Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Larry McCarthy, centre, with players, from left, Peter Healy of Antrim, Chris Farley of London, Paddy Fox of Longford, Paul Maher of Limerick, Raymond Galligan of Cavan, Darragh Foley of Carlow, Eoghan Nolan of Wexford, Stephen O’Brien of Tipperary, Matthew Costello of Meath, Padraig O’Toole of Wicklow, Dermot Ryan of Waterford, Niall McParland of Down, Mark Barry of Laois, Paddy Maguire of Leitrim, Declan Hogan of Offaly, Declan McCusker of Fermanagh, during the Tailteann Cup launch at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
GROUP 1
Saturday, June 3
Cavan v Offaly, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, 3pm
Ref: Jerome Henry (Mayo)
The clash of Cavan (4 points) and Offaly (3 points) on Saturday will determine which of the two teams tops the group and progresses directly to a home quarter-final. A draw would suffice for Cavan to take top spot but Offaly need the win.
Cavan have shown the better form of the two sides thus far in the competition, beating Laois by nine points and London by six points, without yet playing to their full potential.
Their hopes of lifting the Tailteann Cup this year did receive a blow this week though when news broke that in-form forward James Smith won’t be available for the rest of the campaign due to work commitments.
If Offaly are to win this they’ll need a better performance than they produced last time out against Laois when they were somewhat fortunate to come away with a draw after scoring 1-3 without replay in the final few minutes of the game.
CAVAN: Raymond Galligan; Cian Reilly, Padraig Faulkner, Niall Carolan; Ciaran Brady, Oisin Kiernan, Cian Madden; Killian Clarke, Conor Brady; Jonathan McCabe, Gearoid McKiernan, Tiarnan Madden; Ryan O'Neill, Paddy Lynch, Oisin Brady. Subs: Liam Brady, Conor Rehill, Evan Finnegan, Dara McVeety, Conor Moynagh, Brandon Boylan, Ryan Donohoe, Tristan Noack Hofmann, Martin Reilly, Oisin Kiernan, Caoimhan McGovern.
OFFALY: Ian Duffy; Lee Pearson, Declan Hogan, David Dempsey; Cian Donohoe, Peter Cunningham, Ciaran Donnelly; Jack McEvoy, Conor McNamee; Dylan Hyland, Ruairi McNamee, Anton Sullivan; Cian Farrell, Nigel Dunne, Joe Maher; Corey White, Aaron Leavy, Bernard Allen, Nigel Bracken, Morgan Tynan, Jack O'Brien, Cormac Delaney, Shane Tierney, Aaron Brazil, Mark Abbott, Jordan Hayes.
Laois v London, Parnell Park, 3pm
Ref: Sean Lonergan (Tipperary)
The meeting of Laois and London will most likely decide who finishes in third in Group 1. Laois (1 point), still have a chance to finish second but would need a big win here and for Cavan to defeat Offaly by a decent margin too if they’re to make up the 18 point scoring difference they trail Offaly by.
Laois and Offaly drew in round two, so if they both finish on three points they would be split by scoring difference rather than the head to head rule.
London can still qualify for the preliminary quarter-finals if they win this match, but their form to date hasn’t been that impressive, falling to nine and six point defeats to Offaly and Cavan respectively.
With players like Mark Barry, Evan O’Carroll, and Paul Kingston in their attack, Laois should carry a more potent scoring threat.
LAOIS: Killian Roche; Sean Greene, Trevor Collins, Robert Pigott; Padraig Kirwan, Mark Timmons, Patrick O'Sullivan; Kieran Lillis, Damon Larkin; Cathal Doyle, Paul Kingston, James Finn; Mark Barry, Evan O'Carroll, Eoin Lowry. Subs: Scott Osborne, Seamus Lacey, Alex Mohan, Sean O'Flynn, Kevin Swayne, Ciaran Burke, Dylan Kavanagh, Damien O'Connor, Niall Corbett, Brian Daly, Colm Murphy.
