BRIGADE BID FOR ALL-IRELAND GLORY AS DOMESTIC TITLE RACE HOTS UP

There's still a mountain of league action stacked up in Division 1 of the Billy Henderson Properties North West league as the poor summer continues to take its toll and while there are four more games pencilled in for Saturday, top billing this weekend goes to Brigade who travel south hoping to clinch a semi final spot in the Bob Kerr Irish Senior Cup. The Beechgrove side has a solid chance of progressing too whilst on the league front at home, the big game of the day sees Limavady entertain Strabane in a contest that could ultimately have a major bearing on the title race. Here's a look at all those upcoming matches-

BOB KERR IRISH SENIOR CUP QUARTER FINAL

PEMBROKE V BRIGADE

It hasn't been the best of times for the Northern Bank senior cup holders of late and after a good start they found themselves out of that particular competition while three consecutive league defeats also meant that they fell four points behind reigning champions Strabane in the league race. In their defence they put in magnificent performances in this tournament, deservedly beating North Down in a bowl out before thumping Clontarf in the last round. Domestically at least their batting has been the downfall and Mark Simpson's side has relied on Chris Dougherty and Iftikhar Hussain far too much. Overseas man Ata-Ur-Rehman has bailed them out with much needed runs as well but the Pakistani is far from a recognised batsman and that has highlighted Brigade's recent frailties. They are a different proposition with ball in hand however with options right throughout the side. Given that Pembroke saw off Bready in style last time it is clear that the Leinster outfit's strength is their batting. Theo Lawson and Ryan Hopkins were the two men who saw off Trevor Hamilton's side on that occasion and the likes of Andrew Balbirnie, Alan Eastwood and Rohit Bahl does little to weaken them. All things considered the home side would normally start favourites but it is all about Brigade's batting. If that holds up the Waterside men have an excellent chance of progressing to the last four.

BONDS GLEN V BREADY

To their eternal credit the Bee Gees have refused to let their experiences in the top flight get to them so far but it is perfectly clear even at the halfway stage that a swift return to Division 2 now looks on the cards. The saving grace might be the arrival of overseas professional Gihan Dilruk; the Sri Lankan certainly looks as though he can bat but despite their best efforts to date the hosts have never really looked comfortable in their new surroundings. One player who has relished the big stage is Richard Hepburn who has been in good form of late particularly with the ball but they won't need me to tell them that the overall demands are altogether different at this level.

The visitors come here on the back of booking their place in the senior cup final and will be brim full of confidence after their heroics in Strabane. Their league form to date has been fairly in and out but whilst they look a fraction short of title clinching class they have enough quality to be pushing for a place. David Rankin has been excellent at the top of the order and the Scalon boys, Brian and David have started well too whilst Marc Fleming has been a revelation since being brought into the attack. Despite big runs in their cup crusade Steven Clarke hasn't been at his best in the league just yet and if Bready are to challenge at the top end they need everyone on their game. It is very difficult to see anything other than an away win here.

COLERAINE V GLENDERMOTT

There is almost three tiers within one Division this season and this has the look of a clash between two teams who are split by very little in a group just behind the big guns. The Bannsiders were also in senior cup action last weekend so it will be interesting to see how they bounce back after their double defeat at the Holm. Likely to be missing skipper Tim Chopra for some considerable time means that Coleraine will be even more reliant on Ian McGregor, Mohammad Salman and David Cooke for runs but to be fair to them the likes of Sami Prakash, Paul Douglas and Scott Campbell are others who will happily take up the mantle. Stevie Dunn gives them good options with the new ball and young Rishi Chopra has been in excellent form as well as that blend of youth and experience stands the club in good stead.

Glendermott have suffered for the loss of Gary Neely and Peter Gibson from their attack and while the batting usually holds up fairly well, Gordon Montgomery's men often struggle to contain. That said if they could generate the same enthusiasm that saw them knock Brigade out of their stride recently then anything is possible. The form of overseas professional Roy Silva has improved in the past few weeks so maybe all is not yet lost for them. It's a very difficult game to predict this one but Coleraine probably start slight favourites.

EGLINTON V FOX LODGE

Many people fancied Brian Allen's side to be challenging on all trophy fronts this year and while they have put up decent performances to date, the league title is now their only chance of claiming silverware. Quality-wise the Foxies are right up there with the best of them and they have no shortage of options in either discipline. Surprisingly their normally reliable batting line up was at the centre of their cup defeat to Donemana but there remains the feeling that they are slightly suspect under pressure. Given the strength of character around the side, and professional Darryl Brown is an obvious case in point, you would think that experience wouldn't be in short supply, but maybe they just need to get their noses in front before we see the best of them.

Eglinton are a slightly different type of animal and Andy Christie's side have been concentrating on putting last year's horror show behind them first and foremost. They started really well but in recent weeks their key men, Chris Pierce, Richard Wylie and Ryan Butterworth have been steady as opposed to outstanding. The villagers' batting gave way in very disappointing fashion when in a superb position at Bready recently and they followed that up with something of a horror show last weekend on the receiving end of two hammerings from Brigade and Limavady. They need to show much more than that if it isn't to be another bottom two finish this season but the visitors are favourites to collect full points.


LIMAVADY V STRABANE

Bob Kerr cup notwithstanding this is the game of the day for many as the champions and league leaders put their credentials on the line against the side that Strabane themselves believe are their biggest threat this season. While much of the attention has revolved around matters off the field at the Hunter Ground the players have refused to become distracted and have focused their attention on getting their name back up in lights. Skipper Andrew Riddles is back in after keyhole surgery but despite that tough-as-nails attitude the all-rounder is unlikely to be fully wound up that quickly. The arrival of Adnan Akmal has given them a lift and you sense that the young Pakistani will soon make his mark on the local scene. Decker Curry is usually at his most dangerous when he has been out of sorts too and you can be sure that he will be eyeing the champions up as the Roesiders bid to avenge their cup exit. Perhaps more of a concern for Strabane might be keeping Stuart Thompson and Adam McDaid quiet as those two have definitely been pivotal for their side thus far.

The champs come here knowing that a win for them will be a huge boost in their bid for three in a row. In many ways you would imagine that should the Red Caps claim the points this Saturday they could buy another tin of polish but Jonathan Beukes won't be thinking about anything like that just yet. Strabane have form concerns too; Peter Gillespie in particular struggling for any sort of consistency at present. He too oozes class though and it would just be his type of game to produce the goods when they were most needed. Niall McDonnell, Beukes, Mark Gillespie and Kevin Martin are all well capable of troubling the home side as well but you feel that whoever bowls best will win. It will be interesting to see how Limavady cope in a game that they really need to win to keep their title interests alive.