It is just a week before the Northern Bank Senior Cup final and Brigade will rarely have been more desperate for a win to boost confidence going into their first decider in eight years.

The Beechgrove club started the season favourites to win the Senior One league title for a third successive year but it has all gone wrong and tomorrow they travel to Fox Lodge needing a win just to get back into the top half of the table.

Although they defeated Ardmore in a Twenty20 league replay on the first day of the month, it has been a horror July for the defending champions, losing their last three league games and last Sunday were well beaten in the final of the Faughan Valley Cup by Donemana.

Chasing a modest 133 for victory, Brigade were bowled out for 106 in the last over with Mark Simpson (30) and Stephen Smyth (28) the only batsmen who made any impact. Wajahtullah Wasti took three wickets but is, surprisingly, struggling for runs, while Gordon Cooke was unable to bat in both games last weekend after splitting the webbing of his hand when dropping one of EIGHT catches during the league game against Strabane.

A visit to Ballymagorry is a game they would have not thought twice about a couple of months ago, and indeed they beat the Foxes by 57 runs in the second game of the season, having scored 215 for seven.

Brigade scrambled past 200 at New Strabane Park, but that was the first time they had managed that in a league game since May. Fox Lodge, despite winning for the first time in three matches at Glendermott last week, are at the dizzy heights of joint third place.

The championship, though, remains well out of reach. That will be a straight fight between Donemana and Limavady. The Roesiders, Brigade’s opponents in the cup final, face the tougher task tomorrow, away to Bready, but the Irish Cup finalists and league leaders should maintain their winning run with another home success against Eglinton.

At the other end of the league table, Ardmore and Killymallaght, with just one win each from their first 10 games, will fight it out to beat the drop. Both are at home tomorrow with Killymallaght going for a league double against Glendermott while Ardmore meet Strabane, who are also in action in one of Sunday’s two league games.

Henderson Properties Senior League One (1.00pm): TOMORROW: Ardmore v Strabane, Bready v Limavady, Donemana v Eglinton, Fox Lodge v Brigade, Killymallaght v Glendermott. SUNDAY: Glendermott v Eglinton, Strabane v Bready.