All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals
Saturday
Monaghan v Donegal, Croke Park, 4pm: Attention on this match’s challenges has focused on Donegal’s six-day turnaround but there is also a clear and present danger from a Monaghan team flying high after promotion back to Division One and a business-like All-Ireland campaign to date, which has seen them top one of the less demanding groups and in recognition get a two-week break.
When the sides clashed in Ulster, Donegal did an effective job on curbing their opponents’ strengths. It’s a function of the modern game, especially in Ulster that keeping a goalkeeper nearly scoreless is a live concern. Rory Beggan managed just one point, from a 45, but no two-pointers although his team-mates outscored Donegal 10-4 on them and actually missed another seven.
Overall though, Donegal were clearly the better team. Michael Murphy has been in superlative form but they need more from Oisín Gallen and Patrick McBrearty, both of whom have been battling underperformance.
Their flying back division gives the team a deeper scoring threat: Peadar Mogan, Finbarr Roarty, Ciarán Moore, Ryan McHugh and Eoin Bán Gallagher are all accomplished counter-attackers.
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Monaghan’s vulnerability has been concession totals; they are prolific scorers but so too their various opponents. Micheál Bannigan and Stephen O’Hanlon have led a pacy charge up front with Jack McCarron lending less quicksilver but prolific support off the bench.
The battle of the goalkeepers at Easter had been eagerly awaited but Shaun Patton had the better of those exchanges, finding his players with dazzling consistency.
Jim McGuinness has been able to welcome back Jason McGee in the last couple of weeks, which is good news for their centrefield whereas Gary Mohan, nursing a hamstring injury, is another player whose input is compromised by injury.
He may well get a run but how close is he to full fitness?
Verdict: Donegal
Tyrone v Dublin, Croke Park, 6.15pm: The biggest issue in this match will not be resolved until the ball throws in on Saturday evening. Con O’Callaghan’s listing on the bench for this weekend’s quarter-final doesn’t come with any coded reference to whether the team captain starts or is like last week, to be held back until there is existential threat to the team’s prospects of advancement.
Either way, it doesn’t say anything too convincing about O’Callaghan’s readiness to hit the ground running. If so, it’s a terrible blow to Dublin who rely so much on the player’s leadership and his enhancement of the attack.
Unfortunately, the very injury that he sustained six weeks ago significantly compromises the forward danger he brings when taking on defences. Wheeling him out for the Derry group match two weeks ago was a reflection on how vital the management saw his presence that day even though it won’t have helped long-term recovery.
Otherwise, things are coming together nicely for Dessie Farrell. The defence is fully restored with Eoin Murchan, John Small and Lee Gannon all back in the swing of things and Brian Howard rediscovering his scoring touch against Cork.
Peadar Ó Cofaigh-Byrne has been thriving at centrefield in very respectable company over the past couple of weeks. That will be tested here, as Brian Kennedy has the size to contest ball with Dublin and his partnership with Conn Kilpatrick is the equal – at least – of any Ó Cofaigh-Byrne and Ciarán Kilkenny have faced.
Tyrone have their own problems. Michael McKernan’s injury rules him out and weakens their rearguard but can Dublin exploit it in O’Callaghan’s absence? Niall Morgan hasn’t been at his best at a time when the new rules offer goalkeepers so much whereas the eternal Cluxton has regathered something of his Zen powers.
The teams’ scoring returns aren’t hugely different – all the more creditably for Dublin whose group didn’t include a piñata like Cavan became after beating Mayo.
Darren McCurry has been excellent for Tyrone and there is more to come from Darragh Canavan as well as the lively option of under-20 supernova Eoin McElholm, who has already appeared for the seniors.
Farrell can argue legitimately that Dublin have timed their run quite well but for their captain’s injury. Nonetheless, Tyrone, half of whom have All-Ireland medals already, will come into this with momentum and belief and in a match tantalisingly balanced, they can tilt the scales.
