Compiled by John Fallon
THE remaining five quarter-finalists in the TG4 All-Ireland senior football championship title race will be decided on Saturday.
Champions Dublin and last year’s beaten semi-finalsts Galway and Kerry have already secured home quarter-final draws and their opponents will be decided on Saturday.
The race to make the last eight is straightforward in three of the groups with Donegal playing Mayo, Tyrone taking on Meath and Tipperary hosting Kildare in what are all straight shootouts with the winners advancing to the quarter-finals and the season ending for the vanquished.
It’s a lot more complicated in Group 1 where any two from Armagh, Cork and Waterford can still go through. Cork can’t control their own fate as Armagh host Waterford at the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds in the final game in the group.
A win for Armagh and they top the table and gain a home quarter-final, with Cork going through in second.
A draw and it’s Armagh topping the group and Cork going through in second.
A Waterford win will leave all three teams locked together on three points. In that instance, score difference will come into play. Armagh are currently on +10, Cork are on -9 and Waterford are on -1.
Saturday June 20
TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship
Group 3 Round 3
Donegal v Mayo; Glenfin GAA, 1pm – Live on TG4
Neither of these sides managed to score a goal against Dublin, with Mayo losing to the champions by nine points, while Donegal went down by 14 points to the holders.
Donegal manager James Daly was quick to point out last weekend that Mayo got closer to Dublin than they did, but they will enjoy home advantage in this shootout against Diane O’Hora’s side.
Donegal have made one change for this clash from the side which went down by 2-13 to 0-5 against Dublin with captain Róisín Rodgers returning and replacing Rhíana McColgan in midfield.
Mayo have made two changes from the side defeated by 3-12 to 0-12 by the champions with Meabh Delaney replacing Ella Brennan, while Finola Collins comes in for Fiona McHale.
DONEGAL: C Friel, N Carr, N Boyle, S Mc Feely; T Hegarty, F McManamon, S Mc Fadden; R Rodgers (capt.), E McGinley; B Mc Laughlin, K Dowds, A McDermott; E Gallagher, S White, A McGranaghan.
MAYO: L Brennan, L Wallace, S El Massry, M Delaney; F Collins, L Hanley, H Reape; A Geraghty, T Needham; M Reilly, S Walsh (capt.), A Staunton; L Cafferky, C Keane, S Cafferky.
Group 4 Round 3
Tyrone v Meath; O’Neills Healy Park, Omagh, 1pm – Live on Spórt TG4 YouTube
Both of these sides will be anxious to bounce back after heavy defeats to Galway in the opening round.
Tyrone, who lost by 19 points in Tuam, will hope home advantage can swing it their way as the reigning TG4 All-Ireland intermediate champions hope to book a place in the last eight.
Meath suffered a 15 points home loss to Galway and last year’s runners-up, the champions in 2021 and 2022, know their summer comes to an end if they don’t produce a big performance in this one.
Tyrone have made two changes to the side which went down by 4-20 to 2-7 against Galway with Chloe McCaffrey and Cara McNamee coming in for Maeve Maxwell and Aine Strain.
There are four changes to the Meath side, two in defence and two in the full-forward line as they try to bounce back from their 2-21 to 1-9 loss to Galway. Karla Kealy and Katie Bermingham come into defence for Aoife Farrell and Orla Smith, while up front Meadhbh Byrne and Orlaith Mallon are drafted in for Ciara Smyth and Orla Finnegan.
TYRONE: L Kane; E Quinn, G McKenna, J Hearty; C Canavan, M Corrigan, C Campbell; M Mallon, A McHugh; E McCanny, C McCaffrey, S McCarroll; N O’Neill, C McNamee, S Gormley.
MEATH: R Murray, K Kealy, Á Sheridan, A Gaffney; O Sheehy, O Gore, K Bermingham; S Murphy, N Gallogly; L Woods, E Duggan, M Thynne; M Byrne, O Mallon, R Casserly.
Group 2 Round Round 3
Tipperary v Kildare; Clonmel Sportsfield, 3pm – Live on Spórt TG4 YouTube
Tipperary will hope to rediscover the sort of form which saw them beat Lidl Division One league champions Cork in the Munster championship as they attempt to bounce back from a 16-point loss away to Kerry.
Kildare know just how formidable Kerry can be as they went down by 14 points to the Kingdom last weekend. There is a lot on the line for these two counties and that should be reflected in what could be a tight encounter.
Tipperary have made four changes to the side which lost by 2-16 to 0-4 against Kerry with captain Anna-Rose Kennedy returning along with Ava Ryan, Heather Spillane and Anna Carey as Emma Buckley, Nicole Shelly, Aoibhe O’Shea and Clara English start on the bench this time.
