REPEAT OF 2010 FINAL HEADLINES SENIOR CUP DRAW

The draw for the 2012 North West cup competitions took place at Eglinton on Wednesday night and as always there are plenty of thrilling ties to look forward to over the winter months. The Brigade v Strabane contest leaps off the page of course; the 2010 finalists given a pairing that neither would have particularly wanted at this early stage. There are sub-plots aplenty too with Mark Simpson's men having wrestled the championship off the Tyrone outfit this year while Strabane will point to a decent record on the Limavady Road in recent seasons. Niall McDonnell always proves a handful against his former team-mates too so there is sure to be a huge crowd at Beechgrove on 26 May for what should be a cracker.

There are four second division sides involved in the preliminary round of the competition with Gordon Cooke's Drummond entertaining Ardmore while Burndennett host The Nedd. The good news for that quartet however is that the respective winners of those matches have been paired against each other meaning that there will be a least one second tier side in the last eight.

The draw was particularly notable for Bready as the holders were given a fairly straightforward opener to their defence with a home tie against Sion Mills and then buoyed by the news that the Magheramason venue has been chosen to host next season's final. The North West agreed last year that the final would be rotated from here on between Derry and Tyrone and both Strabane and Bready had pitched for the honour this time around. The voting delegates came down in favour of the latter and outgoing skipper Trevor Hamilton was delighted with their evening's work. “It's a good draw for Bready no doubt about that; first and foremost you look for a home tie and although the boys will give Sion the respect they deserve, they will be confident of going through. The decision to trust the club with the final is very fitting given the work that has been done at the ground year on year. We have worked hard to correct the drainage problems and are ready to do the showpiece justice and while Eglinton have done a superb job in hosting the final over the years we feel that it is essential that clubs' development initiatives are given the recognition they deserve. Bready will be dully committed to defending the Northern Bank Senior Cup particularly now that the final will be at “home””.

Glendermott are another side who feel that they have a cup run in them and Gordon Montgomery was upbeat despite being drawn away to Bonds Glen. “We'd have preferred a home tie but it could have been a lot worse. We lost by one wicket out there in a real thriller last season and that result dragged us into the relegation scrap for a short time so it's a good chance for us to atone for that. The Bee Gees have a good scrap in them which makes them dangerous opponents but we'll go there with a good chance of making the quarter finals”.

St Johnston won't be overawed at the prospect of entertaining newly promoted Creevedonnell while Killyclooney have the consolation of home advantage as they host a strong looking Coleraine side.

ahead of the new season. Eglinton are beginning life in Division 2 for the first time in a decade but are believed to have tied up a deal to bring Stephen Smyth to the village ahead of the new season. The left hander is one of the most talented batsmen to come out of the region in the current era and is returning to one of his former clubs in a player/ coach role. Smyth's two-year sojourn at The Rectory ended in fairly unspectacular circumstances this summer so he will be keen to prove that he has plenty left in the tank yet. The villagers will welcome cup kingpins Donemana in the first round and Richard Kee's side will take nothing for granted as they travel to meet Karl O'Doherty's men.

The all-Division 1 contest between Fox Lodge and Limavady is up there with the Beechgrove game as a potential tie of the round and both clubs will be keen to put disappointing cup runs in 2011 behind them this time. The Roesiders are reeling from the news that they are to serve a two year home ban in the Bob Kerr Irish Senior Cup following last year's misdemeanours in that competition and could be a real handful domestically given their disappointment.

Also at Wednesday night's meeting the North West welcomed Newbuildings Cricket Club into the fold and on condition that the “new boys” meet certain criteria they will begin life in Intermediate 1.The club will ground-share with Glendermott initially and Fox Lodge seconds will provide the opposition in their first Intermediate cup tie.

The draws in full are as follows-

Northern Bank senior cup preliminary round- 1) Drummond v Ardmore; 2) Burndennett v The Nedd.

Round 2- Winners of 2 v Winners of 1; Fox Lodge v Limavady; Killyclooney v Coleraine; Eglinton v Donemana; St Johnston v Creevedonnell; Brigade v Strabane; Bonds Glen v Glendermott; Bready v Sion Mills.

Sammy Jeffrey Shield- Burndennett v Killyclooney; Eglinton v St Johnston; Sion Mills v The Nedd; Ardmore v Drummond.

Intermediate A- Round 1- 1)Brigade II v Coleraine II; 2)Ballyspallen v Donemana II.

Round 2- Eglinton II v Winners of 1; Newbuildings v Fox Lodge II; Strabane II v Bready II; Winners of 2 v Glendermott II;

Intermediate B- Round 1- 1) Donemana III v Bready III

Round 2- Bonds Glen II v Winners of 1; North Fermanagh v Ardmore II; Creevedonnell II v Crindle; Fox Lodge III v St Johnston II

Intermediate C- Limavady II v Donemana IV; Bready IV v The Nedd II; Killyclooney II v Coleraine III; Brigade III v Eglinton III;

Intermediate D- Sion Mills II v Killyclooney III; Drummond II v Burndennett II; Coleraine IV v Ardmore III; Fox Lodge IV v Bready V.