Cavan's Paul Brady continues his DALKIA 40x20 Senior Championship conquest this weekend, when he takes on Antrim's Ricky McCann in the first of two exciting semi-finals. The reigning champion was in top form last weekend when he overcame Meath's Brian Carroll 21-6, 21-5 to seal his semi-final spot against McCann. The Saffron handballer had a more testing outing against Armagh's Charly Shanks; McCann took the first game 21-17, only to go down 21-8 in the second. He lifted his game for the tiebreaker, where he powered home to a 21-5 victory with a meeting against Brady as his reward. "It should be a good game against Ricky; we always have tough encounters and with a place in the final at stake, we'll both be going at full speed," said Brady. The Mullahoran man returned to competitive handball action last month and the current World and US champion has been playing some stylish ball after his three month break from the game. He opened his championship campaign with an emphatic win over Antrim's Owen McKenna, before taking down Carroll last Saturday. Brady, who also featured for the Breffni County in last year's football campaign but has ruled himself out of the fold this season to concentrate on his handball exploits, is bidding for his fourth senior singles championship title in succession. "To make another final would be great, but I'm taking it one game at a time," said the defending champion. "Ricky is a great player and I will need to be in top form to take him, but winning another title is obviously the ultimate goal." In last year's Senior Singles final, Brady defeated Dublin's Eoin Kennedy, who is also in action on the semi-final stage this weekend. He will renew rivalries with Cork's Tony Healy, having lost out to the Rebel in the Envirogreen Resource Nationals two weeks ago. This should be a well contested battle, and games between the pairing usually generate top-class handball. With a place in the DALKIA 40x20 Senior Championship Final at stake, fierce handball warfare is expected. Meanwhile, the DALKIA Ladies Senior Championship semi-finals also take place this weekend, with an exciting programme in Mullingar on Saturday. Antrim's Aisling Reilly takes on Kildare's Eimear Fallon in what should be tight affair. Fellow Saffron, Fiona Shannon, will meet the familiar figure of Maria Daly, and this also looks set to be a well-fought contest. With almost 40 other All-Ireland Semi-Finals taking place around the country, there is plenty of top handball action in store this weekend. Tweet

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