The fixtures
Sligo v Mayo Saturday 5pm (Live on RTE 2)
Kildare v Louth Saturday 7pm (Live on RTE 2)
Armagh v Monaghan Sunday 2pm (Live on RTE 2)
Waterford v Limerick Sunday 2pm
Westmeath v Wicklow Sunday 3.30 pm
Kerry v Cork Sunday 4pm (Live on RTE 2)
The Previews
Kerry v Cork
In contrast to its hurling equivalent, the Munster Championship is as close as it gets to a dead rubber competition. With all due respect to the other teams in the province, the only fixture that really raises a pulse down south is the meeting between the Kingdom and the Rebels, especially nowadays when their Munster rivals are not as strong as they once were.
But this fixture has even become largely irrelevant in the greater scheme of things, which for these two heavyweights of the game, means an All-Ireland title. Regardless of how they have fared in Munster, both Cork and Kerry generally end up contesting things at the business end of the season. For example, Kerry haven’t won a Munster title since 2007 yet have contested the last two All-Ireland deciders, while the last time Cork failed to triumph in Munster, also 2007, they ended up in the All-Ireland final where they failed to show up against their old rivals.
Putting all that aside, the natural rivalry that exists between the two counties will ensure that nothing will be left behind in Killarney on Sunday afternoon and both sides are in pretty reasonable shape going into the game. Cork were easily the most impressive performers in Division One of the league, which they won at a canter, while Kerry showed against Tipperary a few weeks back that rumours of their demise have been greatly exaggerated.
For all the talk about the departures of Darragh Ó Sé, Tadgh Kennelly et al, Kerry still have the likes of Bryan Sheehan and Michael Quirke to fill in, while the return from injury of Kieran Donaghy has been like adding two new players.
Paul Galvin will miss out on Sunday’s clash as he recovers from an ankle injury. Last year’s captain Darran O’Sullivan comes in to replace him in the only change from the Kingdom’s victory over Tipperary last month.
Conor Counihan has made three changes to the side that comfortably defeated Mayo in the Division One league final. Alan Quirke, Graham Canty and Pearse O’Neill come in for Patrick O’Shea, Eoin Cotter and Fintan Goold in the Rebels’ starting line up. Jamie O’Sullivan, Aidan Walsh and Ciaran Sheehan will be starting their first championship games for Cork on Sunday.
Teams:
Kerry: B Kealy; M Ó Sé, T Griffin, T O’Sullivan; T Ó Sé, M McCarthy, K Young; S Scanlon, M Quirke; Darran O’Sullivan, Declan O’Sullivan, D Walsh; C Cooper, K Donaghy, B Sheehan.
Cork: A Quirke; R Carey, G Canty, J O’Sullivan; N O’Leary, M Shields, P Kissane; A O’Connor, A Walsh; P O’Neill, D O’Connor, P Kelly; D Goulding, C Sheehan, P Kerrigan.
Odds:
Kerry evens, Cork evens, Draw 15/2
JOE Prediction: The fact that Cork are hot favourites for All-Ireland glory this year will be all the motivation Kerry need. The Kingdom to come out on top, but only just.
Armagh v Monaghan
After becoming the first team to come away from Celtic Park with a championship victory since 1994, an achievement that followed an impressive victory over Down in the Division Two decider in the league, Armagh have been tipping along quite nicely so far this season. On Sunday in Belfast, however, they will have their credentials severely tested by a team who have been one of Ulster’s top performers in recent years.
Monaghan may not have won an Ulster title during their recent resurgence, but they have always taken well to the qualifiers and gave Kerry a fright in 2007 and again the following year. Stalwarts such as Damian and Tommy Freeman, Paul Finlay and Vinny Corey, who have been the backbone of Seamus McEnaney’s side, are still very much in their prime and Banty will be looking to them to step up to the plate again this campaign.
Stevie McDonnell has been in superb form for Armagh this season
Armagh’s success this season has also been down to reliable performers such as Brian Mallon, Ciarán McKeever, Aaron Kernan in a new advanced role and of course, Stevie McDonnell whose form this season is as good as it ever was in the glory years. Like most Ulster championship battles, space will be at a premium but there’s enough class on display to make this an attractive encounter.
Paddy O’Rourke makes one change to the side that overcame Derry last time out; James Lavery misses out with injury and is replaced at left corner back by Vincent Martin.
