Allianz Football League Division II Previews
Kieran McGeeney
With five Ulster teams present in the second tier this year, the battle for promotion to Division I could be extremely interesting.
Armagh, Cavan, Derry, Fermanagh and Tyrone are well used to meeting each other in the McKenna Cup and Ulster Championship, and they will all get their fill of local derbies over the next couple of months in what promises to be an intriguing league.
Tyrone, having been relegated from Division I last year before going all the way to the All-Ireland semi-finals, are many people's favourites to be promoted, alongside Derry, who were also relegated last year from Division I. Another strong contender in Division I is Galway, the Tribesmen having been improving steadily in Division II over the last few seasons.
Cavan, Meath and Laois all have the experience of last year's Division II campaign, with Cavan and Meath going close to promotion, staying in the hunt up until the final day. Armagh and Fermanagh are the two promoted sides, but they will be formidable opponents for anyone in a division in which there will be no easy games.
Allianz Football League Division II Previews
*
Sunday, January 31*
** Meath v Armagh, Páirc Tailteann, 2pm**
Writing for GAA.ie in 2014, Oisín McConville remembered a time when Meath and Armagh met in Navan every April or May for a challenge game ahead of the championship. "The game was often held behind closed doors and it's a blessing that it was because it literally was war," remembered McConville. "It was the toughest, most physical environment you could ever end up in as a Gaelic footballer."
Needless to say, things have moved on somewhat in this rivalry, and in Gaelic football in general, since those days 20 years ago. Fresh from their O'Byrne Cup final victory last weekend, the Royals welcome Kieran McGeeney's side to Navan with both sides well aware that a good result here is vital if they are to make an impact in a highly competitive second tier in 2016.
The headline news for Armagh in the off-season was the disappointing if unsurprising news that Jamie Clarke is unable to commit to the county team for 2016. The talented forward is still available to his club Crossmaglen, whose players are all currently unavailable to Armagh as they prepare for an All-Ireland senior club semi-final in the coming weeks.
While O'Byrne Cup success was a welcome boost for Meath and Mick O'Dowd - it was the first trophy of his four-year reign - it has been an off-season of change for the Royals with long-serving duo Kevin Reilly and Stephen Bray announcing their retirement. O'Dowd has introduced a few newcomers so far in January though, and with Donal Keogan, Harry Rooney, Andrew Tormey, Graham Reilly and Mickey Newman all looking fit and healthy at this early stage of the season, Meath have reasons to be optimistic ahead of the opener in Navan.
**
Tyrone v Cavan
Tyrone v Cavan, Healy Park, 2pm
Tyrone are something of a coming force again, having gone all the way to last year's All-Ireland semi-finals following relegation from Division I. Relegation from the top tier could have prompted a sense of foreboding, but Mickey Harte clearly had faith in his developing side and inspired by the likes of Peter Harte, Mattie Donnelly and Darren McCurry, a new Tyrone side made their mark.
Driven on by a number of new additions from last year's All-Ireland U21 winning side, Tyrone swept to their fifth McKenna Cup title in a row earlier this month, beating Derry in the final and winning all five of their games. Even though we are still in January, Tyrone have almost all their players available to them and Harte has named a strong side for Sunday in Omagh. Seán Cavanagh is not included, but he is thought to be close to full fitness ahead of his 15th season in red and white colours.
Although Cavan's championship campaign in 2015 was somewhat disappointing, the Breffni County had a solid opening year in Division II, battling for promotion until the final weekend. Terry Hyland remains in charge in 2016 for what will be his sixth season since coming on board originally alongside Val Andrews in 2010.
Cavan reached the semi-finals of the McKenna Cup, and encouragingly, saw the return of key duo Eugene Keating and David Givney during the off-season. Although their arrivals are offset somewhat by the departures of James McEnroe and Martin Dunne, Cavan look stronger on paper this year than they did last year. They are without a couple of key defenders this weekend though, with Jason McLoughlin and Rory Dunne both out injured.
Derry v Fermanagh, Celtic Park, 2.15pm
Having wowed the entire country with their run to the All-Ireland quarter-finals last summer, all eyes will be on Fermanagh this year to see if they can build on what was a superb 2015 for the Errne County. While giving Dublin a great game in that carnival of a quarter-final in Croke Park earned Pete McGrath and his charges plenty of plaudits, it was their excellent run in Division III that set the tone for the year.
Fermanagh went unbeaten in Division III until their last game when they lost to Clare, but with promotion already sealed it mattered little. It will be very interesting to see how they manage the step up to the second tier, especially against a side that was in Division I in 2015. Fermanagh did well to get to the semi-final of the McKenna Cup but were beaten by Tyrone by 1-13 to 0-9, a result which prompted McGrath to warn his troops about the potential battles lying in wait.
“We have now got a fortnight to get our heads around what happened here today, reset and make sure we are ready for the first round of the National League in a fortnight’s time, which is infinitely more important than the McKenna Cup. What we saw here today and what we experienced, I think we can take it on board and learn from it,” he said after the defeat.
Derry made it all the way to the McKenna Cup final, but were also beaten by Tyrone, though they will take lots of heart from losing a game they had all but wrapped up. In the end, they lost in extra-time, but new manager Damian Barton and his assistant Tony Scullion would have been very pleased with the stomach his troops showed to go toe-to-toe with a battle-hardened Red Hand outfit. Derry picked up just three points in Division I last year, but will expect to get straight back up this year, though a first outing against Fermanagh is a tough place to start on that road.
**
**
Kevin Walsh
**
Laois v Galway, Portlaoise, 2pm
Laois and Galway will expect to be competing for promotion in Division II of the Allianz League this year, having failed to make the step up last year. Laois won the corresponding game in 2015 but were lucky to avoid the drop in the end, and new manager Mick Lillis will be looking to get his reign off to a solid start this spring.
Laois are expected to be without Ross Munnelly, Niall Donoher and Gary Walsh, who are all carrying injuries, while Colm Begley is yet to return to the panel and Brendan Murphy is serving a one-match suspension, meaning manager Lillis, who has taken over from Tomás Ó Flatharta, could be missing a huge rump of experience for the game.
Galway go into the game having secured a first Connacht FBD League title in seven years. However, they are missing a number of key players, including Gary Sice, the Sweeney twins, Gareth Bradshaw and Finian Hanley while Michéal Lundy's departure to the USA for a year is also a significant blow.
“With the list of injuries that we have, there will be no choice but for some of them to step up. We want to have a strong panel,” manager Kevin Walsh told the Tuam Herald. “We are without about nine or ten, it is not a full year job for them, but in the next few months we should see one or two of them coming back at different stages."
