Today – Round Two replay Wicklow v Armagh, Aughrim, 7pm – The Mick O'Dwyer story defies belief. Marching along championship sidelines since 1975 and now, aged 75, in his fifth season as Wicklow manager it all comes down to this evening in the idyllic surroundings of Aughrim.
Glancing back at last Saturday’s 2-13 to 0-19 draw at the Athletic Grounds it was Armagh who can count themselves lucky to survive. The statistics make for interesting reading. Rarely does a team kick 0-17 from play and not win, yet it was the 2-4 delivered by Wicklow goal poacher Seánie Furlong that stands above all others.
Leighton Glynn was typically brilliant as well and he’ll need a repeat performance now that James Stafford has been cruelly robbed from their midfield. An ankle injury in training last Wednesday means Charlie Vernon should have the run of aerial duels (unless Stafford dramatically recovers). It should also mean cleaner supply lines into Stevie McDonnell.
The visitors will also seek to envelop Furlong or, more importantly, disrupt the type of ball being sent inside to him. Paddy O’Rourke has brought Declan McKenna in at corner back with Paul Duffy making way while John Hanratty replaces the injured Ciarán McKeever. At least that evens matters up. The centre back is of equal importance to Armagh as Stafford is to Wicklow.
O’Rourke will remember what happened to his own county, Down, a couple of years back against an O’Dwyer team down in Aughrim. So, Armagh should be prepared for what’s coming.
O’Dwyer rated the defeat of Sligo on June 25th as the best Wicklow display in his time tending the Garden of Ireland. They must dig deeper again. The reward is massive – Tyrone await the winners in round three.
You bet: Wicklow are 5/2 or 5/4 with a plus-two handicap. Armagh are 4/9 or 4/5 with a minus-two handicap.
Just the ticket: All ticket. All gone. Capacity has been stretched from 5,000 to 7,000.
Crystal gazing: The romantic notion says the atmosphere and Micko's magical words will surf Wicklow onwards. Logic predicts a wipeout. Armagh to win.
WICKLOW: TBC
ARMAGH: P Hearty; A Mallon, B Donaghy, D McKenna; A Kernan, K Dyas, F Moriarty; J Lavery, C Vernon; J Hanratty, B Mallon, M Mackin; M ORourke, S McDonnell, J Clarke.
Referee: R Hickey(Clare).
Round Three
Limerick v Waterford, Gaelic Grounds, 7pm – Creeping along nicely since their resilient defeat to Kerry, Limerick will fancy a crack at Wexford in the next round. The loss of several high-profile players like John Galvin and their hurlers was not noticeable last weekend as they powered past Offaly, thanks in the main to the scoring returns of Ian Ryan and Ger Collins.
London’s indiscipline proved costly in their defeat to Waterford last weekend, but really the Déise ended the novelty with ruthless efficiency.
They will hope to stay close here but the loss of Eamonn Walsh from their defence will be costly. Conor Phelan comes in with other changes seeing Brian Wall switched to midfield, Seán Dempsey at centre forward, Seán Fleming into corner forward and Gary Hurney at full forward.
Hurney did plenty of damage on the square’s edge against London so Limerick are forewarned. Still, the bookmakers have Limerick as three-point winners. It could be more if their forward line gets motoring as it did against Offaly.
You bet: Limerick are 1/3 or 5/6 at minus three. Waterford 3/1 or 6/5 plus three points on the handicap.
Just the ticket: Unavailable online yesterday, supporters can pay at the gate as only a small fraction of the 49,500 capacity is expected.
Crystal gazing: The Limerick footballers to avenge the hurling loss of June 12th.
LIMERICK: TBC
WATERFORD: K Cotter; M O'Gorman, T O'Gorman, K Connery; T Grey, C Phelan, W Hennessy; B Wall, M Ahearne; P Whyte, S Dempsey, C O'Keeffe; S Fleming, G Hurney, P Hurney.
Referee: C Reilly(Meath).
Antrim v Down, Casement Park, 7pm – Antrim's best chance here is to turn this into a typical Ulster scrap, and hope that Down can't help but glance ahead to a repeat of last year's All-Ireland final against Cork in Round Four.
