SATURDAY
Ulster SFC
Armagh v Down, St Tiernach's Park, 5.15pm
SUNDAY
Leinster SFC
Kildare v Louth, Croke Park, 1.45pm
Dublin v Offaly, Croke Park, 4pm
Ulster SFC
Donegal v Tyrone, Celtic Park, 2pm
ONLINE
TV
GAAGO will carry coverage on the meeting of Armagh and Down on Saturday and will also show Sunday’s three provincial semi-finals, Kildare against Louth, Dublin and Offaly along with Donegal’s big clash with Tyrone. The latter will also be screened on BBCNI.
RADIO
WEATHER
Saturday: Saturday will be a cool day with a mix of sunny spells and scattered April showers feeding in over the country, in a light to moderate northeasterly breeze. Highest temperatures of 8 to 12 degrees, mildest in the west.
Sunday: Sunday will see the likelihood of more general falls of rain moving in off the Atlantic during the day. Much of the south and southeast may stay fully dry however. Fairly cool with highest temperatures of 9 to 12 degrees. Northerly winds will likely veer westerly.
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Jim 2.0 off and running
That 4-11 to 0-17 triumph at Celtic Park was McGuinness’ 15th provincial game in charge of the Tir Chonaill County and he has won 14. The sole loss came in the 2013 final when massive underdogs Monaghan announced their arrival as a serious force.
Included in those 14 wins were three over Mickey Harte’s Tyrone. He’s already chalked one up against Harte this season, and this Sunday McGuinness will try and add to the Tyrone part too back in Derry city.
It’s a different sort of test. The tactical know-how of McGuinness was given six months to breath for treble-chasing Derry, but it’s a week’s turnaround for the Red Hands.
Still though, there was so many positives to take from the Derry win that they will be bouncing into the game.
The goals are the obvious stand out, helped in no small part by Odhran Lynch’s wandering being punished by two Daire Ó Baoill lobs from distance (the Gaoth Dobhair man did likewise against Fermanagh back in February in another 'Beckham’ moment).
On top of that, Jason McGee was a colossus against Conor Glass in midfield. Brendan McCole shut down Shane McGuigan. The Oakleafers scored just two frees and one of those was hotly contested when Mark Curran was pinged for a foul on Niall Toner.
The main negative was the injury picked up by Shaun Patton and his booming kicks will be missed if he doesn’t make it.
For Tyrone, their unpredictability is perhaps both a strength and a weakness heading into this encounter. Most games they have played this year have included Division 1 football and Division 4 football, apart from the Dublin league hammering which was all bottom tier stuff.
Their good and bad was all on show in last week’s extra-time win over Cavan at Kingspan Breffni.
At times they looked electric with Mattie Donnelly rolling back the years in defence, Micheal McKernan getting up and down the field like a Duracell bunny and Darragh Canavan polishing his Peter Canavan impression even further.
Still though, eight points up and cruising in the second half, they should have seen it out – even with Padraig Hampsey’s black card.
They collapsed in that 10-minute period, conceding two goals, and they would have been out of Ulster if Brian McConnell had passed across goal for the free man to palm home instead of fisting over the score that forced extra-time.
They did show resolve in those additional 20 minutes though, much to the relief of joint-manager Brian Dooher who was still patrolling the sidelines on his own despite Feargal Logan’s return to training in the lead-up to the game after health issues.
It’s in defence where most of Tyrone’s weaknesses lie, but if Canavan and his comrade Darren McCurry can get enough supply, they could cause serious hassle. Between them they have 2-59 already this season - over half coming from play. Trillick youngster Ciaran Daly has quietly racked up 2-11.
Conn Kilpatrick and Peter Harte missed out last weekend and their returns would be huge, while it feels inevitable that Cathal McShane will get more game-time after his 58th minute introduction in Cavan. Conor Meyler and Frank Burns are unlikely to feature though.
Down but not out
When it comes to bragging rights, Down’s five Sam Maguire triumphs to Armagh’s sole success in 2002 means that there is only one winner in this heated rivalry, but in recent times this is a derby that has been dominated by orange.
Down have won only three of the last 10 championship meetings, and two of those came all the way back in 1991 and ‘92 with Armagh winning seven of the following eight.
Then, of course, there is the memory of last year’s semi-final meeting at the same stage where Conor Laverty’s side travelled in confidence after an opening win over Donegal, but were blitzed by four goals in the pouring rain.
Andrew Murnin goaled that day, as he has in his three championship games against Down. Two of those have come via the fist and the St Paul’s man’s leap is no state secret at this stage, so Laverty is likely to have some plan in place to quell that aerial threat.
The mood is not good in the Mourne County after their last two performances. The first was a Division 3 final loss to Westmeath that leaves their Sam Maguire participation hanging in the balance then came the rudderless Ulster win over a severely-weakened Antrim.
That 0-13 to 0-09 success in Newry gave little indication of the chances of a shock, and there’s little red and black expected on the terraces, but there are still reasons to be hopeful.
Barry O’Hagan, one of the most electric forwards in Ulster on his day, has recently returned having ruptured his ACL, MCL and Meniscus last February while emerging midfield star Odhran Murdock will be in centrefield having missed last year’s clash having opted to feature in their Ulster Under-20 final instead, falling victim to the then seven-day rule.