Teams:
Armagh: P Hearty; A Mallon, B Donaghy, V Martin; P Duffy, C McKeever, F Moriarty; C Vernon, K Toner; M Mackin, A Kernan, G Swift; B Mallon, S McDonnell, R Henderson.
Monaghan: (To be announced)
Odds:
Armagh 10/11, Monaghan 11/10, Draw 15/2
JOE Prediction: Armagh to continue the good form they have shown so far this season. The Orchard County to win in a tight encounter.
Sligo v Mayo
There is perhaps no team in Gaelic Football that divides opinion like Mayo. For some, they are collection of some of the finest footballers in the land who have been unlucky on the biggest occasions; for others they are fancy-dans with misfiring forwards and a lack of bottle which prevents them from ending if not the longest, certainly the most talked about famine in the GAA: their search for an elusive Sam Maguire trophy.
As everyone knows, Mayo haven’t won one since 1951. What the average GAA man might not be aware of is the fact that since 1996, only one team have appeared in more All-Ireland finals than the green and red and that’s Kerry.
This year, like so many before, has been a mixed bag. Touted for relegation at the beginning of the year, John O’Mahony’s men were extremely impressive during the league, achieving notable victories on the road against Derry, Tyrone, Kerry and Cork before being haunted once again by the sight of Croke Park and ultimately collapsing against the Rebels in the league final.
Their performance in that game has seen their chances for this year already written off by a number of pundits, who have also predicted that they will be seen off by a resurgent Sligo side in Markievicz Park on Saturday.
Sligo are definitely a team on a high following a fantastic performance in the Division Three league final, in which they put 19 points on the board on the way to victory over Antrim.
Kevin Walsh’s side contains a number of the side that won their third Connacht title and first in 32 years in 2007, including Charlie Harrison, Jonathan Davey, David Kelly and the ageless Eamon O’Hara. Centre forward, Alan Costello, is a Mayo native and was part of the Yew County set-up under John Maughan in 2004 and 2005. He impressed during the league and will be keen to show John O’Mahony what he’s missing.
The Sligo side shows two changes from the team that triumphed in the league final. Brendan Phillips replaces Mark Quinn at centre back and O’Hara starts at half forward in place of Francis Quinn. Keelan Cawley and Colm McGee will be making their championship debuts for the Yeats County.
John O’Mahony has made five changes to the side that went down to Cork in the league final. Keith Higgins, Tom Cunniffe, Ronan McGarrity, Alan Freeman and Enda Varley all come into the side. Varley and Freeman will be making their championship debuts, as will corner back Chris Barrett and centre-half forward, Seamus O’Shea. Aidan Kilcoyne, Trevor Howley, Alan Dillon, Pat Harte and Barry Moran all miss out through injury.
Teams:
Sligo: P Greene; C Harrison, N McGuire, R Donovan, K Cawley, B Phillips, J Davey; T Taylor, S Gilmartin; M Breheny, A Costello, E O’Hara; C McGee, K Sweeney, D Kelly.
Mayo: David Clarke; Chris Barrett, Ger Cafferkey, Keith Higgins; Donal Vaughan, Tom Cunniffe, Kevin McLoughlin; Tom Parsons, Ronan McGarrity; Andy Moran, Seamus O’Shea, Trevor Mortimer; Conor Mortimer, Alan Freeman, Enda Varley.
Odds:
Sligo 11/4, Mayo 4/11, Draw 15/2
JOE Prediction: Mayo may have flattered to deceive in the league final, but they should have enough to prevail here. Mayo to win by three points or more.
Kildare v Louth
In Kieran McGeeney’s third year in charge, the Kildare team are definitely beginning to look like a team moulded by their manager. The Lilywhites are certainly a lot stronger and tougher to beat than they used to be and after going close to ending Dublin’s dominance of Leinster last season, they are well set up to go one step further this time around.
With Laois, Dublin, Wexford and Meath all on the opposite side of the draw, reaching a second consecutive Leinster final is easily within Kildare’s grasp. Their league form was decidedly unimpressive, but championship is the real barometer for McGeeney and he will have his troops raring to go in Navan on Saturday evening.
Louth, as ever, will provide stern opposition but bar noteworthy performances from Paddy Keenan and Brian White, they were unimpressive against Longford a fortnight ago and will have to improve dramatically if they are going to cause an upset here.
