All Sports Blog

Kerry v Down, Croke Park, 2.00pm
Down currently hold a 100% record in meetings with Kerry, coming into this game 4/4, the most recent being in 1991. Since then, the two counties have gone in separate directions in terms of success. Down won the All-Ireland in '91 and '94 but since then the closest they came to silverwhere was an Ulster final draw with Tyrone in 2003 and a drubbing in the replay. Kerry, on the other hand, have appeared in the last 6 All-Ireland finals, emerging as victors in 4 of them.

Could it be the best time to face Kerry? It is likely to be. This game they are missing Paul Galvin and Tomas O'Se, both of whom are suspended. Aidan O'Mahony returns to fill in the void left by O'Se at right-half-back. A timely return but will he be up to championship pace? Indeed, will the whole team suffer from the long lay-off from the Munster final? Down have had much more game time and their confidence will be sky high after last week's demolition of Sligo. They are also boosted by the availability of Damien Rafferty and star-man Benny Coulter, who have shaken off injuries sustained in that game.

I was critical before of Dan Gordon playing full-back and I would still worry about him facing nippy opponents but he should be well suited to mark Kieran Donaghy. I feel that Down will have the upper-hand in midfield where Caolan King and Ambrose Rodgers have been superb so far this year and once again the amount of ball that Marty Clarke gets on will be pivotal to Down's chances.

Down lack the big-game experience that Kerry have but I think they will surprise a lot of people tomorrow and I'm backing them to pull off a huge upset.

Verdict: Down

Tyrone v Dublin, Croke Park, 4.00pm
Are Dublin relishing the chance to get revenge against Tyrone or are they fearful that they are not good enough to beat them? I would be more prone to think it is the latter. While Dublin have been solid enough in recent times, I would question their mental fragility when things aren't going their way. In the games against Meath, Wexford and Tipperary, they suffered lapses in concentration and focus. To stand any chance tomorrow they will need to play for the full 70 minutes. They are also all too prone to complete collapses as we have seen numerous times in recent years and Tyrone will have them beyond arms-length in record time if they switch off.

For Tyrone, Brian McGuigan replaces his brother in attack and this doesn't really weaken them. In fact, I think it will be of benefit to have another player who is controlled in posession. In the game 2 years ago, Colm McCullagh controlled the game from deep and that might just be McGuigan's role this game.

The key to this game will be Tyrone's intelligence of movement and their ability to work the ball into great shooting positions. I don't think the Dublin defense will be able to cope with this and I dont think their attack is varied enough to break Tyrone down.

Verdict: Tyrone

Roscommon v Cork, Croke Park, 2.00pm
Roscommon are in bonus territory and will be out to enjoy this occasion and try to play their best football. In normal circumstances it would be a game where you would worry about Cork underestimating a much-less fancied opposition but I don't think this will be the case. After last weeks below par performance against Limerick, Cork will be on their guard this time and I think we will see a much improved performance.

Man for man, there is quite a sizeable gulf in class between the two teams and I expect Cork to have too much power in the half-back and midfield areas of the pitch. They have such a strong bench and with places possibly up for grabs in many areas, the players will be looking to cement their places for the latter stages of the competition.


Verdict: Cork

Meath v Kildare, Croke Park, 4.00pm
Meath haven't had a game since their narrow win against Louth and they probably could have benefitted from offering them a replay in that sense! They have a few big-game players in the team and they are one of the teams who are quite vulnerable if any of them have an off-day. They disposed of Dublin well but were never really tested in that game when they got the easy goals. More worringly, they were very poor against Louth in the second half.

Kildare for me have been the most impressive team in the championship this year. They do shoot from some low-percentage angles and distances but they create so many chances that it works out in the end. Mentally, they look very strong and not surprisingly, given they are under the tutelage of Kieran McGeeney, they are all fighting fit. In the games against Derry and Monaghan they just kept coming wave after wave of attack and both teams eventually succumbed to the pressure. Dermot Early is the leader and inspiration in midfield and it seems that in Emmet Bolton, there is a player who McGeeney is moulding himself in to be the heartbeat of the team from centre-half-back.

Meath have a chance if they score a couple of goals but in my mind the most probable outcomes are either a narrow or a wide Kildare winning margin.

Verdict: Kildare

GAA SFC Quarter-Final Previews

The 3-0 defeat away to Braga tonight is obviously an  awful result for Celtic. They have no chance of overturning that deficit at home, NO CHANCE.

Scottish football is in tatters at the moment and this result does not surprise me in the slightest. And I couldn't even blame Neil Lennon for this result. It was always going to be tough to gel a new team together in time. He will rely on bringing a strong spirit, good structure and a steeliness to the team which will take a while but thats all he can do with such a limited squad of players. The bottom line is that the quality of player that the Old Firm can go after is falling fast due to an inability to afford them and it is worsened by the fact that the young talent isn't there.

