Belnaleck and Teemore will do battle for a place in the Senior Football Championship semi-finals at Brewster Park on Saturday night.

This is a contest between a Division One side who are making their way in Senior championship after decades playing at the lower levels against a Division Two team who are traditionally a tough nut to crack in the championship.

As the Division One team, Belnaleck will be favourites to progress, but Manager Colm Bradley knows that they face a stern test against a side that perform best at championship time.

“If Teemore played a best 15 select from Kilcoo, Kilcar and Crossmaglen, they would expect to win. It is in their DNA.

“So they will be full expecting to beat Belnaleck and will have this game circled from a long way out.

“I expect Teemore to be at the best they have been all year when we meet them. They have been putting up some huge scores and have a lot of potential in attack,” said Bradley.

However, he believes that the Art McMurroughs have made great strides in recent years and wants that to continue.

“There has been a lot of progress made over the past four years.

“The team has gone from eighth in Division Two in 2017 to mid-table in Division One in 2021, and the players deserve huge credit for that. In addition, this is our third year in the Senior championship.

“Even though we have lost players of a high calibre, I think the team has improved. But we have to keep improving and playing a proven championship team like Teemore gives us that opportunity,” he said.

Teemore are under the guidance of two-time All Star Barry Owens, and will be well primed when the ball is thrown in on Saturday, but Owens knows that they have a tough assignment ahead of them.

“We’re expecting a very difficult game,” said Owens. “Belnaleck have a lot of very good players who have been playing at a higher division than us for the past few years and probably should have beaten Derrygonnelly a few years ago, and were unlucky against Ederney last year, so we know that we are up against it.”

However he feels that he has a good squad at his disposal, and he says it is all about performing on the day.

“Coming from Division Two we know we are at a disadvantage compared to the other teams in the Senior championship.

“You can only take one game at a time and we’d be hopeful that we can overcome the challenge of Belnaleck.

“In saying that, we have a good, young squad, but it all depends on the day which team performs and gets the little bit of luck along the way.”