Kildare manager Pat Sullivan has made just one change with Mayah Doyle coming in to start at full-forward in place of Aoife Murnane.
TIPPERARY: L Fitzpatrick; T Hoare, L Spillane, E Cronin; K Cashman, M Curley, S English; L Morrissey, AR Kennedy (capt.); A Ryan, L Cunningham, H Spillane; A Carey, E Morrissey, K Crotty Ryan.
KILDARE: C Nallen, M McDonagh, E Wheeler, L Shaw; H McLoughlin, R Sargent, L Lenehan (capt.); N Murphy, G Wheeler; L Curran, J Harney, M Aspel; A Rattigan, M Doyle, A Prizeman.
Group 1 Round 3
Armagh v Waterford; BOX-IT Athletic Grounds, Armagh, 3pm – Live on TG4
Waterford manager Tomás Mac a t’Saoir faces a tough battle getting his side geared for this one after their heartbreaking loss to Cork last weekend. They looked set for victory and a place in the quarter-finals when they led by five points with seven minutes remaining but got caught by a late surge by the Leesiders.
Waterford played some great football in that game, deservedly leading by 1-8 to 0-4 at the break, but Cork kept their season alive for another week at least with their dramatic straight scoring burst.
Armagh, too, were impressive against Cork but an Aimee Mackin hat-trick ensured they wrapped up the win in an impressive 4-10 to 1-9 scoreline.
They know a win or draw will ensure a home quarter-final but only a win will suffice for Waterford and even then score difference will come into play.
Both managers have elected to send the same starting fifteen into battle in a game which will be closely watched on Leeside.
ARMAGH: B Mathers, A Donnelly, C McCambridge, C Towe; E Druse, L McConville (capt.), G Ferguson; B Mackin, C O’Reilly; L Marsden, A McCoy, C Marley; A Mackin, C O’Hanlon, K Mallon.
WATERFORD: K Gardner; C Murray, L Mulcahy, R Casey; L Cusack, K McGrath, R Browne; E Power, A O’Neill; B McMaugh, K Hogan, K Murray (capt.); M Daly, C Walsh, L McGregor.
TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship
Group B Round 3
London v Carlow; McGovern Park, Ruislip, 12pm
The formguide suggests a Carlow win in this one on Saturday in London. They have a 100% record with wins over Limerick and Sligo while London have suffered big defeats against Sligo and Limerick.
CARLOW: N Hanley, A Carroll, A Roche, S O Neill; A Webb, N Forde, R Bermingham; R Bailey (capt.), C O Neill; E Hayden, C Ni She, A Hanley; B Nolan, S Doyle, A Kiernan.
LONDON: G Amos, K Boyle, A Durham, K Allenby; C Cottrell, C Finnerty, N Crowley (capt.); Y Yelbasi, E Mohan; L Tierney, S Munnelly, S Killeen; E Bartley, E Douglas, B McMullan.
Sunday June 21
TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship
Group A Round 4
Antrim v Longford; Tír na nÓg, Randalstown, 2pm – Live on LGFA Facebook and Youtube
Both of these have just one win so far with Antrim defeating Offaly by 4-15 to 1-9 but going down by 2-17 to 1-12 against Derry. Longford scored a big win over Kilkenny but suffered defeats against Offaly and Derry and need a result here.
ANTRIM: A Devlin, E Kearns, M Blaney, M Mulholland; L Agnew, D Coleman, C McKenna; A Tubridy, O Dahunsi; T Mellon, B Devlin (capt.), A Davidson; A Monaghan, M O Neill, A McDonnell.
LONGFORD: A Cooney, A Brady, L Keegan, R Fallon; F Talabi, E Bleakley, E Farrell; S Gallagher (capt.), E Doris; S Dawson, S Madden, Z Drake; A Darcy, K Crawford, A Mulligan.
Group A Round 4
Derry v Kilkenny; Find Insurance Celtic Park, 2pm
Hard to see anything other than a big win for Derry in this one. They have been impressive so far, defeating Antrim by 2-17 to 1-12 and Longford by 6-10 to 0-10, while Kilkenny have gone down to large defeats to Longford and Offaly.
DERRY: R Glasgow, A Mulligan, S Hargan, J Corr; A Donnelly, B Donnelly (capt.), S Duggan; S Heron, K Hargan; C Moore, O McGeough, A Ni Lochlainn; A McAlister, J Shivers, J Slevin.
KILKENNY: E Moran, K Hennessy, E Dunphy, S Butler; C Brennan, E Royce Brennan, D Tervit-Kruger; S Smith, A Ryan; M Farrell, B Lomax (capt.), C Moore; N Goddnes, R Doherty, M Ryan.