Motivation should also be no issue for Laverty. That Westmeath final defeat means that no matter what happens elsewhere, a loss will see Down spend another season in the Tailteann Cup – something that would be a real blow to the young Mourne squad.
Armagh are aiming for back-to-back Ulster final spots, a feat they last achieved in 2005 and ‘06 under Joe Kernan with current boss Kieran McGeeney at the heart of those provincial triumphs.
Given the draw, anything other than a final spot was to be considered a serious underachievement and that remains very much the case.
Their trip to Enniskillen two weeks ago appeared tricky on paper, but the way they swatted aside Fermanagh was impressive. That backed up promotion to Division 1, so it’s been a decent start to the season.
Armagh have been keeping out the goals this year, although it took a brilliant block from defender Aaron McKay to prevent Fermanagh an early major, and if they shut Down out – who had hit 14 goals in seven games before their blanks against Westmeath and Antrim - then it’s very hard to see them losing.
Rian O’Neill made only his second start of the season last time out and given that he performed well in a deeper role, he may spend some time up against Murdock. Ethan Rafferty is named on the bench.
Louth and proud
Louth are hoping to cap off a fabulous week by securing a second successive Leinster final spot when they meet Kildare on Sunday.
On Wednesday night, the Wee County’s U20s shocked Dublin in Parnell Park to reach the provincial final, their first male win over the Dubs at any level since 2006.
The performances of the likes of Kieran McArdle and Dara McDonnell suggest that Louth will have plenty of stock in the coming years, and it’s sure to boost Ger Brennan’s side as they aim to take down the Lilywhites.
They say that the league table never lies but the fact that only two positions separated these sides in Division 2 would be enough to make your nose grow.
Kildare’s seven defeats were served up with meekness and nobody was arguing with the wooden spoon.
Louth, by contrast, picked up four of their six points in their final two matches but really should have been much further up the table. They deserved a point minimum in their loss to Armagh, they nearly grabbed a last-gasp winning goal against Meath and they’re probably still wondering how they didn’t take anything from their frenetic game with Cavan.
After a slow start, Sam Mulroy seems to be warming to the task and his two penalities in the win over Wexford were beauties while Ciaran Downey scored two screamers. Throw in Ryan Burns and the evasiveness of Ciaran ‘Kiki’ Keenan and they have a forward line that should enjoy the Croke Park surroundings.
Can the Play of the Day be a couple of converted penalties? It can when Louth captain Sam Mulroy is the man dispatching them. #thesundaygame pic.twitter.com/O88PBSBrkb
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) April 14, 2024
The formline would suggest Kildare won’t, but things weren’t exactly rosy in the camp when they rocked up to last year’s semi-final and nearly shocked Dublin before losing by two points.
They led after 47 minutes but only scored a point from there, but that performance is still likely to provide the inspiration for this clash.
Glenn Ryan’s side were compact defensively that day, but this season they have been disconnected, chinks in their protective armour being ruthlessly exposed by the opposition.
Their lack of goals at the other end has been a constant issue too. Six blanks in eight games this year falls in with a trend over the last couple of seasons.
And to complete the set, midfield problems too in the lead up as Kevin Flynn has accepted his one-game suspension arising from the Leinster opener against Wicklow.
That game nearly ended in disaster as Matt Nolan missed an open net from distance to knock them out, but they got through and that’s what Ryan will be focussing on. He will also no doubt be prodding coach Colm Nally for extra information in the lead up to this. Nally may have spent the last while in Armagh with Silverbridge, but he has had a handle on the Louth scene with his extensive work in the county.
A reminder also that neither side has booked their spot in the All-Ireland race.
A Louth loss here and a win for Offaly over Dublin (basically impossible) or Down over Armagh (not impossible) would see them into the Tailteann.
For Kildare it’s a simpler equation, lose here and they’ll be in the second-tier tournament.
Dublin’s inevitable march
Dublin’s easy win over Meath last time out was their 40th straight provincial victory, and it’s unlikely that even the Faithful players and management are thinking of ending it in their Leinster last-four meeting.
If there is to be one crumb of comfort, seven of the players that featured in the win over Laois - Lee Pearson, Jack Bryant, Cormac Egan, Rory Egan, John Furlong, Keith O’Neill and Cathal Flynn – have a big championship win over Dublin under their belts following their 2021 Leinster U20 final win. Lorcan O’Dell is the only player from the Dublin side that evening to seriously come into Dessie Farrell’s plans since.
Offaly should also be enthused with their win over the O’Moore County, Declan Kelly’s side having an impressive eight points to spare in what was their first championship win over their neighbours since 2002.
Keith O’Neill’s 1-03 tally ensures he will be one player Dublin will be keeping a close eye on.
The sides last met in Leinster in 2007 and only five points separated the sides and the gap could have been smaller if Sean Ryan’s rocket hadn’t crashed off the crossbar.
Such a close result is highly unrealistic here. Dublin’s win over Meath once again demonstrated just how far ahead they are of the other teams in the province.
Just three points separated the sides after 25 minutes but it was 16 by the finish with Paul Mannion, Con O’Callaghan and Seán Bugler raising green flags.
Stephen Cluxton made his first appearance of the season and looked rusty, understandably. This game will give him much-needed minutes to sharpen up.
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