Former All-Star Dermot Earley will miss the encounter with a knee injury so Daryl Flynn and David Whyte will form a new look midfield partnership. Alan Smith starts at corner forward having missed a large part of the Lilywhites’ league campaign.
Louth are unchanged from the side that defeated Longford with Shane Lennon passed fit to start at full forward after recovering from a finger injury.
Teams:
Kildare: S McCormack; H McGrillen, G White, E Bolton; M O’Flaherty, B Flanagan, K Cribbin; D Flynn, D White; J Kavanagh, J Doyle, R Sweeney; A Smith, P O’Neill, E Callaghan.
Louth: N Gallagher; E McAuley, D Finnegan, R Greene; R Finnegan, M Fanning, J O’Brien; P Keenan, B White; A McDonnell, M Brennan, A Reid; C Judge, S Lennon, JP Rooney.
Odds:
Kildare 3/10, Louth 3/1, Draw 9/1
JOE Prediction: Kildare to win comfortably
Westmeath v Wicklow
2010 has been an absolute calamitous year for Westmeath so far. Poor league form resulted in a second consecutive relegation and the eventual removal of manager Brendan Hackett lead to some seriously adverse publicity for the Lake County. The only way is up they say and to that effect, there has been some positive news coming from the camp in recent weeks.
Dessie Dolan has made a welcome return to the Westmeath panel
The respected trainer Pat Flanagan has been appointed as interim manager and the panel has been boosted by the return of marquee attackers, Dessie Dolan and Denis Glennon. Whether all of that will be enough to overcome a Wicklow side with Mick O’Dwyer in charge remains to be seen.
Wicklow’s league form this season left a lot to be desired, but O’Dwyer has never been much of a league man, preferring instead to concentrate his efforts on the championship where the Garden County have made quite an impression in recent seasons.
Pat Flanagan has opted to keep Dolan in reserve for Sunday’s clash in Tullamore and has named four championship debutants: John Gaffey, Kieran Martin, Alan Gaughan and Paul Greville. Gary Connaughton has recovered from injury and will be fit to start in goal.
Patrick McWalter and Dean Odlum miss out for Mick O’Dwyer’s men and will be replaced by Ciaran Hyland and Paddy Dalton. In the only other change from the defeat of Carlow earlier in the championship, JP Dalton comes into midfield to partner James Stafford.
Teams:
Westmeath: G Connaughton; F Boyle, D O’Donoghue, J Gaffey; M Ennis (captain), K Martin, D Harte; D Duffy, P Bannon; J Smyth, C Lynam, A Gaughan; P Greville, M Flanagan, D Glennon.
Wicklow: M Travers; S Kelly, D O hAnnaidh, A Byrne; C Hyland, B McGrath, D Hayden; J Stafford, JP Dalton; L Glynn, T Hannon, N Mernagh; P Dalton, S Furlong, P Earls.
Odds:
Westmeath 6/5, Wicklow 5/6, Draw 15/2
JOE Prediction: With Dolan and Glennon back in tow, Westmeath might just shade this one.
Waterford v Limerick
Traditionally ignored in a county where hurling is king, the Waterford footballers will attempt to hog a bit of the spotlight on Sunday as they attempt to qualify for their first Munster final in 50 years. To do so, they will have to defeat a side who overcame them in the Division Four league final back in April.
There was only two points between the sides on that occasion and when they met earlier in the league, Waterford came away from the Gaelic grounds with a single point victory. Recent history suggests then that this will be a tight battle, but Limerick contested three Munster finals in the last decade, including as recently as last year, when they fell to Cork by a single point.
John Owens has made one change to the side that defeated Clare a fortnight back with Robert Ahearne replacing the injured Patrick Hurney at full forward.
Teams:
Waterford: T Wall; M O’Gorman, T O’Gorman, K Connery; T Grey, S Briggs, E Walsh; M Ahearne, T Prendergast; B Wall, C McGrath, W Hennessy; L O Lionan, R Ahearne, G Hurney.
Limerick: (To be announced)
Odds:
Waterford 2/1, Limerick 1/2, Draw 15/2
JOE Prediction: Limerick to end Waterford’s hopes of making a little bit of history and come away from Fraher Field with a victory.
