Saturday
All-Ireland SFC Round One
Group 1
Galway v Derry, Pearse Stadium, 5.30pm [Live, GAAGo] – The outstanding match of the opening All-Ireland round between two teams with a major title already won this season. A dramatic Connacht final saw Galway pick up great momentum from the narrowest of victories, because of the result, dug out in injury-time. The title, a first three-in-a-row in 40 years also builds confidence alongside the re-emergence of their best team with Damien Comer firing and bringing Rob Finnerty into it with Shane Walsh improving and only Cillian McDaid yet to make his first start. Derry’s Ulster disaster against Donegal has at least been positively contextualised by the latter winning the provincial title but Mickey Harte is used to reconditioning teams in these circumstances. He’ll hope for better from his centre field, widely regarded as the best in the game but was off-key last month and a bit more discretion in the matter of the wandering goalkeeper. The teams met in the league but Derry’s big win at the same venue was against only half the players they face on Saturday afternoon. Nonetheless, the visitors’ incremental development over three years into contenders hasn’t been undone by one result, just as Galway’s two-year lapse from that status hasn’t been fully reversed by one encouraging performance.
Verdict: Derry
Group 2
Mayo v Cavan, Hastings MacHale Park, 5pm – Not the opening Mayo were hoping for two weeks ago, which was the killer element of the defeat by Galway – as well as missing out on the Connacht title. This mightn’t have been an entirely foregone conclusion either in the light of Cavan’s strong showings against Monaghan and Tyrone but the loss of the league’s top scorer Paddy Lynch to a cruciate injury has dampened the sense of jeopardy. Paddy Durcan, missed in the Connacht final, is back on the panel after injury. Kevin McStay will be looking for greater accuracy as a mediocre conversion rate didn’t help in Salthill.
Verdict: Mayo
Group 3
Clare v Cork; Cusack Park, 6pm
Clare gave a decent account of themselves in the Munster final against Kerry and the Banner will be looking to bring more of the same when Cork arrive in town today. Clare beat the Rebels by a point in last year’s Munster quarter-final meeting, but that was their first championship win over Cork since 1997. It would be an impressive feat to string successive wins together, but history suggests Cork will not allow that to happen. John Cleary’s side discovered a decent run of form in the latter stages of the league and they only lost to Kerry by three points in a Munster semi-final.
Verdict: Cork
Group 4
Kerry v Monaghan; Fitzgerald Stadium, 3pm (GAAGo)
It is hard to get away from the feeling that Monaghan are a team slowly coming back down the mountain rather than clawing their way up it. Darren Hughes has been ruled out for the season with a knee injury, Rory Beggan’s flirtations with NFL can’t have helped, and how much longer can Conor McManus keep doing Conor McManus things? Group four already looks like playing out through a mini-internal squabble for positions between neighbours Monaghan, Louth and Meath – with Kerry looking down from top spot. This is not the game Monaghan need to win to get out of the group, but it’s one Kerry will feel a strong desire to win after losing their opener to Mayo last year.
Verdict: Kerry
Tailteann Cup (Saturday)
Group 1
Waterford v Kildare; Fraher Field, 5pm
Kildare hammered Longford 3-25 to 1-11 last weekend, which suggests the Lilywhites might just take this competition seriously. Or perhaps the Longford players are already partly out the door and thinking about their club campaign because they were very poor. Either way, Kildare had 13 different scorers and they might well put up another big tally away to Waterford.
Verdict: Kildare
Group 2
Tipperary v Sligo; FBD Semple Stadium, 2pm
Tony McEntee’s Sligo are quietly working through a decent season of progress, they held their own in Division Three and then went within seconds of beating Galway in a Connacht semi-final. Sligo beat Wexford in the first round of the Tailteann Cup and should make it two from two when they travel to Thurles – Tipp shipped four goals during last week’s defeat to Antrim.
Verdict: Sligo
Wexford v Antrim; Chadwicks Wexford Park, 4pm
Antrim are looking to build on last week’s win over Tipperary, but Division Four outfit Wexford are likely to prove a more formidable challenge. The Model County have looked very good at stages during the year and there might be very little to separate these sides at the final whistle.
Verdict: Draw
Group 3
Carlow v Fermanagh; Netwatch Cullen Park, 3pm
Fermanagh posted 3-16 against Wicklow last weekend, the manner of the victory indicating the Ernesiders will be in the mix for a quarter-final spot in what promises to be a competitive group. Aaron Amond was Carlow’s hero last weekend – scoring two late goals to earn his side a draw with Laois.
Verdict: Fermanagh
Group 4
Limerick v Offaly; Rathkeale, 3pm
Limerick are on a nine-game losing streak entering this contest – having lost all seven league games, their Munster SFC clash with Cork and their Tailteann opener against Down. Offaly come in on the back of a surprise defeat to London last weekend, so expect a reaction from the Faithful.
Verdict: Offaly
London v Down; Ruislip, 6pm
London’s superb victory over Offaly has given the exiles a real shot at making the knockout stages. But Down are the best team in this group, so London might well be targeting Limerick in round three as a more likely game for them to pick up more points.
Verdict: Down
Sunday
Tailteann Cup
Wicklow v Laois, Aughrim, 3pm [GAAGo] – Wicklow have most of the missing players back after last week’s horror show in Fermanagh although Jack Baker picked up an injury. Laois had their own woes, losing a six-point lead to Carlow but can make amends here.
Verdict: Laois
Longford v Leitrim, Pearse Park, 2.30pm – Although Longford nearly derailed Leitrim’s promotion in the league, they took an awful hammering in Kildare and will need a major improvement to repeat the earlier win albeit against opponents who were moderate in beating Waterford.
Verdict: Leitrim
All-Ireland U20 football final
Tyrone v Kerry, Laois Hire O’Moore Park, 1pm [TG4] – Tyrone looked really impressive absorbing a comeback, effectively to wallop Roscommon twice in the semi-final whereas Kerry also did well to salvage a match they might have lost to Meath. Tomás Ó Sé's team have a good defence, which will make things harder for the Ulster champions but Tyrone are deserved favourites.
Verdict: Tyrone
