TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship Group 2 round 2: Monaghan v Tipperary (Tonight, Parnell Park, live on TG4)
MONAGHAN get their first taste of championship action tonight when they meet Tipperary in a crunch clash under the lights of Parnell Park.
A win for Ciaran Murphy’s side will see them face Galway next weekend in a winner-takes-all encounter for a place in the All-Ireland semi-finals. Defeat would not theoretically end their chances of qualification - they would still have to beat Galway but even then it might not be enough depending on points difference in the three-team group.
Tipperary, last year’s All-Ireland intermediate winners, know they must win otherwise their season is over. The Munster side suffered a 1-15 to 1-14 one point defeat to Galway last weekend despite a personal tally of 1-10 from Aishling Moloney. She will be one of Tipperary’s main threats for Monaghan and the who will be given the job of picking her up will need to be well thought out.
It’s a huge game for both sides and one that is very much for the taking for both. The fact though that Tipperary have already played a game will give them a slight advantage and Monaghan know they need to be fast out of the blocks.
The pace of last weekend’s opening four games was something that got the attention of Monaghan manager Murphy and it makes for exciting end-to-end football.
“It is being played at a serious pace and I suppose that’s because with no challenge games you don’t have the luxury of trying out tactics and the game is very free-flowing because it’s all attacking football. In an ordinary championship season we would have a minimum of seven games, that’s down to two now. You very quickly have to get up to pace,” he said.
Monaghan were meant to play Cavan in the Ulster Senior Championship semi-final last month but that was postponed because of a number of confirmed Covid cases in the Cavan and they themselves have not been without similar interruptions.
“Every week we have been hit by something, players having to self-isolate, but this week thankfully we have been lucky and hopefully we will make it to Friday night without any problems,” explained Murphy.
“It has been difficult to prepare – we had challenge matches lined up but they were pulled, our Ulster semi-final was postponed.
“Tipperary’s game last weekend will stand to them. The first game is always important and they know they must win to stay in it. The importance of this game is huge, we have to win, there is no other option. This is a very strong group – Galway were All-Ireland finalists last year, Tipperary won the All-Ireland intermediate title last year.
“We know what we are capable and this game is for the taking. We need to put in the performance and the management team know that if the players can play how we know they can they we certainly will not be far away,” said Murphy.
Indeed, experience will be key and players like the McAnespie twins Ciara and Aoife have plenty of that and add in Therese Scott, Ellen McCarron and Laura McEnaney they have players for that big occasion. The return of Nicola Fahy is also a big advantage and along with the Garland twins Amy and Lauren they will give Tipperary plenty to worry about.
Murphy used the league, before everything ground to a halt, to blood new players and in those early games the likes of Jane Duffy, Emer Traynor, Jennifer Duffy, Jayne Drury and Michaela Linden showed well. It may have been upwards of half a year since they last sampled county football but they fact they have those few months of experience behind them, along with the vast experience of the more senior players, means Tipperary will know they are in a real dog-fight.
TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship Group 4 round 2: Mayo v Tyrone (Tomorrow, Pairc Sheain Mhic Dhiarmada, Carrick-on-Shannon, 1pm, live on LGFA Facebook)
TYRONE need to pull one of their biggest performances yet out of the bag tomorrow if their hopes of reaching the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-finals are to stay alive.
Their season is hanging in the balance after last Friday’s defeat to Armagh in Kingspan Breffni in the first round robin group game. Tomorrow’s fixture against Mayo is their last group game and defeat will signal at end to their season. Victory won’t guarantee them anything but it will give them a fighting chance and that is the best they can do.
There are a lot of ifs, buts and maybes but if Tyrone can beat Mayo, it will leave the final round game between Armagh and Mayo very interesting with the group winner being decided either by points difference if three teams all finish on the same number of points or the head-to-head outcome if two teams finish level on the same points.
Red Hands boss Gerry Moane was very honest in his evaluations of last weekend’s game against Armagh. They put 3-13 on the scoreboard but the concession of six goals and 16 points wasn’t good enough and their inability to win the dirty ball proved costly.
He said Armagh showed more hunger and it will be that sort of tenacity and hunger that the Orchard County displayed that Tyrone need to match and more if they are to see off Mayo.
This is Mayo’s first competitive outing since March whereas Tyrone have two games under their belt, albeit loses both to Armagh, but still there is no comparison to playing competitively in the throes of championship football, regardless of results. That will put them one, if not two, steps ahead of Mayo, but they must make it count.
They made the perfect start against Armagh and were 1-4 to 0-2 ahead after just 10 minutes. They looked in control and had the momentum but mistakes proved costly and Armagh found the back of the net five times before the end of the half. The damage was done. Tyrone have plenty of quality throughout. Niamh O’Neill corner forward will be a real thorn in the Mayo defence. She caused Armagh a lot of trouble, in both games against the Orchard County, and scored 2-4 last day out while Chloe McCaffrey hit 1-4. They need their leaders like Shannon Lynch, Emma Mulgrew, captain Neamh Woods, Emma Brennan – players with vast amount of experience to stand up and take the game to Mayo.
