National Football League: Semi-final previews

Sunday Division One semi-finals Galway v Mayo, Croke Park, 2.15: It's safe to speculate both counties could have done without this league semi-final a mere five weeks before they square off in the championship.

But you play what's put in front of you. The fixture arose because of Galway's late charge in Division One B, which lifted Peter Ford's team to first place. Whereas some of the football was impressive the overall effect was patchy and that's before the evident disparity between One A and One B is taken into account.

Mayo have rehabilitated as well as could have been expected and as well as John O'Mahony could have hoped. Apart from a defeat by the league's form team Donegal, Mayo have been 100 per cent in a tough division and rammed four goals past Tyrone in Omagh even when they didn't need to and in a match that should have been of some urgency to the northern county.

Last week Ger Brady gave a good display at full forward, a move that if permanently feasible could liberate the attack. It was the latest example of O'Mahony's rebuilding programme down the spine of the team. He will also have a detailed familiarity with tomorrow's opponents, as he returns to the ground where he had his last match with Galway nearly three years ago.

Galway haven't won a match in Croke Park since the All-Ireland final of 2001, a sobering interlude for a county that has won two All-Ireland under-21 titles in the meantime. The return of Diarmuid Blake is a lift for Ford's team although he is strangely named at centrefield rather than centre back but a switch will be made as soon as required. Damien Burke gave a great display on last year's form National League forward Colm Cooper in the final and will probably get an opportunity to repeat the dose with Conor Mortimer. Nonetheless Mayo's progress has been consistent and steady and can be maintained.

Donegal v Kildare, 4.0

The only one of the four National League semi-finals that actually brings together counties from different provinces reunites Donegal and Kildare for the first time at this stage since 1991 - as far back as to be Mick O'Dwyer's first campaign outside of Kerry.

A trick of the scheduling gave Donegal their two fixtures against the bottom counties at the end of the regulation matches. Manager Brian McIver used the latitude to make vast changes to his line-outs and still emerged intact although probably at the expense of a 100 per cent record, which was spoiled by the draw against Limerick.

There are 11 changes to the starting 15 tomorrow, which puts context on the last-gasp win over doomed Fermanagh last weekend. At near enough championship strength, Donegal look hot favourites for the final. Kildare had a consistent divisional campaign, battling out a sequence of tight matches to lead the table going into the last week.

Manager John Crofton has had to cope with Dermot Earley's absence and the club commitments of Moorefield players earlier in the competition. The team is very dependent on John Doyle in contrast to Donegal for whom Brendan Devenney and Colm McFadden have been in scoring form and well supported.

None of Kildare's displays matched Donegal's best against Kerry, Tyrone and Mayo. At times Donegal lose concentration at the back and if there is any looseness in the marking, Doyle will exploit it - as he has managed to do consistently despite all but wearing a neon hat going into matches so high is his current reputation.

Karl Lacey, Donegal's All Star defender, is available to do the job but McIver will be confident in his defence's overall ability to squeeze space and make it difficult for opponents lacking the varied threat and centrefield strength that Kerry brought to bear in their recent league match. Donegal should reach a first league final in 11 years in pursuit of a title the county has yet to win.