Rangers aren't any different and they are going to struggle massively in the group stages. Both teams have midfields that would struggle in the Championship nevermind the Champions League. And elsewhere the gaps are filled by journeymen and players who were never going to make it further south.

They need to get structures in place for the future NOW because I fear they are at a major crossroads and they have just taken off in the wrong direction. Next year, no Scottish teams will automatically qualify for the group stages of the Champions League. Looking at the squads of both Celtic and Rangers, it will require massive efforts and a bit of luck for either team to qualify at all.

Scottish Football hits rock bottom

Well there was always going to be some great draws thrown up and I cannot wait until next weekend, it is going to be epic.

Meath v Kildare
This promises to be a very close, tense battle and Meath will be looking to improve a lot on their final performance against Louth. Kildare have been building very nicely and will be quietly confident they can do the business.

Kerry v Down
If Down produce an attacking display like yesterday then this game could be a thriller. Kerry are Kerry and will be well fancied for this game but Down will chomping at the bit to get at them, its been a long time since they have been on the big stage and they will respect Kerry but not fear them. This could well be the game of the round.

Tyrone v Dublin
They meet again! Memories of that masterful Tyrone performance in the rain in 2008 will be fresh among a lot of both sets of players and Dublin will have revenge on their minds. If they keep improving they could cause Tyrone some problems. The atmosphere will be electric and I expect a full house at Croke Park in what is no doubt the standout fixture in the quarter finals.

Roscommon v Cork
No disrespect to Roscommon but they were probably the team that all the qualifiers were hoping to draw. Cork will be delighted that they have drawn the Rossies and have a chance to improve and build on their dire performance last night. Roscommon wont be there just to make up the numbers but it will be a very difficult task for them

Predictions:
Later in the week I will post my predictions when I have more information on team news.

An interesting thing to note is that the semi-final draw is automatic and it will be:
Meath/Kildare v Kerry/Down
Tyrone/Dublin v Cork/Roscommon

Everyone was wondering which side of the draw Cork would be thrown into and it is the Tyrone side. It looks as though if Tyrone are going to win the Sam Maguire this year they are going to have to do it the hard way!

Reaction to GAA Football Quarter-Final Draw

So the 4 provincial final losers have all made their exits from the All-Ireland series. It will probably act as a watershed in the structure of the championship in future years as there seems to be a lot of talk that it is unfair for the beaten finalists to have to pick themselves up so quickly for a tough knockout match. Personally, I wouldn't be so sympathetic. I certainly think that this year it was more a case of the best teams coming through. Louth and Sligo both surprised more fancied teams on the way to their provincial finals but were knocked out by teams in Down and Dublin who have improved game by game. Kildare were also very poor against Louth but have really come on since. It certainly makes for a mouthwatering line-up for the quarter finals no matter what pairings are thrown up.

Kildare 1-15  1-11 Monaghan
The scoreline doesn't really do this game justice as it was all but over after 45 minutes. Monaghan started brightly enough and tagged on a few scores but Kildare are perenial slow starters and clawed their way back into the game as the half wore on just as they did against Derry a week earlier. The thing about Kildare is that they make so many scoring opportunities that if they find a bit of a purple patch accuracy wise, their opponents can find themselves a handful of points in such a short period. Psychologically it must be hard to take. Once Kildare put a bit of daylight between themselves and Monaghan, the game was over. Monaghan didn't have any fight left and the late rally was more due to Kildare easing off and replacing some of their key men. James Kavanagh was brilliant especially in the 2nd half and his pass for the goal was inch perfect.

Kildare are a force to be reckoned with and whoever they face in the quarters will know they were in a game. They certainly gave Tyrone all they could handle last year and I expect more of the same next week.

Dublin 2-14 0-13 Louth
Unfortunately I was unable to get sorted with an Irish proxy to catch this game on TV3 online so I had to make do with the updates from RTE.ie but its clear that Dublin came flying out of the blocks and left Louth for dead early on. Fragile enough from their loss to Meath, it was always going to be difficult to try to come back against Dublin in their back yard. However, all credit to Louth in the second half they battled away and can walk away from this years championship with their heads held high.

Cork 0-16 1-11 Limerick aet
Well what can you say about this game? It wasnt great, far from it. Limerick were unlucky early on, denied a stonewall penalty and then denied by the crossbar but after an enjoyable opening 10 minutes, it really was dreadful stuff! What happened in the last 2 minutes of normal time is hard to explain. A very daft shoulder in the back by Alan O'Connor and then a woeful kickout from Quirke gifted a draw for Limerick. I was cursing my luck that I would have to sit through another 20 minutes to be honest. Unfortunately it got even worse in extra time and Cork just about crawled over the line in the end.

