Rewind the clocks 10 or 15 years and this might be the biggest weekend on the GAA calendar to date: Dublin and Meath in a Leinster football semi-final in Croke Park. The sold-out signs would be up by now and everyone else would be glued to the TV at 4pm on Sunday. That was then, this is now; Dublin will win and Meath can only hope to flatter.
The first semi-final holds more charm. Kildare and Westmeath have both experienced the Dublin juggernaut in recent years but forewarned is forearmed – whichever one of these gets through, they will at least have experience to work off.
Funnily enough, I fancy Westmeath, mainly because they are bidding to appear in their second Leinster final in a row – something that would represent real progress. And let’s not forget they were well in contention in last year’s Leinster final, holding the Dubs to an 0-8 to 0-4 lead at half-time.
Kildare looked awful against Wexford, falling over the line in a 0-9 to 0-8 quarter-final short on quality. This is probably what the Lilywhites have going for them on Sunday: they cannot be as poor again and as their supporters are so well aware, you just never know with them. Last year they caught Cork in Thurles, this year Wexford should have caught them. Fingers crossed for their loyal but long-suffering fans.
Donegal v Monaghan
The football game of the weekend, however, happens on Saturday night when Donegal and Monaghan meet in Breffni Park. This has become the biggest rivalry in Ulster football right now and that takes some achieving.
The last three Ulster finals have seen these two battle each other through various states of attrition and exhaustion. The loser will be a qualifier big fish while the winner can be thinking of a coveted Ulster title and probably Tyrone in a final.
A bit like Dublin, Donegal look to make a serious run every second year. This being an even numbered year, we have to keep an extra eye on them. In their first summer outing, they needed to sharpen up quickly when down to 14 men after Neil McGee got the line, but they got the job done against Fermanagh in Ballybofey a fortnight ago with seven points to spare. Two goals from Odhran Mac Niallais was ultimately the difference, but they were well-worked team goals.
That was a decent result but it pales when put beside Monaghan’s demolition of Down a week earlier. Every time Monaghan take to the field, the opposition quivers at the sight of Ciaran McManus, possibly the most natural and accurate forward playing the game right now. Who will Rory Gallagher identify to mark McManus? Or, more to the point, which two players will be assigned the task of shutting him down? The cuteness of Ryan McHugh might see him given one of the jobs; the other man-marker will have to bring the brawn needed.
Of course, the defending Ulster champions are not a one-man forward line. Against Down, they had 11 different scorers – the lively Kieran Hughes with 1-2 from play. Their goalie Rory Beggan also kicked three long-range frees that day. Monaghan have scoring potential, the most useful weapon a team can have in its armoury.
Their opponents can score too, however, and Donegal are the tip. Changed as they are from the McGuinness revolution, Michael Murphy, Paddy McBrearty and Colm McFadden are three players who can bring the cuteness required for games like this.
I’m expecting a real old-school Ulster contest, one seeping with intensity and going into the dying minutes. The way Dublin and Meath used to be. Only without the hitting.
Football qualifiers
It’s hard to get excited about the rest of the fare on offer this weekend. The qualifiers have no intriguing match-ups, just a series of counties trying to find themselves in the wilderness of a Saturday afternoon in June. Of the games in Innovate Park (Wexford v Fermanagh), Newry (Down v Longford), Corrigan Park (Antrim v Limerick) and Tullamore (Offaly v London), I would be surprised if there are more than five or six thousand between all four venues. The divide in football was never more obvious and the sooner the GAA respond, the better.
Christy Ring final
There is one hurling match this weekend – a late addition to the schedule: the replay of the infamous Christy Ring final between Antrim and Meath. I well recall the introduction of what we called the “community games” table at sidelines up and down the country for this mythical fourth official. Seems like four can make mistakes as easily as three and Laois and Armagh have questions being asked of their game last weekend too. At the time of going to press, it appears Laois used a seventh man. Could Armagh’s summer get any worse – it could if they had to be beaten for a third time.
No point asking Joe Brolly what he thinks of that.
Chasing history
in South Africa
The Irish rugby team have played the most effective (probably not the best) 145 minutes under Joe Schmidt during the test series against South Africa. Altitude was clearly the reason for their running out of petrol on Saturday and back at sea level this weekend in Port Elizabeth, they can finish the job.
They were magnificent in carving out a 26-10 lead and were in control of a game until the gauge emptied. I can’t see that happening again this weekend, because we are a better team than these Boks. We proved it in the set pieces these last two weekends – particularly the scrum – and we have already beaten them with 14 men.
Improving they might be, but they still have a long way to go to reach the levels Ireland have achieved in the two games to date, the last 15 aside in Johannesburg. A friend of mine out there described the altitude advantage as something akin to having a stone in hand for a handicap hurdle in Galway.
With this being the team’s last game of a long season, some are expecting signs of fatigue but I would expect the opposite. Winning a test series represents history and this bunch have shown a liking for their work over the past few weeks.
With Paddy Jackson now a real threat to Sexton for the 10 jersey, Rory Best leading magnificently and our pack performing heroics, we are good enough. This can make up for the soccer. Ireland to deliver.