Verdict: Tyrone
Sunday
Meath v Galway, Croke Park, 1.45pm: No other team has been as tempered in the fire as Galway. Having won Connacht, they promptly lost at home to Dublin in the All-Ireland round robin. Then eight points down in the second half in Celtic Park and facing a crushing championship exit, they managed to squeeze a draw – nearly a win – out of Derry and go on to beat champions Armagh to survive.
Third seeding sent them to Newry last week where the elements and Down put them under ferocious pressure even with a big half-time lead. But they survived, as they have done for the last few weeks. They have also got a significant return on goals – 10 in four All-Ireland matches.
This weekend is the signal for Pádraic Joyce’s team to step up performance levels. They have got by and the manager has demonstrated a ruthless trigger-happy game management, which has seen decorated All Stars staring glumly of the bench halfway through the second half of matches.
Shane Walsh’s shoulder injury was a scare last week but he is named on the match panel.
It remains to be seen who will wear the goalkeeper’s jersey after Conor Flaherty’s dark second half of the soul, kicking restarts into the Newry wind but it’s a problem none of the other contenders currently have.
Meath have been a revelation, beating both Dublin and Kerry despite missing players. They have some back for this weekend, notably Matthew Costello but could also do with Ronan Jones as a counter to Galway’s middle-third air force.
Robbie Brennan’s side have contributors all around the field but their pace could be the greatest threat. The sheer uninhibited assault on Kerry was also impressive – no feeling their way into things – and the ability to twist the knife by kicking two-pointers proved irresistible.
Galway have already ridden out something like that last week but this will be a further test.
Verdict: Galway
Armagh v Kerry, Croke Park, 4pm: By consensus, the match of the round. Kerry find themselves in the unusual position of being underdogs having had a stuttering championship to date. Most startling was getting turned over by Meath to the tune of nine points and there is an argument that such a result must cast grave doubt on the All-Ireland credentials of the defeated team, no matter how riddled with injury the Munster champions were.
Armagh have attracted glowing notices for their performances despite losing the Ulster final again – after extra time – and getting touched off by Galway in the final group match when they themselves had already qualified. They have filled a difficult dance card so far – their last five matches have been against Galway, Dublin, Derry, Donegal and Tyrone.
Kerry continue to have awful injury problems. Gone from this week’s panel are Diarmuid O’Connor and Barry Dan O’Sullivan, two front-rank centrefielders, and key defender Mike Breen.
Paudie Clifford and Paul Geaney are on the match-day panel but questions remain about their full readiness.
Kerry have been this way before and have exploded into contention at this relatively late stage of the championship. With David Clifford on your team, more or less anything is possible but there isn’t a huge pile of evidence to substantiate that prospect.
Jack O’Connor will have noticed that Armagh have exhibited opt-out tendencies in all of their matches to date, which have allowed teams get back to the table or establish big leads – which to be fair, the All-Ireland champions generally recover.
Armagh may be afloat on slightly overstated virtues but the fact is that Kieran McGeeney’s side have been through a hard-knock passage to this stage and have proven their competitive credentials whereas this weekend is Kerry’s first brush with a Division One county.
Verdict: Armagh
All-Ireland MHC final
Clare v Waterford, FBD Semple Stadium, Saturday 5.15: The strange thing about this all-Munster final is that neither county won the provincial title. Cork beat both teams, Waterford twice, in the early part of the season before losing to Clare in the All-Ireland semi-final but the All-Ireland semi-finals endorsed their right to be in the final, as they defeated both the Munster and their Leinster counterparts, Kilkenny.
Clare manager Ger O’Connell pointed out that the season’s mixed fortunes had made them stronger. “We took massive learnings from the two losses against Cork and Waterford,” he said. “I think the Cork defeat really exposed some of the areas we needed to work on, especially the second-half of that game.”
Waterford won the first match between the sides and backed it up beating Kilkenny with Cormac Spain in lethal form. Paul Rodgers, brother of Clare All Star Mark, racked up 0-13 against Cork with the quality of his dead-ball striking.
It should be a great contest.
Verdict: Clare
