Louth and Donegal, the Leinster and Ulster football champions, are back in action this weekend in the All-Ireland group stage.
This weekend’s football action centres around the arrival of the Leinster and Ulster champions into the All-Ireland group stage fray as Louth and Donegal get back to business.
The Wee County ended a 68-year wait for a provincial win by disposing of Meath in Croke Park, but are being written off as they get set to face Monaghan in St Conleth’s Park in Newbridge.
Ulster kings Donegal face a tantalising north-west derby against neighbours Tyrone in Ballybofey on Saturday night, while elsewhere Meath face Cork in Pairc Tailteann and Derry are the visitors to BOX-IT Athletic Grounds to face All-Ireland champions Armagh. Here are our GAA betting selections for Saturday’s action.
Gaelic Football tips
Donegal to beat Tyrone by 1-3 points 3/1
Louth to beat Monaghan 2/1
Donegal to edge derby spoils
Jim McGuinness has won another Ulster title, his second since returning as Donegal boss and his fifth in all as a manager.
Incredibly, the Glenties man has still only lost once in the white heat of the most keenly contested provincial series in six seasons across two spells.
As they did last year, Donegal move onto the All-Ireland group stage by welcoming their nearest neighbours Tyrone to Ballybofey.
A year ago, the Tir Conaill side won by seven, 0-21 to 0-14, but this MacCumhaill Park showdown should be much closer.
Donegal have shown a real habit of getting into dominant positions in the Championship only to invite the opposition back into games. Derry, Monaghan and Armagh all did it at one stage in the Ulster journey.
Tyrone, meanwhile, fought back from six points behind to go two ahead heading down the closing stretch against Armagh in last month’s Ulster semi-final in Clones before succumbing to a trio of scores from Kieran McGeeney’s side.
Tyrone are hit and miss and that remains the case under Malachy O’Rourke, as their Allianz League relegation this spring confirmed.
They’ll need an improved effort from Ruairí Canavan and a big game from Darren McCurry to stem the Donegal tide.
The hosts have wind in their sails, and the running power of the likes of Peadar Mogan and Ciaran Moore could be telling.
Joe Brolly once opined of McGuinness’ first incarnation that Donegal were specialists in ‘two-point hammerings’ of the opposition. They can negotiate the Tyrone test but there may not be a lot in it on the scoreboard.
Wee County can stand up to Farney Army
Monaghan were one of Donegal’s Ulster victims and, in that same chain of thought, the two-point margin probably flattered Gabriel Bannigan’s side in Clones. They kicked five two-pointers and that helped them close in on Donegal late on.
Louth, meanwhile, came through the Leinster pathway to contest their third successive provincial decider. With no Dublin in the way this time, they took out Meath as the Royals failed to match the heroics they had shown in defeating Dessie Farrell’s side.
When these sides met in the league in March, Monaghan coasted to a 17-point lead shortly before half-time, but Louth fought back and cut the gap to three points with two minutes remaining, before the Farney Army marched over the winning line via scores from Rory Beggan and Conor McCarthy.
Sam Mulroy scored 1-12 that day in a losing cause and he was the epitome of all that was good about Louth in their deserved Leinster final win.
They’ve already played a Championship match in Newbridge this season, a help, and there appears little to separate this pair on paper – making the 2/1 on a Wee County win too hard to resist.
