DONEMANA AND BREADY READY TO BATTLE FOR TITLE

It all comes down to the final weekend now in the race for honours in Division 1 of the Long's SuperValu North West league and things are a little more concise heading into what is sure to be a nervous last day.

It's a similar story in the battle to avoid 8th place of course, Fox Lodge having gained the momentum in their scrap with Glendermott following a resounding midweek win over Creevedonnell.

The two sides have vastly differing games on which to end their respective seasons however, the Foxies entertaining Bready while Glendermott host already relegated Bonds Glen. David Scanlon is well aware that a win in their match at Ballymagorry would mean Donemana having to beat both Coleraine and Brigade this weekend to win the title on their own steam.

Should Richard Kee's side slip up in one or both of those matches the way would then be open for Bready to pip them as they have the head-to-head advantage. Glendermott should have enough about them to get past the Bee Gees and with a similar advantage over Jonny Robinson's boys, the momentum could shift right at the line.

The Fox Lodge v Bready game is an altogether different matter and it is sure to be an anxious afternoon for both camps with so much at stake. The Foxies have already beaten their opponents in the league this season and have also recorded wins over Strabane and Donemana so they are nobody's mugs. It could well come down to who holds their nerve better.

And so to the other key matches on Saturday with Donemana at home to Coleraine, the Bannsiders no doubt frustrated to have surrendered top spot in the league on the back of a really poor weekend last time.

They were hampered by the early return of professional Chinthaka Jayasinghe to the Sri Lankan Premier League but did have under-19 star Scott Campbell back in the side for those defeats to Glendermott and Brigade.

It has been a superb season for Ian McGregor's men who were probably just short of a bit of experience in the run-in and a touch light in the middle order in Jayasinghe's absence.

They could still prove very troublesome for the league leaders however, particularly with the pressure off and the hosts know this will be no easy task.

Brigade and Limavady would normally have been a cracking end-of-season finale but the two heavyweights of local cricket have been below par in the league this summer. The Beechgrove side lost their way in the title race early on and then went down to defeats to Bready (twice) and Glendermott in the space of a week last month but have recovered to win their last four on the spin.

Only a series of freak results would bring Mark Simpson's team back into it but if they were to beat Limavady on Saturday while Donemana and Bready both lost it would make for a very interesting afternoon at the Holm on Sunday.

The Roesiders have almost been going through the motions in the past few weeks and will need to be better as a unit if they hope to end the outgoing champions' winning streak.

Strabane are another side to have lost their way as the pace increased and Martin Deans' men will need to re-group over the winter and look at their options. Any team's batting would struggle as a result of losing someone of Niall McDonnell's stature and the Red Caps were no different.

To be fair, Peter Gillespie did a very good job in his unfamiliar opening spot but then there was no-one to beef up his place in the upper middle order. Their bowling, so often Strabane's Achilles heel, held up fairly well this season but while a top-half finish probably represents an ordinary enough season, they should at least close on a high against relegated Creevedonnell.

And then it is all about Sunday and the final league match of the season sees the outgoing champions head to the Holm where Donemana will be hoping to take the crown back from the Waterside men.

Obviously much will depend on what happens the preceding day but there is every likelihood that the game will end up deciding the outcome of this year's league campaign. It has been a superb season for Richard Kee and his team with three trophies already in the vault and good runs in both the Bob Kerr and Club Turf cups.

None of that will matter for now though and the only thing on the Tyrone side's mind will be securing the league and cup double exactly 20 years after the last time they achieved the feat.

It all adds up to a fascinating finish to the domestic campaign and although Creevedonnell and Limavady have an outstanding T20 replay which will finish the senior season, this weekend will tell the tale. We will of course bring you all the action on Monday.

The final week-end's fixtures

Saturday

Strabane v Creevedonnell
Brigade v Limavady
Fox Lodge v Bready
Glendermott v Bonds Glen
Donemana v Coleraine

Sunday

Donemana v Brigade

Monday-Wednesday
Creevedonnell v Limavady