Football

Who will go up and who is for the drop in the Allianz Football League?

Victory over Tipperary will send Mattie McGleenan's Cavan back up to Division One
Victory over Tipperary will send Mattie McGleenan's Cavan back up to Division One Victory over Tipperary will send Mattie McGleenan's Cavan back up to Division One

P W D L Dif Pts

Dublin 6 5 1 0 33 11

Galway 6 5 1 0 17 11

Monaghan 6 4 0 2 5 8

Tyrone 6 3 0 3 9 6

Kerry 6 3 0 3 -8 6

Mayo 6 2 0 4 -16 4

Donegal 6 1 0 5 -17 2

Kildare 6 0 0 6 -23 0

WITH Dublin and Galway already assured of their places in the Division One final, the real interest this weekend focuses on the bottom of the top flight.

After six straight losses, Kildare’s fate is already sealed and the second relegation spot is down to a straight shoot-out between Donegal and Mayo, who meet in Ballybofey on Sunday.

Mayo have four points to Donegal’s two, so a draw would see the westerners survive at the expense of Declan Bonner’s men.

Donegal need to win to survive and will certainly feel that they are in with a chance of pulling off a ‘great escape’. With a total of six goals and 78 points over six games, the Tir Chonaill men are the third highest scorers in the division while Mayo, who go into the game on the back of a 12-point battering from Tyrone on home soil last Sunday are the lowest.

On the flip side, only Kildare have shipped more punishment than Donegal, but Bonner’s side has only played twice at home in this campaign. They lost the first of those games to Galway by a point and beat Kildare in the second.

Sunday’s fixtures (Allianz FL Division one, round 7): Dublin v Monaghan, Donegal v Mayo, Kildare v Galway, Tyrone v Kerry

P W D L Dif Pts

Roscommon 6 4 1 1 18 9

Cavan 6 4 1 1 22 9

Tipperary 5 3 1 1 26 7

Clare 6 2 2 2 -17 6

Cork 6 3 0 3 2 6

Down 5 2 0 3 0 4

Meath 5 1 1 3 -3 3

Louth 5 0 0 5 -52 0

ROSCOMMON and Cavan lead the race on nine points each, two clear of Tipperary who are also in with a shout of promotion and still have two games to play.

The Rossies’ scoring difference is 18 (Cavan’s is 22, Tipp’s is 26) and if they beat Cork they will move to 11 points and will secure promotion.

If Cavan beat Tipperary they’ll go up too, but if Tipp win they will move up to nine points with a better scoring difference and, even if they lose their final game against Down, they would go up on head-to-head. In the event of a draw at Kingspan Breffni, Cavan would need Ulster rivals Down to take at least a point off Tipp in Newry in their rescheduled fixture.

The picture at the bottom of the table remains complicated. Winless Louth are relegated but Meath and Down both have two games still to play. It will take a strong finish from Down (who play Meath and Tipp) or Meath (who play Down and Louth) to see them cling on to Division Two status.

Sunday’s fixtures (Allianz FL Division one, round 7): Roscommon v Cork, Meath v Down, Clare v Louth, Cavan v Tipperary

If the finalists are known after these fixtures, the Division Two final will take place on Sunday, April 1 in Croke Park with outstanding refixtures (i.e. Louth v Meath and Down v Tipperary) to be confirmed.

P W D L Dif Pts

Armagh 6 5 1 0 34 11

Longford 6 4 1 1 27 9

Fermanagh 6 4 1 1 18 9

Westmeath 6 4 0 2 1 8

Derry 6 2 0 4 -2 4

Sligo 6 1 2 3 -22 4

Offaly 6 1 1 4 -27 3

Wexford 6 0 0 6 -29 0

UNBEATEN Armagh have claimed one of the promotion spots and Longford, Fermanagh and Westmeath are battling it out to join them in the second tier next season.

Longford and Fermanagh meet on Sunday and the winner will join the Orchardmen. A draw in that game would bring Westmeath into the equation if they beat relegation-threatened Offaly by 27 points.

At the other end of the table, Wexford are doomed to Division Four. One of Offaly, Sligo or Derry will join them. Sligo host Derry on Sunday and the losers could go down if Offaly win in Westmeath. If Offaly lose, both will stay up but if the Faithful county draw with Westmeath and Derry win by six points or more, Sligo will go down. Yes, it’s complicated.

Sunday’s fixtures (Allianz FL Division Three, round 7): Longford v Fermanagh, Sligo v Derry, Westmeath v Offaly, Wexford v Armagh

P W D L Dif Pts

Carlow 6 6 0 0 35 12

Laois 5 5 0 0 29 10

Antrim 5 3 1 1 19 7

London 5 1 1 3 -1 3

Limerick 5 1 1 3 -24 3

Leitrim 4 1 0 3 -16 2

Wicklow 5 0 2 3 -26 2

Waterford 5 0 1 4 -16 1

AFTER 33 years in the basement, Carlow secured promotion to the third tier with their 1-12 to 0-12 victory over Antrim last Sunday.

Laois (two points behind on 10) have two games in hand so they can overhaul them, but Antrim cannot. However, the Saffrons can overhaul Laois if they can beat the O’Moore men in their final game and win in Limerick this weekend. They’ll also need Carlow to at least hold Laois to a draw. If that was the case, Antrim would go up on head-to-head.

Sunday’s fixtures (Allianz FL Division Four, round 7): London v Waterford, Limerick v Antrim, Leitrim v Wicklow, Carlow v Laois