Football
Donegal v Tyrone, Ulster SFC preliminary round
RETAINING THEIR PROVINCIAL title after losing Jim McGuinness was going to be difficult enough but last night’s draw for the 2015 football and hurling championships turned Carrauntoohil into Everest for Donegal.
Not only do they face Tyrone in this game but, whoever wins it must face Armagh in the quarter-final and the winners of Down and Derry in the semi-final.
Far from easy.
Offaly v Longford, Leinster SFC first round
These two met in this year’s Leinster championship with Longford getting their first win over the Faithful county in the province since 1965.
The prize for winning this game is a trip to Croke Park to face Dublin and, while some fans might actually prefer to lose it given what that could entail, Offaly would secure their first win in Leinster in eight years if they were to reverse this season’s result.
Would it make sense for the GAA to move the Dublin game out of headquarters to whoever wins this encounter? It would certainly make for an added incentive.
London v Roscommon, Connacht SFC quarter-final
With both Mayo and Galway on the other side of the province, Roscommon will hope to take advantage of a favourable draw and reach their first Connacht final since 2011 and perhaps even claim their first J. J. Nestor Cup in five years, a year they also faced London at the quarter-final stage.
Roscommon manager John Evans believes he can guide the Rossies into the top ten teams in the country and picking off London in Ruislip before winning a home semi-final with Sligo is a must if that’s a realistic possibility over the next two years.
Cork not playing Kerry, Munster SFC
How can a game that won’t happen until at least the final stage be a key game? Well it is for the other teams in the province as the likes of Clare, Tipperary, Limerick and Waterford would have hoped the pair would be drawn together in the semi-finals to allow one of them make a run at the provincial final.
Instead, it looks as Cork and Kerry will meet in the decider for the fourth time in six years.
Hurling
Galway v Dublin, Leinster SHC quarter-finals
The pick of the Leinster hurling championship draw is undoubtedly the meeting of Dublin and Galway in the quarter-finals where the newly appointed Ger Cunningham will take on his namesake Anthony.
The real bonus here is that the winners of the this quarter-final will take on Offaly or the winners of the Qualifier group in the semis, avoiding Kilkenny, Wexford or the runners up of the Qualifiers group until the Leinster final.
Clare v Limerick, Munster SHC quarter-final
By the time the championship starts in 2015, it will be 18 years since anyone has won the Munster and All-Ireland hurling titles from the quarter-final stage but that’s the task ahead of Clare and Limerick after last night’s draw.
It’s the first time since 2008 that the rivals will meet in Munster with the 2013 All-Ireland champions hoping for their first provincial title since 1998 and both hoping they can become the first team since Cork (2005) to win both the Munster title and Liam MacCarthy in the same year.
