Previews: Leinster U21 Football Championship Round 1
Gaelic football
The EirGrid All-Ireland U21 Football Championship gets underway this week, with three games taking place in Leinster on Wednesday evening.
EirGrid Leinster U21 Football Championship Round 1 Previews
Wednesday, February 24
Wicklow v Carlow, IT Carlow, 7.30pm
Neither of these counties have ever won the Leinster U21 Football Championship, although between them they have been in plenty of finals. Wicklow were beaten in the finals of 1967, 1969, 1990 and 1991, while Carlow reached the final in 1984, which they lost to Dublin.
Putting history aside though, there is no concealing the fact that it's been a long time since either county was genuinely competitive at U21 level in the province. Last year, both were beaten in the preliminary round although Carlow's defeat to Louth (3-11 to 2-10) was considerably narrower than Wicklow's heavy loss to Longford (4-13 to 0-5).
Wicklow are managed by Jonathan Daniels, with the close assistance of senior manager Johnny Magee, and Magee has taken the decision this year to have the U21s and the seniors on the same training programmes in an effort to improve performances.
Carlow are managed by Peter McConnan, who succeeded Willie Quinlan at the end of last season.
The winners of this game will face Louth or Laois in the last eight.
Conor Berry
Wexford v Longford, St Patrick's Park, Enniscorthy, 7.30pm
If Wicklow or Carlow need inspiration in order to become competitive again, they need look no further than these two counties. Despite modest resources, they contested the Leinster U21 final back in 2011, with Wexford winning, while Longford reached the final again in 2013 and the semi-final last year, which they lost to a powerful Dublin side by just five points.
Wexford are managed by senior boss David Power, a man who knows a thing or two about underage success having managed the Tipperary minors to an All-Ireland title in 2011. He has a decent side to work with as well - three years ago, Wexford recorded wins over Carlow and Louth at Leinster minor level, and put up a credible display against a strong Dublin side before bowing out.
Longford, as mentioned, have been strong at Leinster minor and U21 level in recent seasons and Frank McNamee's side look capable of another good season this year after strong displays in the early season Hastings Cup, where they reached the semi-final and lost narrowly to border rivals Cavan.
Abbeylara Centre-half-forward Conor Berry is a real talent plucked straight from the minor ranks, while defender Liam Hughes and midfielders Paddy Kiernan and David McGivney have shown strong early season form.
The winners of this game will face Westmeath in the last eight.
Evan O Carroll
Louth v Laois, Haggardstown, 7.30pm
Both these sides bowed out at the quarter-final stage last year, but with the winners of this tie facing relative minnows Carlow or Wicklow in the next round, the winners of this game can have reasonable ambitions of reaching at least the semi-finals this season.
Laois, champions most recently in 2006 and 2007, are managed by Derek Conroy and he has named his team for this evening. Killeshin-Crettyard hotshot Evan O'Carroll is on the forty, while his clubman Eoin Lowry captains the side from full-forward.
Louth are jointly managed this season by Eamon Dunne and Eugene Judge, and they have also named their team for this evening's battle in Haggardstown.
Senior footballer Ryan Burns is in the side in the half-forward line, while Conor Early (Oliver Plunketts), Matt Corcoran (Geraldines) and Dean Maguire (Dundalk) will also be looking to catch the eye.
