Football Qualifiers: Round 3 Previews

GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 3 Qualifiers

Saturday, July 20

Galway v Armagh, Pearse Stadium, 5pm

Galway and Armagh were both knocked out of their respective provincial championships at the earliest possible stage, so they've done well to get to Round 3 of the qualifiers, in which they meet at Pearse Stadium on Saturday evening.

Their last championship meeting was back in 2001, and was also at the Round 3 qualifier stage. The two counties were true heavyweights on the national stage at the time - Galway won the All-Ireland that season, while Armagh won it the following year, and Galway edged an absorbing contest that day 12 years in Croke Park, 0-13 to 0-12.

Galway's qualifier record has been on a downward curve since that season, but they have improved on it considerably in 2013 with two wins on the trot. Alan Mulholland's side defeated Tipperary and Waterford to get to Round 3, restoring some pride after their Connacht quarter-final trouncing against Mayo (4-16 to 0-11).

Armagh were beaten by Cavan in the Ulster preliminary round back on May 19, and they took a lot of criticism after that game for the nature of their performance. However, they have answered their critics resoundingly since then. They had 25 points to spare against Wicklow in Round 1 (2-21 to 0-2) and last weekend, hit a remarkable tally of 8-13 against Leitrim, taking a 27-point win in the process.

Those two results, albeit against two teams that performed extremely poorly on the day, have caused for a sharp reappraisal of Armagh's 2013 prospects. Paul Grimley's side appear to have genuinely turned the corner, and Jamie Clarke, Aaron Kernan and Tony Kernan are all in outstanding form at the moment.

That said, Galway should have plenty of motivation to keep their qualifier run going. Years of poor results in the back-door system, coupled with their big defeat to great rivals Mayo earlier in the year, have left the Tribesmen hurting, and a third win on the bounce would go someway to easing their troubles of recent times.

Armagh have named an unchanged side for the game, while Galway are expected to name their team later today. The winners of this game will play beaten Munster finalists Cork in Round 4.

Derry v Cavan, Celtic Park, 5pm

It's an all-Ulster affair in Celtic Park on Saturday evening, as Cavan make the trip north to take on Derry in Round 3.

This is Terry Hyland's side's fifth championship game of the 2013 season, and they still have yet to play a non-Ulster side. They defeated Armagh and Fermanagh to advance to the Ulster semi-final, but then came up just short against Monaghan in the last four.

They defeated the Erne men again in their Round 2 Qualifier last weekend, and now they take on Allianz Football League Division II champions Derry, who have recovered from their Ulster quarter-final defeat to Down with qualifier wins over Sligo and Down respectively.

Cavan don't have a good recent championship record against Derry, and have lost their last four championship games against the Oak Leaf County. Two of those defeats came in the qualifiers - in 2001 and 2004 - while they also were heavily beaten in their last two Ulster championship games against them, in 1999 and 2000. In fact, Cavan's last championship victory over Derry was in the 1997 Ulster final.

Derry will be without influential midfielder PJ McCloskey for Saturday's game, after he suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury in the qualifier win over Down two weeks' ago. Patsy Bradley and Conor McAtamney will be the midfield pairing for Derry on Saturday.

The winners of this game will play the losers of the Connacht final - either Mayo or London - in Round 4, but Hyland refused to look ahead to any potential tie there, and insists his focus is on Derry and Derry alone.

"I presume Derry will look at it the same way, the incentive in any competition is to get to the next round, regardless of who you're meeting. We just want to win the next round, that's all we are thinking about," he said.

Kildare v Tyrone, St Conleth's Park, Newbridge, 7pm

For all the enjoyment the 2013 Championships have already delivered, the Football Qualifiers are yet to produce a do-or-die meeting of two counties with ambitions of competing at the sharp end of the championship.

While it would be unrealistic to expect a contest of the scale or intensity of Kilkenny's win over Tipperary in the Hurling Qualifiers, at least we now have a pre All-Ireland quarter-final fixture with some real meat to get stuck into. With the winners due to face Meath, we should have another one in Round 4.

Being specialists in the qualifiers might be the equivalent of a student being very efficient at writing out their punishment lines, but Kildare and Tyrone have been the most successful counties in the 'back door' since the introduction of the safety net in 2001.

No county has used the Qualifiers as well as Mickey Harte's Tyrone, winning All-Ireland titles after taking the scenic route in 2005 and 2008. Kieran McGeeney can't touch that record of achievement, but the Mullaghbawn man is yet to taste defeat in the qualifiers since he took over the Lilywhites in 2008. Last week's win over Louth brought his unbeaten run in the competition to 16, the only blemish in that run coming when they drew with Antrim in 2010.

Kildare and Tyrone came into the 2013 Championship being touted as dark horses to take the ultimate prize, but both sides disappointed in their respective provincial championships, so coming through this tie would represent a redemption of sorts for the winners. The losers will exit the 2013 Championship, leaving behind them a trail of unfulfilled promise and expectations.

Those expectations were built on successful league campaigns during which both managers rebranded their sides and infused ailing squads with plenty of young and exciting players. While Tyrone's defeat to Donegal in Ulster was more comprehensive than most anticipated, nobody predicted Kildare would fold like they did against Dublin in Leinster.

Tyrone bounced back with a record trimming of Offaly before they fell asleep at the wheel against Roscommon and very nearly lost a game they should have won easing up. Kildare didn't have their own way against Louth, with the introduction of Tomás O'Connor at full-forward turning the game in their favour. Expect O'Connor to start this time, while Stephen O'Neill's return at No. 14 for the Lilywhites could also have a major impact on the game.

Home advantage at a tight St Conleth's Park is a huge plus for Kildare; the memories of their Round 3 defeat to Kerry last year should fire Tyrone back to life.

Wexford v Laois, Wexford Park, 7pm

Should Laois find a way through the qualifiers and back into the quarter-finals of the All-Ireland series, it would represent an even greater achievement than what they managed under Justin McNulty last year.

Having lost to Longford in the opening round of the Leinster Championship last year, the O'Moore men regrouped in the qualifiers and ran Dublin to within three points in an All-Ireland quarter-final. A year on, after a Leinster trimming by Louth, McNulty's side look like they could be gathering momentum again following wins over Carlow and Clare.

After beating Louth in Leinster, Wexford lost to Meath and then got things back on track with an impressive extra-time win in Longford last weekend.

The sides meet in the championship for the first time since 2008 when Wexford won a Leinster semi-final clash by six points. Their most recent meeting was in Division II of the Allianz Football League last April when Laois won by 0-14 to 1-8 in the final round on April 7.

It was a defeat that relegated Wexford to Division III. Laois led by nine points (0-11 to 0-2) just after half-time before a brave recovery by Wexford cut the margin to three points.

Their most recent championship clash, in 2008, was not one of the most memorable Leinster semi-finals but the result was all-important as Wexford qualified for their first provincial final in more than half a century. In truth, the winners were not flattered by the winning margin, but as is often the case when a team is on the cusp of making an important breakthrough, they laboured a little before crossing the finishing line.

The winners will play Donegal or Monaghan in Round 4 of the All-Ireland qualifiers.

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