Read more
Read mroe sport from Emmet Moloney
Rewind the clocks 10 or 15 years and this might be the biggest weekend on the GAA calendar to date: Dublin and Meath in a Leinster football semi-final in Croke Park. The sold-out signs would be up by now and everyone else would be glued to the TV at 4pm on Sunday. That was then, this is now; Dublin will win and Meath can only hope to flatter.
The first semi-final holds more charm. Kildare and Westmeath have both experienced the Dublin juggernaut in recent years but forewarned is forearmed – whichever one of these gets through, they will at least have experience to work off.
Funnily enough, I fancy Westmeath, mainly because they are bidding to appear in their second Leinster final in a row – something that would represent real progress. And let’s not forget they were well in contention in last year’s Leinster final, holding the Dubs to an 0-8 to 0-4 lead at half-time.
Kildare looked awful against Wexford, falling over the line in a 0-9 to 0-8 quarter-final short on quality. This is probably what the Lilywhites have going for them on Sunday: they cannot be as poor again and as their supporters are so well aware, you just never know with them. Last year they caught Cork in Thurles, this year Wexford should have caught them. Fingers crossed for their loyal but long-suffering fans.
Donegal v Monaghan
The football game of the weekend, however, happens on Saturday night when Donegal and Monaghan meet in Breffni Park. This has become the biggest rivalry in Ulster football right now and that takes some achieving.
The last three Ulster finals have seen these two battle each other through various states of attrition and exhaustion. The loser will be a qualifier big fish while the winner can be thinking of a coveted Ulster title and probably Tyrone in a final.
A bit like Dublin, Donegal look to make a serious run every second year. This being an even numbered year, we have to keep an extra eye on them. In their first summer outing, they needed to sharpen up quickly when down to 14 men after Neil McGee got the line, but they got the job done against Fermanagh in Ballybofey a fortnight ago with seven points to spare. Two goals from Odhran Mac Niallais was ultimately the difference, but they were well-worked team goals.
That was a decent result but it pales when put beside Monaghan’s demolition of Down a week earlier. Every time Monaghan take to the field, the opposition quivers at the sight of Ciaran McManus, possibly the most natural and accurate forward playing the game right now. Who will Rory Gallagher identify to mark McManus? Or, more to the point, which two players will be assigned the task of shutting him down? The cuteness of Ryan McHugh might see him given one of the jobs; the other man-marker will have to bring the brawn needed.
Of course, the defending Ulster champions are not a one-man forward line. Against Down, they had 11 different scorers – the lively Kieran Hughes with 1-2 from play. Their goalie Rory Beggan also kicked three long-range frees that day. Monaghan have scoring potential, the most useful weapon a team can have in its armoury.
Their opponents can score too, however, and Donegal are the tip. Changed as they are from the McGuinness revolution, Michael Murphy, Paddy McBrearty and Colm McFadden are three players who can bring the cuteness required for games like this.
I’m expecting a real old-school Ulster contest, one seeping with intensity and going into the dying minutes. The way Dublin and Meath used to be. Only without the hitting.
Football qualifiers
It’s hard to get excited about the rest of the fare on offer this weekend. The qualifiers have no intriguing match-ups, just a series of counties trying to find themselves in the wilderness of a Saturday afternoon in June. Of the games in Innovate Park (Wexford v Fermanagh), Newry (Down v Longford), Corrigan Park (Antrim v Limerick) and Tullamore (Offaly v London), I would be surprised if there are more than five or six thousand between all four venues. The divide in football was never more obvious and the sooner the GAA respond, the better.
Christy Ring final
There is one hurling match this weekend – a late addition to the schedule: the replay of the infamous Christy Ring final between Antrim and Meath. I well recall the introduction of what we called the “community games” table at sidelines up and down the country for this mythical fourth official. Seems like four can make mistakes as easily as three and Laois and Armagh have questions being asked of their game last weekend too. At the time of going to press, it appears Laois used a seventh man. Could Armagh’s summer get any worse – it could if they had to be beaten for a third time.
No point asking Joe Brolly what he thinks of that.
Chasing history
in South Africa
The Irish rugby team have played the most effective (probably not the best) 145 minutes under Joe Schmidt during the test series against South Africa. Altitude was clearly the reason for their running out of petrol on Saturday and back at sea level this weekend in Port Elizabeth, they can finish the job.
They were magnificent in carving out a 26-10 lead and were in control of a game until the gauge emptied. I can’t see that happening again this weekend, because we are a better team than these Boks. We proved it in the set pieces these last two weekends – particularly the scrum – and we have already beaten them with 14 men.
Improving they might be, but they still have a long way to go to reach the levels Ireland have achieved in the two games to date, the last 15 aside in Johannesburg. A friend of mine out there described the altitude advantage as something akin to having a stone in hand for a handicap hurdle in Galway.
With this being the team’s last game of a long season, some are expecting signs of fatigue but I would expect the opposite. Winning a test series represents history and this bunch have shown a liking for their work over the past few weeks.
With Paddy Jackson now a real threat to Sexton for the 10 jersey, Rory Best leading magnificently and our pack performing heroics, we are good enough. This can make up for the soccer. Ireland to deliver.
Read more
Read mroe sport from Emmet Moloney
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