Lidl Ladies' National Football League Division Two: Armagh v Tyrone (Sunday, Athletic Grounds, 12pm)
ARMAGH and Tyrone are expected to serve up a mouth-watering dish when the sides meet at the Athletic Grounds on Sunday.
Both counties targeted a semi-final berth at the start of the year, and are on track, but in an extremely competitive league all points are vital with five counties fighting for the top four spots – Tipperary, Cavan, Waterford and Tyrone and Armagh.
With four of the top five in action against one another – Tyrone v Armagh and Tipperary v Cavan – the standings could really open up.
Armagh, under new managers Fionnuala McAtamney and Lorraine McCaffrey, have experienced it all so far this campaign.
They marked their return to Division Two with an opening day defeat by Tipperary but will feel it was one that got away after leading well early on and again by six points in the second half.
Next up was Cavan and they played out an enthralling 2-14 each draw, battling back from eight points down early in the second half and needing an Aimee Mackin equaliser to share the spoils.
Then, last weekend against Sligo, they eased to a 30-point victory, notching up 7-20 in a game that was wrapped up midway through the first half.
Now they face Tyrone, who after winning their first two games, came up short against Tipperary by three points last Sunday.
Gerard Moane’s side will have taken a lot from that game. They might not have had the rub of the green and they needed to be more clinical up front but the character they showed to battle back after a slow start and then capitalise on a Tipp sin-binning to hit five unanswered points and move into the lead is something they can build on.
This is the first competitive meeting between these sides since their Division One encounter in 2016, which Armagh won.
Lorraine McCaffrey – who was one of the three women to help steer Armagh to astonishing success from nowhere in the mid-noughties – is looking forward to renewing that ‘healthy rivalry’.
“This weekend is a very important league game for both teams,’’ she said.
‘‘With the fixtures this weekend, Cavan playing Tipperary too, there could be a lot of movement in the top half of the table and in a competitive league, all the points are important.
“Our focus, just like Tyrone’s, will be on getting those three points and we are looking forward to it. The teams haven’t played each other in a few years but the rivalry is still there and we are looking forward to it.”
For the Armagh management duo, the league, while targeting a knock-out spot, is about learning and improving with each game, and the former is happy to see lessons learned from previous games being transferred to the next.
“It has been frantic but that’s what you expect with new management and a new season but we are getting there bit by bit as the players learn and get used to us and us to them and we’ll keep learning through the rest of the league and for us our focus is on improving game on game and we have been doing that,” added McCaffrey.
LIDL LADIES' FOOTBALL NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
Monaghan v Donegal (St Tiernach’s Park Clones, Sunday, 2pm)
THREE vital league points are on offer this weekend as Monaghan and Donegal lock horns in an all-Ulster derby and look to put some distance between themselves and the bottom of the table.
Both sides come into this one on the back of great wins last weekend – Monaghan picking up their first points with a first league win in four years over Kerry, and Donegal unleashing their powerhouse attack on Westmeath to win by 36 points to add to the single league point from their draw against Galway.
Despite Monaghan having home advantage, form suggests Donegal will pick up the points here but Monaghan showed last week they can grind out the right result when needed. The Donegal attack will take some stopping, even without Geraldine McLaughlin as Yvonne Bonnar, Niamh Hegarty and Eilish Ward have proved already. Monaghan need their experienced players to stand up and will look to the Courtneys and McAnespies.
LIDL LADIES' FOOTBALL NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION TWO
Cavan v Tipperary (Sunday, MacFinn Park, Maghera, 2pm)
CAN Cavan be the first team in 21 games to get the better of Tipperary? They welcome the Division Two leaders to MacFinn Park, Maghera in what is the first of a three big games for James Daly’s charges – Tyrone next weekend will then be followed by Waterford.
They certainly have the players and the ability to do so and it would not be a shock by any nature should they beat Tipp but this Tipperary side have built up impressive momentum and have already shown this year they don’t know how to lose, coming back from six points down to Armagh in the first round and then withstanding a Tyrone fightback last weekend to see them off by three.
Cavan are the only other team in Division Two still unbeaten having picked up two wins and a draw so far and victory over Tipp would be a big scalp.
LIDL LADIES' FOOTBALL NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION THREE
Down v Offaly (Sunday, Abbey Grammar School, 2pm)
THIS is Down’s second game in three days having played Longford in their rearranged round three fixture last night.
Offaly collected their first league win and points last weekend but it came against struggling Leitrim, who only fielded for the first time on Sunday conceding their games to Wexford and Kildare.
Before that, Offaly lost out to Kildare and Roscommon.
Down should be too strong for Offaly, but they will know not to take their opponents lightly. That win over Leitrim will have buoyed them and they will view Down as another team against whom they can pick up points.
DLIDL LADIES' FOOTBALL NATIONAL LEAGUE IVISION FOUR
Wicklow v Antrim (Sunday, Roundwood, 2pm)
ANTRIM travel to Division Four leaders Wicklow and hope to inflict a first defeat on the Garden county, who have a full haul of points so far after three wins from three.
The Saffrons are sitting in third with two wins from three, defeat to Limerick sandwiched between victories over Fermanagh and Kilkenny, whom they put up 5-14 against two weeks ago.
Wicklow will be a much tougher test and with home advantage they will be favourites to extend their unbeaten run, but Antrim aren’t shy of causing surprises and should they be in touching distance of their opponents at half-time, they might well come back home with a result.
Derry v Louth (Sunday, TBC, 2pm)
DERRY are still looking for their first league points and coming up against Louth this weekend they may find themselves on the end of a fourth straight defeat.
That said, the Oak Leaf county are showing some positive signs, having been very much in the game at half-time against Carlow last day out and losing out to Fermanagh in the final quarter.
While they might be short of the complete performance, this league is really about building for and towards the championship.
They can take something too from the fact Fermanagh defeated Louth in their recent match-up so this may be a team who does not travel well.
Fermanagh v Carlow (Sunday, Derrygonnelly, 2pm)
FERMANAGH will hope to keep hold of their top four position and with home advantage against Carlow, Emmett Curry’s side should be able to make this one their third win from four and move further up the table as the league moves into its latter stages.
They had a great win over Louth two weekends ago, who had been unbeaten in their first two games. Eimear Smyth is certainly one to watch this year, her two goals against Louth helping them on their way to victory. That win moved them into joint second behind Louth and Antrim on goal difference but this weekend’s opponents Carlow and Limerick are hot on their heels.
