Weekend Football Previews

We’re just three weekends into the new year and already we have reached the last four in three of the subsidiary competitions.

It’s semi-finals time in the Bord na Móna O’Byrne Cup in Leinster, the McGrath Cup in Munster and Ulster's Power NI Dr McKenna Cup, while the Connacht FBD League has a full round of group games on Sunday.

Click here for details of this weekend's fixtures in the AIB GAA All-Ireland Club Championships.

Bord na Móna O’Byrne Cup (Leinster)

The first of the semi-final games takes place in Páirc Tailteann, Navan, where Meath take on the only college side left in the competition, DCU.

Having easily accounted for Louth in front of a surprisingly healthy early season crowd at the same venue last Sunday, the Royals might be expected to account easily for the students. However, DCU have already enjoyed good wins over Wicklow and Longford in 2012, and remain the only third-level side to win the competition, back in 2010.

With an array of talent plucked from inter-county sides around the country, including Cavan’s Jack Brady, Dublin defender Philly McMahon and Galway starlet Fionntán Ó Curraoin, Niall Moyna’s side have the potential to cause an upset, especially at this time of the year when they are gearing up for the Sigerson Cup at the end of February.

While Meath may be well behind the students in terms of preparation, in beating Louth by 0-11 to 0-5 last Sunday, Seamus McEnaney’s side showed that the winter break has not dulled their edge. Selector Graham Geraghty is vying for a starting role after coming off the bench last week, while David Gallagher is back between the posts in what is his third stint in inter-county football.

The biggest crowd of the weekend is expected to descend on Newbridge, where neighbours Kildare and Dublin clash in the second semi-final, with the game being shown live on TG4.

It’s an early repeat of last year’s Leinster semi-final, which Dublin controversially won with a late Bernard Brogan free. While this game will be a long way off the intensity of that Croke Park classic last summer, both sides showed well last weekend and Kildare will be in no mood to relinquish the O’Byrne Cup title to their greatest rivals. The Lilywhites were relentless in their 0-17 to 0-4 destruction of Offaly on Sunday, while Dublin put four goals past UCD the night before.

Dublin are without a host of the squad that won the All-Ireland title last September, including Footballer of the Year Alan Brogan who is sidelined for four weeks after aggravating a knee injury. However, Dublin manager Pat Gilroy still has enough quality at his disposal to ensure the All-Ireland champions give as good as they get against the in-form locals.

Click here for this weekend's O'Byrne Cup fixtures

McGrath Cup (Munster)

It’s college sides against inter-county sides in the semi-finals of the McGrath Cup on Sunday, with the meeting of Cork and CIT the pick of the pair.

Cork, who enjoyed a bye into the quarter-finals, opened their season with a 2-14 to 0-7 win over Clare at Páirc Uí Rinn last Sunday. It was a thoroughly satisfying start to the year for Cork manager Conor Counihan, as Colm O’Neill spectacularly blew the cobwebs away after a 10-month injury lay-off with two goals. O’Neill, who is named in the Cork side at corner forward, faces the side he won a Sigerson Cup with in 2009.

O’Neill is a familiar face, but the performances of newcomers like Kevin Harrington, Aidan O’Reilly, Liam Shorten and Seánie Cahalane were equally satisfying. Counihan also unleashed a number of experienced players from the bench for some game time, while Graham Canty was an unexpected starter this early in the year.

Counihan may not have to wheel out his big guns at Pairc Uí Rinn this Sunday, but CIT are not to be discounted, especially after their comfortable win over IT Tralee last week. Cork U21 star Dónal Óg Hodnett will look to impress the senior selectors once again after scoring 1-6 last week, while Kerry’s Brian McGuire and former Cork player Brian O’Regan lend the students some real class.

In the other semi-final, Tipperary face the third Cork team left in the competition, UCC. With just over a month to go before they mount the defence of their Sigerson title in Galway, the students will see this game as an ideal gauge of where they are at in their preparations.

They face a Tipperary side that had 22 points to spare over WIT last Sunday, with Barry Grogan scoring a hat-trick of goals in the runaway win. UCC accounted for Limerick in a similarly one-sided game, although their winning margin was a more modest 12 points.

The students started with five Kerry players in the game against Limerick and that strong backbone is augmented by players with Cork senior experience like Barry O’Driscoll and Mark Collins.

Tipperary are aiming for their first McGrath Cup final appearance since 2003, when they last won the competition. However, they will find the going much tougher than last week’s big win over WIT with manager John Evans predicting: “UCC will give us more than a tough challenge and we’ll be glad to have three weeks work underneath us. We may have looked good at times but I thought that WIT weren’t that competitive.”

Click here for this weekend's McGrath Cup fixtures.

Power NI Dr McKenna Cup (Ulster)

Following Wednesday night’s final round of group games, the four semi-finalists in the 2012 Power NI Dr McKenna Cup have been confirmed. The two last four games will go ahead as a double header at the Morgan Athletic Grounds on Sunday, with Derry and Down meeting at 2.00pm and Fermanagh and Tyrone going head-to-head at 3.45.

With crowds in the McKenna Cup up 40 per cent on last year, that figure could jump once again if, as expected, a bumper crowd turns out for this mouth-watering double bill.

Almost 7,000 were in Healy Park, Omagh on Wednesday to see the first installment of the Fermanagh-Tyrone double, with Mickey Harte getting one over on his former star player, current Fermanagh boss Peter Canavan.

There was no fairytale return to his native county as a manager for Canavan, whose side struggled in the first half and were 0-10 to 0-1 down at the break. However, there were more positive signs after the break and the Quigley brothers, Seán and Seamus, helped to mount a comeback that ultimately fell just short.

Canavan has already spoken about the self-belief that will be generated amongst his players by that second half recovery, but with Harte explicitly aiming to win a first McKenna Cup title since 2007, the apprentice may have to play second fiddle to the master once again on Sunday.

Champions Derry put their title on the line against a Down side that rather limped into the last four with a draw against St Mary’s on Wednesday night. Down boss James McCartan was distinctly unimpressed with his side's showing, saying afterwards: "I think first and foremost, we should not give the punters their money back but we should have a whip-round in the Down dressing room and send them home with a bit more than they came with." 

Derry have already accounted for Cavan, Donegal and UUJ in what has been a solid campaign, but Down carry a major goal threat, with midfielder Kalum King particularly deadly so far this year, and could well sneak into the final, which will be played on Sunday, January 28.

Click here for this weekend's Power NI Dr McKenna Cup fixtures

Connacht FBD League

Division 2 table toppers Mayo and near neighbours Roscommon face eachother at Ballinlough in the pick of this weekend’s Connacht FBD League games.

Mayo can secure a spot in the semi-finals with a win or a draw, while Roscommon have little to play for other than pride. Mayo full forward Danny Kirby scored a quite remarkable four goals in eight minutes in just his second inter-county start in last week’s win over GMIT, while Conor Mortimer’s first start after a lengthy injury lay-off was also a major plus for manager James Horan.

NUI Galway lead the way in Division 1 and can top the table away to Institute of Technology Sligo. Galway and Sligo face off in the other game, with both sides hot on the heels of the students on four points each.

Click here for this weekend's Connacht FBD League fixtures and tables