Qualifiers kind to the northerners

I expect the football qualifiers to be good for the northern sides after last night's draw.
Most of the Ulster sides avoided the big guns down below and although success in the qualifiers depends too on the resilience of a team knocked out of their provincial championship I think most of the northern teams will make progress into the next round.
Tyrone should see off Louth while I think Down will recover from their defeat at the hands of Armagh to beat Offaly.
Donegal will beat Roscommon at home and in the all-northern clash of Derry and Monaghan I fancy the Oak Leaf men to avenge last year's Ulster Championship defeat especially if Paul Finlay's ban stands which now looks likely.
Cavan may find it tough in Newbridge but Kildare have done nothing so far this year to suggest that they are capable of getting the result.
The most interesting of the other ties for me is the Limerick Meath game. Limerick were unlucky again not to beat Cork and home advantage will stand by them.
However, Meath will be back to something approaching full strength and you would expect that this will be the trigger for their return as contenders.
So I expect that four and possibly five out of six of the northern sides currently in the qualifiers will advance to the next round.

Ulster experiment should be wound up

Antrim have limped through the Ulster championship seeing off Down and Derry but by no means looking like they are at least a division better than their Ulster rivals.
The Saffrons struggled to see of a Down side missing Magic Johnstone and the improvement needed in less than a fortnight to even put it up to high flying Galway seems beyond them.
Sambo McNaughton remains as honest as ever and one Eff didn't wait on another when talking to the press after the game.
McNaughton knows that a repeat of Sunday's performance against Galway will end in tears and Antrim will be left licking their wounds after another heavy defeat.
To be honest I fear for our lads in a fortnight's time.
I believe they will raise their game a notch as the over familiarity and the fact that the Saffrons were going for their seventh Ulster in a row in what is now a meaningless championship obviously has taken some of the fire out of the contest.
Down are working hard to develop the game outside its Ards base and there are some signs of hope in South Down and with the efforts of the Bredagh club in south Belfast to promote the game.
It could be another five years before the county side sees the full benefit of this but if this doesn't work the game will die in the county.
The base the Ards teams have drawn off in the past has narrowed considerably as the day of the big hurling family producing three and four brothers for the local side is gone and falling school numbers tell their own tale.
The Ulster experiment of all nine counties competing added a little interest to the season but on its own did little to lift the standard of play, indeed it added to the mediocrity.
All the Ulster sides outside of Antrim should be playing in the lesser competitions and while the aspiration to have a fully contested Ulster championship is indeed a noble one the hurling authorities need to look no further than Leinster to see the effect a poor championship can have on the game.

Breath-taking game of football

Great weekend of football in Ulster following Down's one-point win over Tyrone and Armagh seeing off Cavan to win at Breffni Park for the first time ever in the championship.
Last night's game between Tyrone and Down was captivating throughout.
Every so often there were flashes of the brilliance we have come to expect of Tyrone in recent seasons with some incisive football and finishing.
However, it's clear that the former champs are not firing on all cylinders.
They are still plagued by injuries, Enda McGinley missing out with concussion was another big blow to what has been one of the most unsettled midfields in the country.
The loss too of Colm Cavanagh who had scored four points in the first 25 minutes followed by his substitute Kevin Hughes leaving the field only about ten minutes later left Tyrone's resources in the middle of the park threadbare.
Brian McGuigan too was left out of the starting line-up but despite this Tyrone put in a credible performance, a storming finish to come back from the dead and at one point in the first period of extra time it looked like they could run away with it.
Sean Cavanagh led the fightback, while Ryan McMenamin, Conor Gormley and Tommy McGuigan all raised their game to bring the Red Hands back.
To Down's credit they simply refused to give up over the two games.
Liam Doyle, Aidan Carr, Dan Gordon were all top class once again and Benny Coulter produced the goods when it mattered most.
Down will take an awful lot of confidence out of the two games and the experience will stand them in good stead.
The Down attack have looked good over the two outings, a return of 16 points in normal time would win most tight games, and they were a lot tighter in defence than they had been in the first quarter of the game at Healy Park.
They will need no motivation for the semi final tie with Armagh with whom they enjoy a huge rivalry and most neutrals in Ulster will be looking forward already to that one.
There is no doubt about the Down men in that if they get their dander up they are one of the strongest teams in Ulster in terms of self belief.
For years they were the only side in Ulster who travelled to Croke Park expecting to win.
As for Tyrone a defeat like Saturday's will be hard to shake off.
They should have had this game won twice and blew it.
However, they are still a good side and much will depend on their mental strength and how quickly they can get a full side on the pitch.
I think they need a good draw in the qualifiers, which already has Donegal, Meath, Kildare and Monaghan in the shake-up.
If Tyrone can get another game under their belts they may just be able to regroup but it must look like a long road from here.

