By Michael Devlin

Oisin McConville has high hopes for the Ulster teams going into this weekend’s All-Ireland Round Two Qualifiers.

While Fermanagh’s summer was abruptly ended last week, six of the province’s nine teams will be in qualifier action in a packed Saturday schedule, all vying for a place in the next round.

Tyrone will be keen to bounce back from their Ulster semi-final exit with a trip to Longford, while Division Four champions Derry host Laois in Owenbeg. Elsewhere, Down welcome the challenge of stung National League champions Mayo to Newry.

But while Pairc Esler has played host to plenty of high-profile Championship games in its time, the same can’t necessarily be said for Corrigan Park. The last Championship game played at West Belfast venue was Antrim’s 2016 qualifier defeat to Limerick, and it’s sure to be packed to the rafters on Saturday afternoon for the meeting with Kildare.

There is also the small issue of McConville’s own Armagh travelling to Clones for a scintillating clash with Monaghan that could arguably be labelled the tie of the round.

"You would be hoping that Armagh could get over Monaghan,” says a reticent McConville, speaking at the launch of the ‘Tuning In – From Wireless to WiFi’ exhibition at the GAA Museum yesterday.

“It's a dangerous one, almost more dangerous for Armagh because anyone that I have been chatting to have been saying that Monaghan are a team who look as if they are really struggling.

“I've seen Monaghan before and they have bounced back. If this team, especially over the last couple of years, they have thrown in some surprisingly results but they have always bounced back from them. They are a team devoid of confidence but the Fermanagh game will have brought that on another step so that's the one maybe.

"Kildare won't have it easy in Antrim. The strange thing about Antrim is that, you look at the Antrim-Tyrone result and you would say Antrim weren't in that game at all but Antrim were in it for lots.

“They caused lots of problems in the first half, kick-outs in particular and up front. They have a serious bit of pace, Kildare won't relish going to Belfast so that is one that could be a major shock because no one will expect Antrim to do anything.”

While Saturday is a feast of action for any follower of Ulster football, more will follow a day later with the province’s showpiece decider between Cavan and Donegal.

McConville believes this year’s Championship has been one to remember, referencing the more attractive brand of football that’s been on show, along with the high levels of drama and excitement that have enthralled fans thus far.

“This year the Ulster championship has been nothing short of phenomenal. I’ve really, really enjoyed it – different styles of games, different styles of football, a lot more tactical awareness, tactical nuance that we haven’t seen in Ulster.”

Kerry and Dublin will be odds-on to add more Munster and Leinster titles to their considerable rolls of honour on Sunday, but the favourites tag didn’t count for much for Galway last weekend as Roscommon put in a storming second half to win the Connacht crown.

In Ulster, the contest is set to be more balanced. Donegal will go into the game as favourites, but not by much, as Cavan are brimming with confidence following their exhilarating semi-final win over Armagh after a replay.

McConville believes Cavan, who challenging in their first Ulster final since 2001, will provide a serious test for Donegal, but the 2002 All-Ireland winner doesn’t foresee Declan Bonner’s men suffering a similar collapse as Galway.

“Donegal will be put under plenty of pressure this weekend, I still think they will win but I don't think we will see them capitulating in the way that Galway did. Probably no shocks in the provincial games, but Donegal will be put to the pin of their collar to get past Cavan.”

Assessing Cavan, McConville has been impressed with how manager Mickey Graham has adapted their style of play, placing more emphasis on rejuvenating their attacking approach.

“I think they have changed dramatically in the way that they play. I remember Mattie McGleenan when he came in he said they were going to play open and attractive football and that lasted about 40 minutes in the first league game that they played and he reverted back to containing teams.

“Mickey Graham has a great way of tweaking what he is doing and if Mickey thinks he needs to tweak it again this weekend he will do so I think they are more tactically aware than they have been. When they open up they have spectacular footballers and serious pace.

“Defensively, they gave up chances the last day but they might tighten things up at the back this weekend, they'll have an opportunity, because they are playing Donegal, to play a sweeper, they might revert to that but I have been very impressed with them so far."

McConville singled out Dara McVeety in particular as a player who has fulfilled an attacking role that Cavan have been lacking in recent years. The Crosserlough man has been in commanding form in the Breffni County’s offensive unit so far, registering 0-7 points from play in this campaign.

“It’s just nice to see a team like Cavan, who have been a lot more defensive in the last couple of years, to open up and play. That’s been the one criticism that you would find with Cavan is that they won four Ulster U21 titles in a row and the one criticism that continues to be thrown at them is that they didn’t find one dynamic and good forward.

“So, the forwards that I’ve seen, the likes of Stephen Murray and boys like that that have come off the bench, made a real difference for them. But Dara McVeety is different gravy, you know.

“I saw McVeety playing college football four or five years ago and how he’s developed his own game and come on since that, playing in a completely different role than I’ve ever seen him playing in.

“He was the player back in defence carrying the ball out, shipped it on to someone else, but now he’s a real target man, he’s a score getter. His movement, the two best players for movement I’ve seen this year in the full-forward line are [Cathal] McShane for Tyrone, his movement is unbelievable, and McVeety’s.”

For McConville though, Donegal are now top of the tree in Ulster following their thoroughly impressive semi-final victory over Tyrone, and he believes they are now the team best placed to challenge Dublin’s All-Ireland five-in-a-row bid.

“I fancied Tyrone going into the game, fancied them strongly actually because I felt Donegal could be got at defensively and when Donegal got players back into defence, everything looked too slow, they look laboured. It’s easy to say it because everyone will say it but they looked over-trained or they sluggish and that sometimes can happen when you’re on the back foot and you’re getting beat.

“But how they continued to let the kick-outs happen against them, and that’s something I’m pretty sure they’ll have to have looked at since, but that should have been done during the game. There was ample opportunity to do something about it and the solution wasn’t that difficult. The solution to Donegal’s kick-outs was to just play two men in that zone that Donegal kept getting their kick-outs into. So bit of a malfunction on the field and a bit of a malfunction off the field as well.

“The one thing I thought Donegal did really well, I thought they got their match-ups really good. I mean Mattie Donnelly was having a good season even though the two Championship matches are questionable because you’re playing against Division Four opposition, but [Stephen] McMenamin came in and done a really good job on Donnelly and when he seemed to go out of the game they seemed to lack ideas and once the ball wasn't going into McShane he wasn’t getting on it.

“I think things have changed in that the one team you were looking to was Tyrone, to follow up and improve on last year. On the evidence of what we saw against Donegal, that didn’t happen. I think Donegal leap-frogged them and they look like the team who potentially would trouble Dublin.

“The thing I thought was really good about Donegal the last day, yes, they were getting players back into defence, but the transition was unbelievable, it was electric. A lot of people haven’t mentioned Hugh McFadden’s influence, but the work that he is doing, getting back into defence, making it difficult for the opposition. And how quick [Ryan]McHugh and these boys can make the transition.

“So for me, it is simply Donegal jumping over Tyrone.”