Unlike last year’s trail-blazing qualifier path to September, Down manager James McCartan doesn’t appear to have settled on his best team yet. John Clarke has gone while younger brother Marty has been switched to the full forward line. So has Benny Coulter although Clarke’s playmaking abilities would be wasted inside and the presumption is he will be allowed to wander. The opposite applies to Coulter as a repeat of his seven points against Leitrim would prove useful.
Gerard McCartan replaces Kevin Duffin in the half back line with AFL-bound Caolan Mooney, along with Clarke, named at right half forward. Paul McComiskey’s scoreless return against Leitrim sees him dropped.
Antrim captain Kevin O’Boyle is expected to recover from a jarred knee sustained in the defeat of Carlow to feature at corner back. Worryingly stale performances against Armagh, Clare and Leitrim must be addressed if Down are to replicate their 2010 achievements.
You bet: Antrim are 9/2 or 11/10 with an enticing four-point handicap. Reverse odds for Down.
Just the ticket: Admission is via turnstiles only. The Antrim website reports that "No tickets for the stand or grounds can be purchased in advance".
Crystal gazing: Just the game Down needs to kick-start a shaky campaign.
ANTRIM: TBC
DOWN: B McVeigh; A Branagan, D Gordon, B McArdle; C Garvey, K McKernan, G McCartan; D Rooney, K King; C Mooney, M Poland, L Doyle; C Laverty, B Coulter, M Clarke.
Referee: P Hughes(Armagh).
Meath v Kildare, Páirc Tailteann, 7pm (Live on RTÉ Two) – Former Kildare and current Meath assistant manager Paul Grimley makes an interesting comment on these pages about how he perceives Kieran McGeeney's Kildare. Like McGeeney, Grimley is from Armagh yet he believes Kildare's style mirrors Mickey Harte's Tyrone. They can attack from anywhere. Or more precisely, they will attack from everywhere.
Dublin proved it is containable. Whether Meath have the sufficient pace and defensive nous to do so is doubtful. They failed six weeks ago. Sure, if Graham Geraghty’s goal had stood it would have altered that game’s pattern but the fact remains that Meath were overrun.
But Kildare are not in Croke Park anymore. A tighter pitch may shave a few points off their total but that still requires Meath to bridge a big scoring gap. The eruption of goals from Cian Ward against Louth was promising but in their three outings to date they have averaged just 10 points. Kildare are averaging 14 points from four matches. And that’s despite double-digit wide counts.
Emmet Bolton’s return seems significant while James Kavanagh will be launched from the bench to bolster the attack. So, Meath need goals. There is no question that the ability and power of their forwards is comparable to the elite football counties but it is the 30-minute lull period against Galway that seems to tell us more about them.
Also, Kildare have comprehensively outplayed Meath twice in the last year in championship encounters, as well as defeating them in the league last March. That day ended up with Banty and Geezer locking horns on the sideline. Don’t be surprised to see something similar again. With Grimley perhaps having to intervene.
These may be two old Leinster rivals but there is a distinctive Ulster whiff to this affair.
“Kildare have been playing very well but it is not possible to go through the whole season without at some stage putting in a stinker of a performance,” said Grimley. “Hopefully, we’ve put all ours behind us. We are looking forward to this game. I firmly believe things are coming into place for us and we can win.”
You bet: Meath 2/1 or Kildare at 8/15. Handicap gives Meath 0-2 lead at 6/5.
Just the ticket: Full house. All ticket affair. Judging from the 17,000 that showed last Saturday for the Galway game the place will be manic.
Crystal gazing: Kildare to rub Meath's nose in it again but with only a point or two to spare.
MEATH: TBA
KILDARE: S Connolly; A MacLochlainn, M Foley, H McGrillen; G White, M OFlaherty, E Bolton; J Doyle, H Lynch; P ONeill, E OFlaherty, E Callaghan; R Kelly, T OConnor, F Dowling.
Referee: J McQuillan(Cavan).