Hurler played club game before provincial semi

Heard an interesting story after the recent Ulster Hurling Championship semi finals.
One of the players who played in a provincial hurling semi final had played in a club game earlier that day as a second half substitute.
I was absolutely gobsmacked at the idea of it.
I didn't publish this sooner because I checked it twice over and it's legit 100 per cent.
I know players can be put under pressure by their loyalty to their club side but is there any other province in the country where a player would tog out for the club on the same day as a provincial semi final.
Can't see any of the Clare lads doing that last weekend or anyone from Waterford.
Suppose it's no wonder we are light years behind in the national hurling stakes when our players have an attitude like this about playing in a provincial semi final.

Leinster crying out for a make-over

Offaly simply brushed Laois aside today in the first round clash in Leinster but the hurling fare on show was very poor.
Laois are just not up to the task, they have really slipped further behind in the province, and Brian Cody will not have been frightened by anything he saw today when his All-Ireland champions face the Faithful County in the Leinster semi final.
Joe Dooley on the other hand has a huge task on his hands to turn Offaly's fortunes round.
I think the two games in Leinster today just make the case for Antrim and Galway to compete in the Leinster competition undeniable.
Galway would be a real contender for the title and their inclusion and Antrim's would at least make the earlier rounds a bit more meaningful as the Saffrons on their day are capable of beating anyone else in the southern province outside of the Cats.
The Munster championship starts next week and I am really looking forward to what at least should be some competitive hurling played by two sides who have a lot to prove.
I can't wait as what has passed for championship hurling in Ulster and Leinster so far just doesn't cut it.

Fermanagh a tough shower

The Ulster Football Championship did what it always does best today throwing up a surprise rather than a shock result with one of the sides many of us predicted would enjoy a run in this year's competition falling at the first hurdle.
Fermanagh simply mugged Monaghan today at Brewster Park and were good value for their four-point win.
Last year Monaghan surprised everyone with their swashbuckling brand of football reaching the Ulster final and almost taking Kerry out in last year's All-Ireland quarter final.
They carried that great form into the league but quietly Fermanagh boss Malachy O'Rourke was doing his homework and by employing a sweeper in front of the full back line he made sure that Monaghan's best forward Tommy Freeman hardly got a sniff of the action.
His midfield too of Marty McGrath and Mark Murphy won the crucial battle at centre field and while Fermanagh worked their socks off they eventually totally frustrated the Farneymen reducing them to a shadow of the team which lit up last year's Ulster Championship and which started its league campaign off in some style.
Mark Little and Ryan Keenan ran themselves into the ground at half forward while McBarron gave Fermanagh a good target on the edge of the square.
If there was one area I would be critical of the Fermanagh performance it was of their free taking.
They had no consistency in this crucial area all day and points win prizes. They squandered a lot of scoring chances which on another day will be the difference between winning and losing.
The winners of next week's game between Derry and Donegal will not look forward to playing the Erne men.
They are a bloody difficult shower to break down and if they can become a little more focussed in front of the posts they could take a bit of beating.

Ulster race opens up

This year's Ulster championship became a little more unpredictable after the weekend results.
Derry are most people's favourites and given their convincing win over Donegal today to qualify for the National Football League final against Kerry they have enhanced their reputation, scoring a big psychological victory over their first round opponents in Ulster in the process.
Derry have looked strong this season and have improved since their defence was taken to the cleaners by Galway.
They are still heavily dependent on Paddy Bradley however, and although others have stepped up to the plate on occasion I think that Kerry will show yet again that the Glenullin man's colleagues are not quite up to it against the best defenders.
They might still be good enough to go all the way in Ulster however.
Donegal will be licking their wounds after today's defeat hwever and will now be totally focussed on facing the Oak Leaf men in the championship.
Their big problem is up front as well and they have lacked the fire power to trouble the top sides.
Their football is usually too predictable but as they proved two years ago against Tyrone they are capable of causing an upset on the day.
Armagh and Tyrone have run into a little bit of form of late.
Tyrone have welcomed back Brian McGuigan and they still have some very fine footballers in the shape of Sean Cavanagh, Ryan McMenamin and an attack oriented half back line but their forwards no longer strike fear into the heart of the opposition.
They should be too good for Down at Omagh in their opening game in Ulster and if they get a run they could be hard to beat.
Armagh will take a lot out of their game with Dublin and if their key players stay injury free no one will enjoy a day out against them.
The only other serious contender in the province are Monaghan.
If they can win their last league game against Westmeath then they will have another crack at the Dubs in the Division's decider.
Monaghan are going to hold their own against anyone in the province but don't have it on their bench if they need to change their game plan.
They are fast, fit and strong and Finley and Freeman are excellent forwards. They will be a real handful and are one of the genuine contenders in the province.
As for Down, Antrim, Cavan and Fermanagh, better luck next year!