If Cork play like this next week they wont beat any of the provincial winners so they have a lot of work to do.

Down 3-20 0-10 Sligo
Just when I had given up on Down showing what they can really do, they go and do it. They are one of the very few counties who are capable of racking up such a score and this result will set off alarm bells around the country. On their day, they are capable of beating anyone. As for Sligo; well it was never going to be easy to pick themselves up after the shock defeat last week and they were never really at the races.

Review of GAA Football Qualifiers

It really is crunch time for the dark horses of the GAA football and hurling championships this weekend. There promises to be some intriguing battles and the outcomes also depend on the mental state of the teams who teams who were defeated in their provincial championships. I give my predictions below:

Monaghan v Kildare, 3pm. Live on RTE
Monaghan will be devastated with their performance against Tyrone last weekend. After some early jostling they were overwhelmed by the Red Hands despite being much fancied to end the long wait for another Ulster title. Some of the big names didn't perform to their ability and it will all depend on how they react to such a demoralising defeat. There is no doubt they are a better team than they showed and in McEnaney they have one of the greatest motivators in the game so I expect them to be well up for the challenge.

And a challenge it will be. I was hugely impressed by Kildare in their showing against Derry last week. They had such a terrible start, falling behing 1-2 0-0 after 10 minutes but they kept their nerve and as the half wore on they clawed their way back into the game. Even at half-time things weren't looking great, having only a 1 point lead and facing a stiff breeze in the 2nd half. But they played some lovely football in the 2nd half and in the end they eased to a comfortable victory. Granted, Derry have been a bit of a shambles this year but some of the passages from Kildare were of the highest quality. And in Jonny Doyle they have a player who showed tremendous workrate and a williness to help out his defense as well as kicking some fine scores.

This will be a tight game and Kildare are slight favourites. I would slightly favour a full-strength Monaghan but it will be a tough task without JP Mone, the inspirational Vinnie Corey and Duffy (if he goes back into goal),

Verdict: Kildare

Louth v Dublin,  5pm, TV3
Im not going to talk again about what happened to Louth for we have heard enough, but needless to say they were unlucky against Meath. They showed a lot of fight in that game and impressed especially in the 2nd half, where Meath really struggled to get anything going. They have quite a few players on fine form and it just depends on where their heads are at after the debacle a fortnight ago. They have had that extra week to recover and hopefully we will see the best of them tomorrow.

The Dublin bandwagon is back on the go and one thing about Dublin is that when they start to pick up momentum, they are very hard to stop. I wasn't overly impressed with them last week from an attacking sense. In fact, I was more disappointed with Armagh than anything else. However, to their credit, they defended with intensity and had a good structure to their game in their own half. Bernard Brogan was awesome last week, but their reliance on him is very worrying. They are going to struggle in this game if they dont have at least another 3 or 4 scorers because Louth will do all they can to stop him.


I dont think either of these teams are going to go much further in the competition, but reading about how Louth manager Peter Fitzpatrick wakes up every morning "haunted" by that refereeing decision makes me think that Louth aren't recovered quite yet.


Verdict: Dublin


Limerick v Cork, 7pm RTE
I was somewhat shocked by the huge praise being thrown Limerick's way by some of the experts on the Sunday Game last Sunday night. A few of them thought that Limerick were well fit for any of the other qualifiers and were unlucky to draw Cork. Im not sure why exactly they think this because Limerick have a terrible record in the qualifiers. Sure, they have a relatively decent record against Cork and Kerry, always making it difficult, but never quite cutting the mustard.

Cork are heavyweights in this competition, make no mistake about it. They got past Wexford with minimal fuss in horrendous conditions and are pacing themselves nicely. I have a feeling they might just start to rev the engines tomorrow and pull away in the 2nd half.

Verdict: Cork


Sligo v Down, 7pm 
What must Sligo be feeling? They did all the hard work, beating Connaught juggernauts Galway and Mayo and forgot to finish the job last weekend, letting Roscommon steal in. It was an exciting enough game although at times the quality was lacking. Sligo made far too many errors and really, only for some magnificent Costello long range points, never really got to grips with the task. More worrying was that, somehow managing to draw level with 10 minutes left, they were unable to push on and close the game out.

Are Down ever going to show their potential? At times they can look brilliant going forward and have shown glimpses this year but nowhere near enough. The idea of Dan Gordon as a full back just did not work and I would be very worried as a Down fan if he starts in there again. Offaly could have been out of sight after 10 minutes last week!

This is another tough one to call. I always feel with Sligo that if you keep O'Hara quiet then your task is much easier. If Down can do that and give a steady supply of ball to Marty Clarke, who is showing signs of settling back into his game, then I think Down will have that bit too much firepower.


Verdict: Down

Big Weekend of GAA