MacLarnon Cup update

Danske Bank MacLarnon Cup
THREE games over the course of the last two days have significantly altered the group standings in the Danske Bank MacLarnon Cup and produced a quarter-final line up for early February that few would have expected earlier in the week.
On Tuesday evening, just two points separated the top four teams in Section A with Scoileanna Inis Eoghain on top with five points from three outings and Our Lady’s Castleblayney in fourth spot with three points from three outings.
Yesterday Castleblayney beat Inis Eoghain by 3-10 to 0-11 to leap-frog them and move into second spot in the table, while Cathair Dhoire, the new amalgamated team from the schools in Derry city, went into top spot with a 3-9 to 1-8 win over St Malachy’s Castlewellan.
St Patrick’s Downpatrick beat their Keady namesakes last weekend to sort out first and second in Section B, but yesterday’s 2-10 to 0-11 win for St Louis Ballymena over Our Lady’s and St Patrick’s Knock means that Knock must go into a play-off with St Pius X Magherafelt to fill the remaining quarter-final place.
The winner from that will meet Cathair Dhoire at the start of February while there is an interesting East Down derby between St Malachy’s Castlewellan and St Patrick’s Downpatrick.
Keady look to have a tough quarter-final against the Inis Eoghain amalgamation while the last of the quarter-finals is a repeat of a semi-final from 2017 when Castleblayney defeated St Louis Ballymena.

Danske Bank MacLarnon Cup
Quarter-final play-off (next week)
St Patrick’s Knock Knock v St Pius X Magherafelt
Danske Bank MacLarnon Cup quarter-finals (week ending Saturday 2nd February:
Cathair Dhoire v Our Lady’s and St Patrick’s Knock Knock/St Pius X Magherafelt
Our Lady’s Castleblayney v St Louis Ballymena
Scoileanna Inis Eoghain v St Patrick’s Keady
St Malachy’s Castlewellan v St Patrick’s Downpatrick