Preview: Weekend's provincial football championship action
Ryan McEvoy of Down during the 2024 Ulster GAA Football Senior Championship semi-final match between Down and Armagh at St Tiernach's Park in Clones, Monaghan. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile.
Saturday, May 2
Ulster SFC semi-final
Derry v Monaghan, Box-It Athletic Grounds, 5pm - GAA+
Both sides name unchanged teams after impressive quarter-final victories.
Derry scored 2-23 in a 13-point victory over Antrim while Monaghan kicked 0-27 in a seven-point victory over Cavan so both attacks pose a threat.
Perhaps more so Derry, though. The inside forward trio of Shane McGuigan, Lachlan Murray, and Niall Loughlin are all in a rich vein of form and you’d fancy them to do some damage given a good supply of ball.
The middle third battle-ground tends to decide most matches under the new rules, and Derry arguably have a better ball-winning platform here with strong aerial operators like Conor Glass, Brendan Rogers, and Eoin McEvoy.
Monaghan have a happy habit of proving their doubters wrong, but Derry’s form-line is the more convincing one coming into this match.
DERRY: Shea McGuckin; Diarmuid Baker, Ruairi Forbes, Conor McCluskey; Conor Doherty, Gareth McKinless, Padraig McGrogan; Eoin McEvoy, Brendan Rogers; Ethan Doherty, Conor Glass, Paul Cassidy; Niall Loughlin, Shane McGuigan, Lachlan Murray. Subs: Ryan Scullion, Charlie Diamond, Shea Downey, Sean Kearney, Patrick McGurk, Ryan Mulholland, James Murray, Niall O'Donnell, Ruairi Ó Mianáin, Niall Toner, Sean Young.
MONAGHAN: Rory Beggan; Darragh, McElearney, Ryan O'Toole, Dylan Byrne; Cameron Dowd, Dessie Ward, Aaron Carey; Micheal McCarville, Louis Kelly; Karl Gallagher, Micheal Bannigan, Stephen O'Hanlon; David Garland, Andrew Woods, Stephen Mooney. Subs: Kian Mulligan, Thomas Hughes, Robbie Hanratty, Bobby McCaul, Ryan Mohan, Conor McCarthy, Ryan Duffy, Killian Lavelle, Oisin McGorman, Jack McCarron, Shane Hanratty.
Leinster SFC semi-final
Louth v Dublin, Laois Hire O'Moore Park, 7pm - GAA+
Dublin’s chances for this match have been boosted by the return to the starting XV of Ciaran Kilkenny and Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne.
Kilkenny’s ability to win ball and progress it up the pitch was badly missed in the quarter-final against Wicklow and Ó Cofaigh Byrne’s aerial prowess will be vital under kick-outs against a Louth team that does consistently well in this key battle-zone.
The Wee County have unsurprisingly named an unchanged team after playing so impressively in their 1-25 to 0-11 quarter-final victory over Wexford.
Their form-line is certainly more convincing than that of a Dublin team that really laboured to beat Wicklow, but you wouldn’t be surprised either if Ger Brennan’s team produce a big performance here.
If it’s a game of fine margins then you’d fancy Louth’s bench to make a decisive impact.
Tadhg McDonnell, Ryan Burns, Ciaran Downey, and Sean Reynolds scored a combined seven points off the bench against Wexford and along with Sean Callaghan are capable of making a big impact again if introduced.
DUBLIN: Evan Comerford; Eoin Murchan, Nathan Doran, David Byrne; Tom Lahiff, Charlie McMorrow, Eoin Kennedy; Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne, Brian Howard; Seán Bugler, Niall Scully, Ciaran Kilkenny; Paddy Small, Killian McGinnis, Con O'Callaghan. Subs: Hugh O'Sullivan, Seán MacMahon, Eoghan O'Callaghan, Cian O'Connor, Cian Murphy, Seán Guiden, Ethan Dunne, Theo Clancy, Niall O'Callaghan, Luke Breathnach, Cormac Costello
LOUTH: Niall McDonnell; Donal McKenny, Dermot Campbell, Daire Nally; Emmet Carolan, Dara Mc Donnell, Conal McKeever; Tommy Durnin, Conor Early; Paul Matthews, Sam Mulroy, Conor Grimes; Ciaran Keenan, Conall Mccaul, Kieran McArdle. Subs: Tiarnan Markey, Ryan Burns, Ciaran Byrne, Sean Callaghan, Ciaran Downey, Leonard Grey, Craig Lennon, James Maguire, Tadgh McDonnell, Sean Reynolds, Anthony Williams.