LONDON: Andrew Walsh; Daire Rooney, Michael Clarke, Nathan McElwaine; Ronan Slone, Cahir Healy, Eoin Walsh; Liam Gallagher, Joshua Obahor, Conal Gallagher; Daniel Clarke, Aidan McLoughlin, Enda Lynn; Liam Gavaghan, Fiontan Eastwood. Subs: Conor Campbell, Oran Kerr, Eoin Flanagan, Conor O'Neill, Christopher Farley, Ryan Tohill, Eunan Curran, Joseph McGill, James Hynes, Stephen Dornan, Henry Walsh
Matthew Costello of Meath, left, and Niall McParland of Down during the Tailteann Cup launch at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
GROUP 2
Saturday, June 3
Meath v Down, Parnell Park, 1pm (GAAGO)
Fergal Kelly (Longford)
Down and Meath currently top Group 2 with two wins from two apiece, so their clash on Saturday will decide who tops the table and progresses to a home quarter-final.
A draw would suffice for Down as they have a superior scoring difference to Meath. That’s mainly due to their mean defence which only conceded a combined 15 points in their wins over Waterford and Tipp.
Meath have talented forwards like Matthew Costello, Aaron Lynch, and Jordan Morris, who, if they all click on the same day, would be very hard to handle.
But so far this year Down have played with a better structure than the Royals and that may give them a slight edge here.
Down: Niall Kane; Anthony Doherty, Pierce Laverty, Patrick McCarthy; Danny Magill, Daniel Guinness, Ceilum Doherty; Patrick Branagan, Odhran Murdock; Shealan Johnston, Donach McAleenan, Liam Kerr; Ryan Johnston, Pat Havern, Eugene Branagan. Subs: John O'Hare, Miceal Rooney, Conor Francis, Ryan McEvoy, Gerard Collins, Ross Carr, Finn McElroy, Conor Fitzpatrick, Shane Annett, Eamon Brown, Ruairi O Hare
Meath: Seán Brennan; Adam O'Neill, Ronan Ryan, Harry O'Higgins; Donal Keogan, Padraic Harnan, Seán Coffey; Ronan Jones, Conor Gray; Daithí McGowan, James McEntee, Jack O'Connor; Jordan Morris, Mathew Costello, Aaron Lynch. Subs: Harry Hogan, Ciarán Caulfield, Cillian O'Sullivan, Cathal Hickey, Jack Flynn, Eoghan Frayne, Ben Wyer, Donal Lenihan, Diarmuid Moriarty, John O'Regan, Keith Curtis
Tipperary v Waterford, Pairc Ui Chaoimh, 1pm
Seamus Mulhare (Laois)
Waterford and Tipperary are both pointless so the best they can hope for is to finish third and their match will decide who takes that spot.
A draw would be sufficient for Waterford to finish third as they have a superior scoring difference than Tipperary, but with only three out of four third place finishers progressing to the preliminary quarter-finals a win for either team is a must.
And because their scoring difference is currently considerably worse than any of the other teams that could potentially finish third in their group, either Tipperary or Waterford will need to win this match by a big margin and hope other results go their way too in order to avoid missing out on the preliminary quarter-finals because they’re the lowest ranked third-placed team.
When these two teams met in the Munster Championship Tipperary eventually prevailed after a hard battle. This game is also likely to go down to the wire.
WATERFORD: Paudie Hunt; Liam Fennell, Darragh Ó Cathasaigh, Eoghan McGrath-Butler; Dermot Ryan, Brian Looby, Jordan O'Sullivan; Michael Curry, Brian Lynch; Conor Murray, Darragh Corcoran, Jason Curry; Michael Kiely, Jason Gleeson, Sean Whelan-Barrett. Subs: Aaron Beresford, Tom O'Connell, Caoimhín Walsh, John Devine, Caoimhín Maguire, Donal Fitzgerald, Josh Veale, Jack Keane, Conor Ó Cuirrín, Niall McSweeney, Donal Queally
TIPPERARY: Michael O'Reilly; Shane O'Connell, Jimmy Feehan, Colm O'Shaughnessy; Kevin Fahey, Colman Kennedy, James Morris; Mark Russell, Conall Kennedy; Emmet Moloney, Jack Kennedy, Luke Boland; Teddy Doyle, Sean O'Connor, Darragh Brennan. Subs: Cian O'Mahony, Dean Carew, Rory Collins, Willie Eviston, Paudie Feehan, Donough Leahy, Jack Nevin, Mikey O'Shea, Eoghan Power, Stephen Quirke, Keith Ryan.
