TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship quarter-final: Tyrone v Clare - Saturday, St Loman’s Mullingar, 3.45pm)
TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship quarter-final: Lancashire v Antrim (Sunday, John Mitchell’s Liverpool, 1.30pm)
TYRONE finally their All-Ireland Intermediate Championship campaign underway tomorrow against Clare, almost some two months after their Ulster final victory over Down.
It has been a long and unnecessary wait according to manager Gerry Moane, who has questioned the need for it and its fairness on provincial champions, with Monaghan in the same position in the senior championship.
Provincial winners go straight to the quarter-finals of the competitions with all the other teams entering the qualifiers, giving them football quicker and if they keep winning, more games allowing them to have built up momentum by the time they reach the last eight.
“Two months almost is far too long. Something would need to be done about such a big delay but for now we can only focus on a Clare team that will be very strong," he said.
“This will be a new competition for us now and it’s always hard to get that first win in a new contest but that’s what we will try and do. We have had a long lay-off though, Clare were out recently as they beat Limerick and they will be hitting the ground running on Saturday. We know that and will have to try and match them in all sectors of the park, they look physically strong and have some clinical finishers.”
The only advantage the long layoff has had is that it has given captain Neamh Woods and full-forward Cara McCrossan more time to recover from their respective shoulder and knee injuries sustained in the Ulster semi-final against Fermanagh, which forced them to miss the the final victory over Down and could well feature for some if not all of tomorrow’s game. Moane also reports no other injury issues, thankful that his players came through the Tyrone club championship unscathed.
Beaten Munster finalists Clare come into this game on the back of a comprehensive 5-16 to 2-7 win over Limerick in the qualifiers and Woods feels too that the momentum is with the opposition.
“The momentum certainly is with Clare on Saturday considering that they have already played in the All Ireland series whereas we haven’t played competitively in seven weeks, therefore it is important for Tyrone to start well on Saturday,” said Woods.
“They had a very promising league campaign, a closely contested Munster final against Tipperary and a comprehensive win over Limerick in their last game, and therefore present our biggest challenge to date.”
Woods feels Tyrone’s Ulster final performance against Down, particularly in the second half, is called for again, but right from the start if they are to overcome a Clare side, who not only want to reach the last four but feel they could reach an All-Ireland final.
“The Down game was a tough challenge as expected. Our performance was somewhat inconsistent; we dominated early in the first half but then we let Down back into the game, however we had an impressive second half showing excellent work rate; it certainly was an overall competent team performance.
“We have learnt a lot from that game and it gave us plenty to work on ahead of Saturday’s game. Clare similarly pose a huge threat on Saturday and it will no doubt be another extremely tough challenge but one we are looking forward to.”
Antrim meanwhile travel to Liverpool this weekend to take on British runners-up Lancashire for a place in the semi-finals of the TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship.
This quarter-final is the second, and last, chance for the Ulster champions to reach the last four having lost to Longford in the preliminary round a couple of weeks’ back.
Captain Jenny McCavana admits the two point defeat, 2-11 to 1-12, to Longford was disappointing and they have had to pick themselves up for this game. Antrim had led early on but were rocked by two quick goals in the second quarter and although they did get it back to the minimum in the dying minutes they could not find the equaliser or the winner.
“It was a game we could have won,” admits McCavana. “We know that there are no more chances after Sunday and have to give everything if we want to come out on top.
“We felt very disheartened and deflated, we just didn't perform on the day. It’s gone now and we can’t change it, we have to take confidence from the positive aspects of the performance and learn from the mistakes which we made collectively and be sure not to repeat them. Our only focus is now putting on a performance which is good enough to beat Lancashire!”
There is plenty of Ulster interest in the Saffrons’ opposition with no fewer than 12 players from eight counties and after spending a few years living in Liverpool herself when she was at university and playing Ladies football, McCavana knows Lancashire will be no walkovers.
“They have some very experienced and talented footballers so we know that we wont be traveling there and getting an easy ride,” she said.
They will be lining out against one of their own Saffron natives in Katie McMullan, who plays at fullback, while Tyrone are represented by Louise O’Neill, Cara Garrity and Shaunagh Carberry, Clare Shaw hails from Derry, Maura Melanaphy from Donegal, Brenda McHugh from Fermanagh, Niamh Gilbride from Cavan and captain Amanda Treanor from Monaghan. Down are also represented by three in Michaela Cunningham, former All-Ireland Intermediate medal winner with Sinead Fegan and Colleen Gaffney. There are also four more players who are unavailable this weekend. The team is managed by Kinawley’s Paul Melanaphy and Meath’s Tony O’Reilly.
Last year, Lancashire reached the semi-finals, losing out to eventual champions Louth and they will be keen to, at least, get back to the same stage this year. They suffered a heavy defeat to London in the British Final losing out 9-20 to 2-7 but that is certainly no reflection on the ability within the team and they will be keen to bounce back with a win.
London were due to play Carlow in the other quarter-final this weekend but the Leinster side have conceded and London go through to the semi-finals where they will play the winners of Antrim and Lancashire while Derry will face Longford in the other semi-final.
