13th April 2002
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13th April 2002
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Allianz Hurling League - Limerick and Cork are favourites to advance
The League is a better one with that process in operation. It could be argued that the six best hurling teams in the country are now left to fight out the remainder of the League.
Quarter-finals
Cork and Kilkenny have qualified for the semi-finals and Semple Stadium will play host to two attractive quarter-finals on Sunday. Clare and Limerick will be first in action, beginning at 1.30 pm, followed by Tipperary and Galway at 3.30 pm. A crowd approaching 30,000 can be expected at the venue. Limerick and Cork are the favourites to advance.
Semi-final day in football league
Is it a sign of summer wonders to come that Ulster and Connaught teams have taken total control of the closing stages of the Allianz Football League? Truly, it has been looking that way almost from the start and it is interesting that the same provinces were rated the weak pair during the '70s and '80s. It did not help the cause of Munster and Leinster football that the ruling provincial champions, Kerry and Meath, laboured in Division 2. Micheál O¨ Muircheartaigh previews Sunday's semi-finals.
Tyrone to overcome Mayo
Brewster Park in Enniskillen is the venue on Sunday for the very attractive clash of Mayo and Tyrone. Mayo are Allianz League champions and Pat Holmes has a strong panel of players at his disposal. The spotlight has not really shone on the county since the mid-'90s, and while the League win of last year was gratefully accepted, it did not send followers into ecstatic mode. Naturally, they would like another title, but an eye is being kept on the championship all the time.
I saw them come from behind to beat Cavan in Ballinrobe in early March and it is worth noting that the Breffni men have gained many admirers in the meantime.
Worrying for Tyrone
Mayo backs James Nallen and Noel Connolly are expert at combining defence and attack, and this tactic could prove worrying for Tyrone. I was impressed by the Mayo forwards that day in Flanagan Park and we are likely to hear a good deal more about players like the Mortimer brothers, Conor and Trevor, James Gill, Marty McNicholas, etc, before the clocks go back again. Still, I am prepared to forecast that the champions will shed their crown in Brewster Park.
There has been a positive wave running through Tyrone football over the past few years and success at senior level is the target.
Joint managers Art McRory and Eugene McKenna are planning ahead. The All-Ireland Under 21 title has been captured and held for the past two years.
They also claimed the minor title last year, and did so previously in 1998. At senior level they are reigning Ulster champions, while Foot and Mouth restrictions denied them a place in last year's Allianz League semi-final. Tyrone has never won either League or championship but have gone close to both in the past.
In 1986 they led Kerry by eight points early in the second half of the All-Ireland final but lost their way a little thereafter. They finished a mere point behind Dublin in the final of '95 and have won two further Ulster titles since then.
Ten years ago, Tyrone were close to being toasted as winners when leading Derry by two points in the League final at Croke Park. But disaster for them, by way of a Derry goal, robbed the county of a deserved first national title at senior level.
Those great servants of football, Chris Lawn and Peter Canavan, were on the field that day and will step out again to tackle Mayo on Sunday. The form of Lawn at full back has been a revelation in this League and, as ever, Canavan remains one of the leading forwards in the country. He has the same ability that Joe Cooney had in hurling, whereby an innocent looking casual pass can often set up a crucial score.
He will pose problems for the Mayo backs on Sunday but this young Tyrone team is not as dependent on the Errigal player as earlier sides. He is unlikely to wander too far outfield and thus be ready to capitalise on any hesitancy close to the Mayo goal.
Midfield area
Centre forward Stephen O'Neill is a current Allstar and both Brian Dooher and Gerard Cavlan are better than average players. As usual, control of the midfield area could decide the ultimate passport to the Allianz final. David Brady and Shane Fitzmaurice make up Mayo's most likely pairing.
Brady is experienced and possesses great will and strength but could find himself alongside another Tyrone Allstar in the person of Cormac McAnallen. Between football at Under 21 level last year, inter-varsity competition and plenty of action with Tyrone seniors, there is the possibility that this exciting young player has been called upon too often.
One way or another, Brewster Park will attract a fine crowd and I favour Tyrone to finish ahead.
Roscommon to beat Cavan
Mullingar's Cusack Park is the venue for the other Allianz Football League semi-final between Roscommon and Cavan.
It is a great feather in Roscommon's cap that they won Division 1A, the stronger of the two, if public opinion is a good yardstick. I saw them beat Donegal in the final group game and they succeeded in mixing the very good with the mediocre all in the one game.
Quality play
The forwards were excellent in the first half, with quality play stemming from the efforts of Nigel Dineen, Stephen Lohan and Gary Cox in particular. Seamus O'Neill did some useful work around midfield for the same duration but there was always a bit of unease about the defence, particularly in the last line.
The patch of mediocrity appeared early in the second half when Donegal waltzed with alarming ease through the defence in taking some fine points. It took a lucky goal and the arrival of the man of spirit, Fergal O'Donnell, at midfield to steady John Tobin's outfit to qualify for the semi-final. Roscommon have great potential and will improve as the year progresses.
Cavan are the surprise packet among the last four. Admittedly, Division 1B was the weaker of the two, especially as Derry hardly ever figured, due to a variety of reasons. But manager Mattie Kerrigan has a major asset in the form of some natural forwards who can be both inventive and incisive. Players like Jason Reilly of Belturbet and the Knockbride brothers, Peter and Larry Reilly, are capable of causing havoc in any defence. They have collected a fair bit of experience over the years and quite a few of this Breffni side were on the Under 21 team that failed to Kerry in the final of 1996.
Cavan play with confidence and will be hoping that greater subtlety in the forward area could upset Roscommon. I am casting my note in favour of the Connacht men on the grounds that they have played a lot of good football over the past 12 months and won 'Connacht' last year.
Neither has an imposing League record, putting their name on the cup just once apiece. Roscommon's came in 1979 but it is all of 54 years since Cavan's lone triumph.
Strange that Mayo have 11 League titles to their credit and all the other three semi-finalists can muster is two. But Mayo will not make much of a story out of that, considering that only three have come in the past 53 years, 1954, 1970 and 2000.
Division 2
Sunday is an exceptionally busy day on the GAA calendar and the semi-finals in Division 2 of the Allianz Football League are included.
Kerry and Meath come together in Limerick and thoughts of that day in early September, when the Royals swamped the Kingdom in the All-Ireland semi-final, will surface again. A record crowd for a Division 2 semi-final is likely to be the outcome.
Armagh and Laois will play the other semi-final in Pearse Park, Longford.
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Copyright © : The Irish Farmers Journal 2002 |
When reviewing last Sunday's fifth round of the Allianz Hurling League I was assuming that there would not be quarter-final matches en route forward. I was mistaken and the way for next Sunday's quarter-final pairings is now clear.