Paddy Fox of Longford, left, and Darragh Foley of Carlow during the Tailteann Cup launch at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
GROUP 3
Sunday, June 4
Limerick v Wicklow, Laois Hire O'Moore Park, 1pm
Ref: Brendan Griffin (Kerry)
Limerick on four points are already assured of top-spot in Group 3 and a home quarter-final. Whoever wins between Longford and Carlow can also finish on four points, but because Limerick have already beaten both of those teams they’d finish above them on the head to head rule.
A Wicklow team with no points on the board are only playing for pride this Sunday. Were they to beat Limerick and finish on two points with either Longford or Carlow they’d finish below them in the table on the head to head rule because they’ve already been beaten by both sides.
Limerick will want to maintain their current momentum for the knock-out stage of the competition, and that greater incentive as well as current form should see them prevail here.
LIMERICK: Aaron O Sullivan; Cormac Woulfe, Sean O'Dea, Brian Fanning; Barry Coleman, Iain Corbett, Tony McCarthy; Colm McSweeney, Cillian Fahy; Cian Sheehan, Brian Donovan, Adrian Enright; James Naughton, Hugh Bourke, Peter Nash. Subs: Eoghain Sherlock, Robbie Bourke, David Connolly, Mike Donovan, Cathal Downes, Tommy Griffin, Jim Liston, Davey Lyons, Darragh Murray, Ruadhan O'Connor, Killian Ryan.
WICKLOW: Mark Jackson; Eoin Murtagh, Paul McLoughlin, Malachy Stone; Fintan O Shea, Patrick O'Keane, Mark Kenny; Dean Healy, Pádraig O’Toole; Conor Fee, John Paul Hurley, Jack Kirwan; John Paul Nolan, Joe Prendergast, Eoin Darcy, Peter Byrne, Jaques Mc Call, Matt Nolan, Arun Daly Danne, John Keogh, Tom Moran, Cian O Sulivan, Craig Maguire, Karl Furlong, Tom Maher, Liam O Nei
Longford v Carlow, Laois Hire O'Moore Park, 3pm
Ref: Barry Tiernan (Dublin)
With Limerick already guaranteed top-spot in Group 3, Longford and Carlow effectively playing for second in the table and a home tie for the preliminary quarter-finals. A draw would suffice for Longford as they have a superior scoring difference to Carlow.
If Limerick are the barometer in this group, then Longford have measured better against them than Carlow did, eventually losing a tight game by three points whereas Carlow were defeated by eight.
Paddy Christie’s team scored 14 more points than Carlow did against Limerick and Wicklow, and the cutting edge provided by players like Dylan Farrell, Oran Kenny, Dessie Reynolds and Joe Hagan could give them an edge here.
LONGFORD: Patrick Collum; Patrick Fox, Andrew Farrell, Bryan Masterson; Iarla O'Sullivan, Michael Quinn, Peter Lynn; Ryan Moffett, Darren Gallagher; Joe Hagan, Dessie Reynolds, Aaron Farrell; Keelin McGann, Dylan Farrell, Oran Kenny. Subs: Mícheál Hughes, Peter Foy, Fergal Sheridan, Daire O'Brien, Ciarán Scanlon, Daniel Reynolds, Barry O'Farrell, Ruairí Harkin, Matt Duffy, Tadhg McNevin, Darragh Doherty
CARLOW: Johnny Furey; Shane Buggy, Mikey Bambrick, Seanie Bambrick; Shane Clarke, Mark Furey, Niall Hickey; Conor Doyle, Jordan Morrissey; Conor Crowley, Ciaran Moran, Ross Dunphy; Colm Hulton, Darragh Foley, Jamie Clarke. Subs: Ciaran Cunningham, LIam Roberts, Liam Brennan, Jonah Dunne, Aaron Amond, Eric Molloy, Josh Moore, Finbar Kavanagh, Paddy Regan, Cathal Kelly, Bryan McMahon.
Declan McCusker of Fermanagh, left, and Peter Healy of Antrim during the Tailteann Cup launch at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile.
