Sport

Fermanagh get better qualifiers draw than Derry and Tyrone

Tipperary's Colin O'Riordan was excellent in the All-Ireland U21 Football Final and will trouble Tyrone seniors this Saturday. Pic Philip Walsh
Tipperary's Colin O'Riordan was excellent in the All-Ireland U21 Football Final and will trouble Tyrone seniors this Saturday. Pic Philip Walsh Tipperary's Colin O'Riordan was excellent in the All-Ireland U21 Football Final and will trouble Tyrone seniors this Saturday. Pic Philip Walsh

FERMANAGH will surely be the happiest of the three Ulster teams left in the football qualifiers after a kind draw – but their joy may be short-lived.

The Ernemen’s reward for their superb comeback victory over Roscommon is to face Westmeath in round 4A, rather than the losers of the Munster Final replay, Cork or Kerry.

However, Pete McGrath’s men would then have to face Cork, Kerry, or Dublin in the quarter-finals if they beat the Leinster Final losers at a neutral venue on Saturday July 25.

The other round 4A tie is Kildare v Cork/Kerry; both the Lilywhites and Westmeath met Dublin in the Leinster SFC but if both go through Kildare would face the Dubs again as the avoidance of the repeat of a provincial final pairing takes precedence. That also means that Cork and Kerry could not meet again in the All-Ireland quarter-final, so if either of those counties beat Kildare then they would take on Dublin, with Fermanagh or Westmeath facing the Munster champions.

Derry and Tyrone have been handed seemingly tougher tests in round 3B than Fermanagh have got in 4A, with the Oak Leafers travelling to take on Armagh’s conquerors Galway this Saturday, while Tyrone must go to Tipperary the same day.

The two teams that progress into round 4B will meet the losing finalists from Connacht and Ulster, namely Mayo/ Sligo and Donegal/ Monaghan.

Tyrone have never met Tipperary in the senior championship but the two counties contested the recent All-Ireland U21 Football Championship Final. The Red Hands edged a hard-fought final but Tipperary complained afterwards about `sledging’ and time-wasting from the Red Hands, while Tipp player Steven O’Brien was fortunate to escape any punishment for stamping on Tyrone star and subsequent goalscorer Cathal McShane in a first half incident.

Derry’s two previous senior championship meetings with Galway were both at the All-Ireland semi-final stage – and both ended in defeat, in 1998 and 2001, with the Tribesmen going on to win the Sam Maguire on both occasions.

Galway also won the 2007 All-Ireland MFC Final against Derry, led to their one-point victory by current captain Paul Conroy.