Sunday, May 3
Leinster SFC semi-final
Kildare v Westmeath, Glenisk O'Connor Park, 2pm - GAA+
Kildare’s hopes of qualifying for the Leinster Final have been boosted by the inclusion of team captain Kevin Feely in their starting 15 after he was only fit enough to play a substitute’s role in the quarter-final win over Laois.
The Lilywhites are further strengthened by the return of some key players to the match-day squad with Alex Beirne, Jack Robinson, Colm Dalton, and Padraic Spillane all included on the bench.
Westmeath’s team news isn’t nearly as positive with star forward Luke Loughlin ruled out for the rest of the campaign after suffering a bad hamstring tear and tendon rupture.
He was their main man in that hugely impressively quarter-final win over Meath, kicking six points. Senan Baker is a very fine replacement, but Loughlin’s loss is still huge.
This is likely to be a game of fine margins, but a Kildare team that seemed to have found its confidence in their quarter-final win over Longford might have a bit more of an impact from the bench with the likes of Beirne and Ben McCormack to bring into their attack.
KILDARE: Cian Burke; Brian Byrne, Mark Dempsey, Ryan Burke; Tommy Gill, Eoin Lawlor, James McGrath; Kevin Feely, Brendan Gibbons; Brian McLoughlin, Darragh Swords, Callum Bolton; Ben Loakman, Darragh Kirwan, Eoin Cully. Subs: Eoin Sheehan, Harry O'Neill, Padraic Spillane, James Harris, Daragh Ryan, Colm Moran, Daragh Mangan, Colm Dalton, Ben McCormack, Alex Beirne, Jack Robinson.
WESTMEATH: Jason Daly; Daniel Scahill, Charlie Drumm, Tadhg Baker; Ronan Wallace, Shane Allen, Matthew Whittaker; Brían Cooney, Ray Connellan; Kevin O'Sullivan, Sam McCartan, Conor Dillon; Shane Corcoran, Senan Baker, Brandon Kelly. Subs: Jack Connaughton, Adam Treanor, Tom Molloy, Robbie Forde, Ian Martin, Devin Hill, Shane Ormsby, Danny McCartan, Eoghan McCabe, Jack Duncan, Stephen McGonagle.
Ulster SFC semi-final
Armagh v Down, Clones, 4pm - RTE
Armagh make one change to the team that defeated Fermananagh with Greg McCabe coming in for Daniel Magee who drops to the bench. Down, unsurprisingly, name the same team that stunned reigning champions Donegal in their quarter-final.
The million dollar question is whether Down can produce another high performance of such a high level just a week later?
You wouldn’t be surprised if that effort left them somewhat drained both physically and mentally. Armagh’s match against Fermanagh looked a lot less taxing in both regards, so perhaps they’ll have a bit more in the tank.
And as good as Down were against Donegal, this Armagh team is more of a proven docket over a longer period of time, losing the last three Ulster finals by very fine margins.
The Orchard County aren’t as reliant on one attacker as Down are on Pat Havern, and their greater multitude of scoring threats should give them the edge.
ARMAGH: Ethan Rafferty; Peter McGrane, Aaron McKay, Paddy Burns; Ross McQuillan, Tiernan Kelly, Jarly Og Burns; Jason Duffy, Andrew Murnin; Greg McCabe, Darragh McMullan, Tomas McCormack; Oisin Conaty, Conor Turbitt, Cian McConville. Subs: Blaine Hughes, Gareth Murphy, Barry McCambridge, Ryan Duffy, Callum O'Neill, Ciaran Mackin, Daniel Magee, Joe McElroy, Oisin O'Neill, Tomas Galvin, Aaron O'Neill.
DOWN: Ronan Burns; Peter Fegan, Pierce Laverty, Callum Rogers; Caolan Mooney, Shane Annett, Daniel Guinness; Odhran Murdock, Ryan McEvoy; Miceal Rooney, Ceilum Doherty, Pearse McPolin; Adam Crimmins, Pat Havern, John McGeough. Subs: John O'Hare, Patrick Brooks, Liam Kerr, Tom Close, Finn McElroy, Ryan Magill, Gareth McKibben, Eamon Brown, Jamie Doran, Ruairi McCormack, Barry O’Hagan.