These two counties were in the same group of the All-Ireland qualifying stages last year and only three points separated the sides at the final whistle, with Mayo running out winners. This year cannot be compared to last year in any sense given what has gone ahead, or not gone ahead, over the last seven to eight months, but Tyrone will know in their own heads they are a match for the Connacht side and they could very much get back on track.
The end game of qualifying for the semi-finals might be out of their control but whatever happens after next weekend, to end 2020 on a win, they would take that, knowing they could do no more.
** See further Ladies Football coverage at www.irishnews.com
TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship Group B round 3: Derry v Antrim (Sunday, St Macartan’s Augher, 1pm)
FAMILIAR foes Antrim and Derry put their championship participation on the line in Sunday’s TG4 All-Ireland junior.
This final round Group B clash between the neighbouring counties is a winner-takes-all encounter with the victor booking their place in the All-Ireland junior semi-finals later this month.
With group winners Limerick already assured of their place in the last four after recording victories over both Ulster counties, all the attention is on these two.
It’s never a wise idea to call a favourite or a potential winner when Derry and Antrim meet as on the day anything can happen.
Antrim, though, would be the happier of the two going into this game, and they will carry that favourties tag into this game, despite last week’s defeat, which saw them lose 2-8 to 1-5.
Seven days earlier, Limerick defeated Derry 4-10 to 0-7 although Paul Hasson’s side were depleted as he handed senior intercounty debuts to no less than six players. Having that game under their belts, however, they will have gained valuable experience of playing at a senior level and should all be available to Hasson this week, he knows that Derry, on their day, are good enough.
Emma Doherty scored all but one point of their 0-7 total last day and that is a concern but they did create chances and were somewhat unlucky not to convert more.
Antrim were able to put out an experienced side, despite youthfulness, against Limerick, built around a strong backbone that had Ciara Brown in fullback, Saoirse Tennyson, in her first county game back since her cruciate knee injury last summer, captain Aine Tubridy and Aisling McFarlane at midfield, Cathy Carey at number 11 and Meabh McCurdy at full-forward.
TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship Group A round 3: Carlow v Fermanagh (Sunday, Lannleire, 1pm)
LAST year’s All-Ireland junior finalists Fermanagh must beat Carlow on Sunday if they are to keep alive their hopes of making back-to-back finals.
With group winners Wicklow already in the semi-finals after victory over Carlow and Fermanagh in the last two weeks, the other last four place is up for grabs between these two counties.
If Fermanagh win it will set up an all-Ulster All-Ireland semi-final between either Antrim or Derry but attention for Jonny Garrity’s side is firmly on Carlow.
They must quickly put last weekend’s defeat to Wicklow firmly behind them with the perfect opportunity to bounce back straight away. Wicklow, who are serious All-Ireland title contenders, ran out 0-9 to 1-2 winners in difficult conditions.
There is no doubt Fermanagh have the talent at their disposal to get the job done on Sunday. Against Wicklow they were very much in the game at half-time with just two points separating the sides after an evenly contested first half which was level on a number of occasions, but two points in the final 10 minutes of the half, gave Wicklow some breathing space, and although scores were very much at a premium in the second half, Wicklow did enough to keep their noses in front.
With the experience in the Fermanagh squad, Garrity needs big performances from the likes of his captain Courteney Murphy, Roisin O’Reilly, Blaithin Bogue, Eimear Smyth and Joanne Doonan. They are more than capable of getting their side over the line and into the semi-finals.
Fixtures
Tonight:
All-Ireland Senior Championship Group 2 round 2: Monaghan v Tipperary (Parnell Park, 7.30pm)
Tomorrow:
All-Ireland Senior Championship
Group 1 round 2: Cork v Kerry (Austin Stack Park, Tralee, 3pm)
Group 3 round 2: Waterford v Dublin (Baltinglass, 1pm)
Group 4 round 2: Mayo v Tyrone (Pairc Sheain Mhic Dhiarmada, Carrick-on-Shannon, 1pm)
Sunday:
All-Ireland Intermediate Championship
Group 1 round 2: Roscommon v Wexford (Clane, 1pm)
Group 2 round 2: Louth v Longford (St Tiarnach’s Park, Clones, 1pm)
Group 3 round 2: Leitrim v Meath (Mullahoran, 1pm)
Group 4 round 2: Sligo v Kildare (Kinnegad, 1pm), Clare v Laois (Clonmel, 1pm)
All-Ireland Junior Championship
Group A round 3: Carlow v Fermanagh (Lannleire, 1pm)
Group B round 3: Derry v Antrim (Augher, 1pm)
