AS WE HEAD into the final furlong of the GAA football league campaign, we check out the horses still in the race and the last couple of fences they have to clear.
*****
Division One
Tyrone v Monaghan
Saturday, O’Neill’s Healy Park, 7.30pm
Monaghan (bottom of the table on two points) opened the league by tearing into Dublin and beating them in Croke Park on the opening night, Stephen O’Hanlon playing magnificently. Tyrone (third from bottom on four points) started well too with a home win over Roscommon.
Since then, both have bumbled along this league. The only other win between them came with Tyrone’s game at home to Mayo, a side that have made clear their intentions to avoid a league final and were using that game as a mini training camp.
With Dublin waiting in the last round for Tyrone at Croke Park, it’s looking grave. A Monaghan win here would leave both on four points but with the head-to-head rule favouring Monaghan.
For that reason, the time for holding back is over.
*****
Division Two
Armagh v Cavan
Saturday, BOX-IT Athletic Grounds, 5pm
The home side are two points ahead at this point, joint top with Donegal on nine points and Armagh might see a league final as ideal preparation before they travel to Fermanagh for the Ulster quarter final a fortnight later.
Cavan, who are third on seven points, can point to a decent record against Armagh with only one loss in the last five Ulster championship meetings. For league games however, it tends to favour the home side with Armagh inflicting a heavy defeat in the opening round of 2020.
This is the last day Cavan will be going all-out for the win, with the preliminary round in Ulster against Monaghan a week after the league final.
*****
Louth v Fermanagh
Saturday, DEFY Pairc Mhuire, Ardee, 2pm
Taking their playing resources into account, both counties can be proud of their record so far in Division 2.
Louth, second from bottom with two points, produced a win over Cork in the second round and have been remarkably competitive in their losses to Armagh and Cavan, losing by single points, and a two-point loss to Meath.
Like Fermanagh – third from bottom with three points – they struggled with Donegal. Fermanagh’s points have come with a draw away to Meath and a home win over Kildare. They conceded a goal to lose the lead in injury time against Cork but struggled against Donegal and Armagh.
The losers of this will likely join Kildare in Division 3 next year.
*****
Division Three
Westmeath v Down
Sunday, TEG Cusack Park, Mullingar, 3pm.
So much to admire about both these sides this year, with both sitting with flawless records of five wins at the top of the table.
The addition of Ciaran Meenagh to the Down coaching ticket has built upon the first year work and they now boast the most prolific attack across all four Divisions in terms of scores for.
Westmeath’s recent seasons have been about progression in winning the Tailteann Cup and last year they drew with Tyonr and lost by a single point to Armagh in the group stages of the All-Ireland. Dessie Dolan has moved seamlessly from selector to manager and looks assured in all he has done so far.
Clare hold out hope of a Westmeath win before travelling to Down for the final league game.
Wicklow v Limerick
Saturday, Echelon Park, Aughrim, 3pm
Wicklow came up last year in Oisín McConville’s first season in charge, while Limerick came down after a rare spell in Division 2.
Now, both have found the living more than difficult in the third tier, their only hopes of survival left with this game and the final round. Both teams have been beaten in all five games to date, with Limerick’s -36 points difference ten points healthier than Wicklow’s.
Wicklow look doomed with a trip away to Antrim in the last round. But Jimmy Lee’s men might feel a little more optimistic. Beat Wicklow and Offaly in their final game, and they stay up.
*****
Division Four
Laois v Leitrim
Saturday, Laois Hire O’Moore Park, Portlaoise, 4.45pm
It’s been a heck of a year for Justin McNulty, SDLP Member of the Stormont Legislative Assembly. Surprisingly re-appointed as Laois manager after a decade away, his workload was ramped up by the return of functioning government in Belfast. They sit top with five wins from five.
With Waterford waiting in the last game, they will make it back to Division 3, but it could be confirmed this weekend when they face Leitrim.
In Andy Moran’s second season, they are tied on six points with Wexford, Longford and Carlow, all having won three games and lost two, but Leitrim are second due to scoring difference and having beaten Wexford in the head-to-head.
The run-ins are all similarly unpredictable and impossible to predict who will join Laois for the league final.
