Armagh City Hotel Ulster senior club semi-final

Sunday 1pm in Swatragh: Swatragh v Clonduff

NEITHER Clonduff nor Swatragh will have been disadvantaged by the postponement of this semi-final last weekend.

In fact it probably has strengthened each of them given that they had such a short turnaround from the respective county finals the previous weekend.

Dara McGuckin was injured in her first passage of play against Bellaghy and had to leave the pitch immediately.

With no fewer than eight youngsters filtering into the team since they lost the 2023 final to Slaughtneil, the likes of the experienced McGuckin and Máiréad McNicholl coming off the bench in the second half has been a feature of their championship run this year.

Meanwhile Paula O’Hagan has been working her way back to match fitness after the birth of her child in late August.

Ten minutes in the Down semi-final transferred to around 20 in the final a fortnight later. Consequently she may well feature for a longer period in this game when her experience will be a huge asset to Clonduff.

The extra week will also have given the respective management teams time for a closer look at their opponents, time to work out plays and match-ups.

That could be key to the outcome as many expect this to be a very tight encounter between two teams who have suffered disappointment at the hands of Loughgiel over the past couple of seasons.

Clonduff have played the Shamrocks twice and arguably learned a lot from those experiences.

They look a lot stronger this season, both physically and skilfully; no-one got close to them in Down. This should be their toughest challenge of the season.

Swatragh came through the Derry championship with some ease although their final against Bellaghy was a bit closer than the final score-line suggests; the Davittt’s pulled clear on the score-board with spurts in the ten minutes before half time and then at the end.

As pitches get heavier, margins get smaller and game are often decided by free-takers.

Both Emma Quinn and Sara Louise Graffin have proven that they can hold their nerve under pressure while Paula O’Hagan is also a useful addition from the side-line.

Small margins. Swatragh to start favourites on home soil. But Clonduff to let them know they won’t get it easy.