Senior Hurling Championship

Slaughtneil v Lavey

Sunday, Owenbeg, 4pm

Lavey are sweating the fitness of two key players for this weekend’s championship clash with Slaughtneil.

Captain Eamon McGill and Brendan Lavery suffered knocks during recent football matches and manager Johnny McGarvey is now surveying their fitness in the hope that they will be fit to play some part this weekend.

McGarvey said: “We won’t make a call until Saturday, But bar those, we have a clean bill of health.

“Eamon McGill is our captain and our star man.”

Lavey pulled off the shock of the round in the championship when they accounted for Banagher in the last round of the Senior Hurling championship.

They won 1-19 to 1-13 against a Banagher team who had contested the last three finals.

Their reward for that remarkable result is a game against a Slaughtneil team who are chasing their seventh senior championship in a row.

It is going to be a massive test for them.

“We have to go out and play our own game. We have to try to play the game on our own terms. We know how strong they are.

“We have to try to keep the ball. If they have the ball then we are in trouble.”

McGarvey admitted that the Banagher win was their first solid performance of the year.

He said that Lavey have struggled in the league this season.

“The Banagher game was the first time that we had clicked all year. We will try to do that again.”

McGarvey said that they had a number of great performers against Banagher. McGill was one of them, Sam Dodds was another. Chris Henry has missed most of the past few years, but he is back involved.

They need to have big games for Lavey to have any chance against Slaughtneil, who McGarvey believes are in great form.

“They have some super players, and they probably have not had them all in the last few years.

“They are going for seven in a row. They have won a couple of Ulster titles and probably should have got to the All-Ireland final.

“To be honest, they probably have to play a level below themselves for anyone to have a chance against them.”