masters are in the driving seat.

Kevin Muldoon and Seanan Carr are the ones to watch for Four Masters while Eoghan Scott, Kealan Dunleavy, Dáithí Gildea and veteran Gary McFadden will again be asked to carry the threat for Glenswilly.

The hesitant vote here goes to Four Masters but don’t rule out extra-time.

VERDICT: Four Masters.

MacCumhaills v DowningsO’Donnell Park, Letterkenny 3pm

With Oisín Gallen limping off in MacCumhaills’ loss to Gaoth Dobhair, Gary Wilson is sweating on his availability ahead of this one. Gallen’s complaint is an ankle one and the aim there this week has been to get the considerable swelling down.

MacCumhaills had been moving really well up until last Sunday and will no doubt harbour real frustration that they didn’t secure a top-four finish and one of those automatic quarter-final places.

Ruairí Callaghan had a fine game for the Twin Towns in Convoy but if Gallen is absent, they’re going to need the likes of Kevin McCormick and Jamie Keegan to really step it up in this one.

Downings had been having a decent enough SFC campaign with a win over Kilcar away - one of the big results in the group stage.

Maxi Curran’s charges also put in fine hours in narrow defeats to both Dungloe and Naomh Conaill so the form guide had suggested they were more than capable of going away to St Naul’s at the weekend and winning.

Instead, the Mountcharles outfit, who had three losses under their belts up until Saturday evening, ground out a 0-17 to 0-16 win.

Gavin Mulreany landed three two-point frees in that win so maybe, on another day, the visitors might have got something.

As mentioned, so much will depend on the availability of Oisín Gallen. But even without him, MacCumhaills might just have enough to fall over the line.

VERDICT: MacCumhaills.

SFC relegation play-offs

Saturday

Aodh Ruadh v GlenfinTír Chonaill Park, Donegal Town, 5pm

Aodh Ruadh were the only side not to pick up a single point in the group stage and they look the most vulnerable outfit going into both relegation play-off games this weekend.

Killybegs went to Ballyshannon on Saturday evening and landed a 4-14 to 3-12 victory over their hosts. Jack Gallagher and Shane Delahunty tried hard to stem the tide there.

Aodh Ruadh’s cause isn’t helped by the fact that Glenfin earned a timely and morale-boosting win over Ardara at Páirc Taobhóige.

Frank McGlynn’s men, at one stage, actually found themselves in twelfth spot in the standings and, for close to four and a half minutes at least, looked to be on their way to gatecrashing the preliminary round quarter-finals.

But despite a 5-17 to 2-16 win over Ardara, two late goals from Damian Devaney’s charges, coupled with a late Termon rally in their loss to St Eunan’s, meant the Burn Road side scraped through.

Odhrán O’Connor hit 3-2 in that ten-point win while Ross Marley, Shaun Ward and Aaron McGlynn all impressed.

Glenfin just seem to have more about them and with momentum in their sails, seem best placed to bring the curtain down on their SFC season in positive fashion.

VERDICT: Glenfin.

Sunday 

St Naul’s v ArdaraEamonn Byrne Memorial Park, Killybegs 1pm

A little like Glenfin, St Naul’s grabbed their first SFC win at the third time of asking last time out against Downings.

Ardara’s loss and the manner of it in Glenfin leaves them in a difficult headspace going into this crucial clash.

Ardara’s sole win in the group stage came against Aodh Ruadh. They followed that up with a good showing in Glenties where they ran Naomh Conaill right to the wire.

However, MacCumhaills did a real number on them in Round 3 and with Glenfin also taking their scalp, they have some soul-searching to do in the run-in to this one.

Old heads like Conor Classon, CJ Molloy and Paddy McGrath continue to battle and grind for them, but Ardara need others to come to the fore on Sunday.

St Naul’s influential trio of Gavin Mulreany, Brendan McCole and Peadar Mogan, along with veteran focal point Stephen Griffin, gives them a real platform through the middle.

And using last weekend’s contrasting results as a barometer for this encounter, it’s St Naul’s that get the vote.

VERDICT: St Naul’s.