By Shaun Casey

EIGHT will become four in the Down Junior Championship this weekend as the quarter-final battles take place. A number of teams will have their eyes firmly fixed on going all the way, but it’s knockout football now so anything can happen.

From the outset, Division Four league champions Dromara have been the favourites for the competition, and they proved throughout the group stages that carrying such a tag certainly hasn’t weighed them down.

John Fegan’s side stomped through the round robin series and picked up four wins on the bounce to finish at the top of the pile. They face Kilclief on Thursday evening and should comfortably see it through.

Ardglass are the only other side that came through the group stages unscathed as they also secured four consecutive victories. Their wins, especially the last day out against East Belfast, were a little harder earned than Dromara’s.

Peter O’Shea’s side edged out East Belfast by the minimum of margins last weekend to confirm their spot at the top of the group and they’ll now meet Dundrum with a semi-final place the prize for the winner.

Ardglass, playing away from home, came from three down at the half time interval to turn things around against East Belfast and that will only add another layer of confidence to last year’s beaten finalists.

The defeat left East Belfast in second position, meaning they must take on an Aughlisnafin side that were hit by injuries during the group stages. The 2021 winners will still have a say in where the trophy ends up, however and that tie could go right down to the wire.

In the last quarter-final of the weekend, Glasdrumman take on St Michael’s and Glasdrumman have been buoyed by the return of former Down full-forward Connaire Harrison (left).

Harrison, who spent the last couple of years playing with Neasden Gaels in London, was the star for Glasdrumman when they last won the Junior Championship title back in 2015 when he kicked 2-6 in the decider against Ardglass.

The addition of Harrison adds a completely new dynamic to the championship, and he will be a major factor in how far Glasdrumman go this season.