GROUP 4
Sunday, June 4
Fermanagh v Antrim, Box-It Athletic Grounds, 3pm
Ref: Liam Devenney (Mayo)
The meeting of Antrim (4 points) and Fermanagh (3 points) will decide which of the two teams tops the group and progresses directly to a home quarter-final.
The Saffrons are one of the most in-form teams in the competition thus far, sweeping to convincing wins over both Leitrim and Wexford.
They carry a big scoring threat with players like Adam Loughran, Dominic McEnhill, Ruairi McCann, and Michael Byrne all in fine form.
Fermanagh have averaged five points less a game than Antrim, but you wouldn’t write them off here.
They showed a significant improvement when beating Leitrim in Round 2 compared to their performance when drawing with Wexford in Round 1, and players like Ryan Lyons, Ryan Jones, and Sean Quigley are in good form.
If they can also get Ultan Kelm firing for this game it should be a cracker.
FERMANAGH: Sean McNally; Luke Flanagan, Che Cullen, Lee Cullen; Shane McGullion, Jonathan CAssidy, Cian McManus; Ryan Jones, Brandon Horan; Conor McShea, Ryan Lyons, Ronan McCaffrey; Ultan Kelm, Darragh McGurn, Sean Quigley. Subs: Jack Kelly, Garrett Cavanagh, Josh Largo Ellis, Declan McCusker, Aidan Breen, Oisin Smyth, Garvan Jones, Tommy McCaffrey, Conor McGee, Conal Jones, Ciaran Corrigan.
ANTRIM: Michael Byrne; Patrick McCormick, Peter Healy, Eoghan McCabe; Dermot McAleese, Cormac McGettigan, Marc Jordan; Conor Stewart, Cathal Hybnds; Colm McLarnon, Adam Loughran, Ruairi McCann; Patrick McBride, Ruairi McAnn, Dominic McEnhill; Luke Mulholland, Declan Lynch, Ronan Boyle, Barry McCormick, Jack Dowling, Eunan Quinn, Conor Hands, Oisin Doherty, Conhuir Johnston, Odhran Eastwood, Ryan McQuillan.
Wexford v Leitrim, Parnell Park, 3pm
Ref: Paul Faloon (Down)
Wexford (1 point) still have a slight chance of finishing second and claiming a home preliminary quarter-final if they beat Leitrim and Antrim beat Fermanagh.
Those two results would see Fermanagh and Wexford finishing on three points. Because they drew in Round 1, they’d be separated by scoring difference rather than the head to head rule. Fermanagh currently enjoy a 16-point superior difference than Wexford, so they’re odds on to finish second even if they lose to Antrim.
Leitrim with no points after two matches still have a chance of finishing third and advancing to an away preliminary quarter-final if they beat Wexford, but they’d still possibly need results in other groups to go their way to ensure they’re one of the three best third-place finishers.
It's been a tough year for Andy Moran’s team, missing out on promotion in the League, being knocked out of the Connacht Championship by New York, and now losing their first two matches in the Tailteann.
It’s hard to see them turning that form around against a Wexford team that beat them in the League.
WEXFORD: Darragh Brooks; Brian Molloy, Paraic Hughes, Michael Furlong; Eoin Porter, Glen Malone, Cathal Walsh; Liam Coleman, Niall Hughes; Conor Carty, Eoghan Noal, Kevin O'Grady; Robbie Brooks, Mark Rossiter, Ben Brosnan; Anto Larkin, Johnathon Bealin, Brian Cushe, Dylan Furlon, cian Hughes, Conor Kinsella, Darragh Lyons, Liam O'Connor, Dean O'Toole, Alan Tobin, John Tubritt.
LEITRIM: Nevin O'Donnell; Conor Farrell, Mark Diffley, Ciallian McGloin; James Rooney, Shane Quinn, Aidan Flynn; Pearce Dolan, Donal Wrynn; Paul Keaney, Keith Beirne, Barry McNulty; Jack Heslin, Darragh Rooney, Mark Plunkett. Subs: Darren Maxwell, Conor Reynolds, Domhnaill Flynn, Diarmuid Kelleher, Stephen McLoughlin, Radek Oberwan, Michael McKiernan, Tom Prior, Oisin McLoughlin, Paul Moran, Jack Casey.
