WITH THE SMALL BALL taking a rest this long weekend as the four surviving sides prepare for their semi-finals, it’s all about gaelic football this weekend as Croke Park hosts two quarter-final double-headers.
The pick of the weekend’s games must be the meeting of Dublin and Ulster champions Tyrone at 4pm on Saturday. The Dubs are a resurgent force, having grown in confidence over their three qualifier outings.
The Sky Blues were off form in disposing of Tipperary but ground out a win when they had to against Antrim and had Louth beaten by half-time last weekend.
Tyrone, however, are easily the form team of the championship and cantered to an Ulster title – becoming the first time to retain it in 14 years – without even breaking a sweat, destroying Monaghan in a one-sided final.
Tyrone are short odds-on favourites with most bookies – 4/9 being the standard offering – with the Dubs out at 5/2 with Ladbrokes and William Hill.
The winners of that clash will take on the victors of Sunday’s 2pm tie between Cork and Roscommon. While the former clash might appear one-sided, the bookies clearly don’t hold out much hope for the poor Westerners.
The Rossies – who were considered a long shot to even overcome Sligo in the Connacht final – are an astronomical 8/1 to overcome the Rebels, who are as short as 1/16 with Victor Chandler.
In this case the odds are more than justified, however. Although Cork needed extra time to beat Limerick last weekend, Limerick are most certainly an up-and-coming team and were desperately unlucky to draw Cork having lost a tight Munster decider to Kerry.
The southerners were certainly devastating in their disposals of Cork and Cavan in earlier rounds and it would be a major shock if Cork did not win comfortably.
[caption id="attachment_6816" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Down's Benny Coulter fends off the challenge of Charlie Harrison last week."]
The weekend’s other fixtures open with the meeting of Kerry and Down on Saturday afternoon. Unsurprisingly, the reigning All-Ireland and new Munster champions are considered the more likely to emerge victorious, having hit the ground running so far this year.
The Kingdom’s last outing saw them overcome an aforementionedly gritty Limerick side in the provincial decider, having already beaten Cork after a replay in the semi-final.
Down, though, are not coming in with the worst of form, having steadily improved in recent weeks. Early victories against Longford and a middle-of-the-road Offaly team were followed with a 3-20 to 0-10 romp over Sligo last weekend, and Down will be quietly confident of a scare.
It’s no surprise that Kerry are odds-on favourites but Down’s 10/1 odds, with some bookies including Paddy Power, are more than generous.
The final fixture of the four is likely to be the closest of the weekend, with Leinster ‘champions’ Meath facing neighbours Kildare in what ought to be a cracking end to the weekend’s activity (4pm, Sunday).
Meath have stuck with the same 15 that saw them squeak past Louth in the provincial final courtesy of Joe Sheridan’s injury time touchdown – sorry, goal – while Kildare will be boosted with talismanic midfielder Dermot Earley being passed fit.
Kildare, though coming with good form and having been the only team to come through all four qualifier rounds, will be playing for their sixth weekend in a row.
Whether the Lilywhites’ regular stream of games will see them well-oiled, or simply a little on the tired side, will be the difference.
Meath were out of sorts against Louth but could consider that a mere blip, a game gotten out of their system – and with their ever-dangerous front six, the game ought to be a cracker.
Unsurprisingly, both sides are considered even-money prospects – and Bet365′s offer of 8/1 on a draw might not be a bad idea.
