Senior footballers looking to reach Leinster SFC final

The busiest weekend of the SFC so far is coming up, with no fewer than 12 games on a hectic programme which features provincial semi-finals in Leinster and Munster and eight first round All-Ireland qualifiers

The full programme is as follows:

SATURDAY

Ulster SF semi-final: Donegal v Tyrone, Kingspan Breffni Park, 5.0

All-Ireland SF qualifiers (Round 1): Offaly v London, O’Connor Park Tullamore, 1.30; Leitrim v Wicklow, Carrick-on-Shannon, 3.0; Wexford v Derry, Innovate Wexford Park, 4.45; Louth v Antrim, Drogheda, 7.0.

SUNDAY

Leinster SF semi-finals: Laois v Meath, Croke Park, 2.0; Dublin v Kildare, Croke Park, 4.0

Ulster SF semi-final replay: Cavan v Armagh, Clones, 4.0

All-Ireland SF qualifiers (Round 1): Down v Tipperary, Newry, 2.0; Monaghan v Fermanagh, Clones, 1,45; Carlow v Longford, Netwatch Cullen Park,3.0; Westmeath v Waterford, TEG Cusack Park, 3.0.

DUBLIN v KILDARE

Dublin are attempting to reach the Leinster final for the ninth successive year while Kildare were last there in 2017 when they lost to Jim Gavin’s men.

LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP CLASHES

2017: Dublin 2-23 Kildare 1-17 (Leinster final)

2015: Dublin 5-18 Kildare 0-14 (Leinster semi-final)

2013: Dublin 4-16 Kildare 1-9 (Leinster semi-final)

2011: Dublin 1-12 Kildare 1-11 (Leinster semi-final)

2009: Dublin 2-15 Kildare 0-18 (Leinster final)

*Dublin have reached (and won) the Leinster final in 13 of the last 14 seasons, missing out only in 2010 when they lost to Meath in the semi-final.

*This will be Kildare’s fourth game in this year’s championship, having beaten Wicklow and Longford, with whom they also drew. Dublin beat Louth in their only outing so far.

*Dublin’s average winning margin against Wicklow, Longford and Laois in three Leinster championship games last year was 20 points.

*Kildare’s last win over Dublin in the championship was in the 2000 Leinster final replay. Dublin have won all eight games since then.

*Dublin out-scored Kildare by an aggregate score of 11-57 to 2-40 in their last three championship meetings in 2017- 2015 and 2013.

LAOIS v MEATH

This will be their first meeting in the championship since the 2012 All-Ireland qualifiers when Laois won by 1-15 to 1-12 in Round 4 in Tullamore. Their last clash in the Leinster championship was in 2010 when Meath won a quarter-final replay by 2-14 to 0-10 in Tullamore.

LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETINGS

2012: Laois 1-15 Meath 1-12 (All-Ireland qualifier)

2010: Meath 2-14 Laois 0-10 (Leinster quarter-final replay)

2010: Meath 2-13 Laois 1-16 (Leinster quarter final – after extra-time)

2006: Laois 2-13 Meath 0-13 (All-Ireland qualifiers)

2004: Laois 1-13 Meath 0-9 (Leinster semi-final)

*Meath beat Offaly in the first round and Carlow in the quarter-final while Laois beat Westmeath.

*Laois are bidding to reach the Leinster final in two successive seasons for the first time since 2004.

*Meath are bidding to reach the Leinster final for the first time since 2014.

*The winners will play Dublin or Kildare in the final on June 23.

DONEGAL v TYRONE

They meet for the eighth time in nine seasons in the championship, with Donegal having won four to Tyrone’s three of the previous seven. Tyrone won the last three clashes in 2018, 2017 and 2016.

LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETINGS

2018: Tyrone 2-17 Donegal 1-13 (2018 ‘Super 8s’)

2017: Tyrone 1-21 Donegal 1-12 (Ulster semi-final)

2016: Tyrone 0-13 Donegal 0-11 (Ulster final)

2015: Donegal 1-13 Tyrone 1-10 (Ulster 1st round)

2013: Donegal 2-10 Tyrone 0-10 (Ulster quarter-final)

*Tyrone beat Derry and Antrim to each the semi-final while Donegal beat Fermanagh.

*This will be the 24th championship meeting between the counties, with Tyrone leading 13-9 with one draw from their previous 23 clashes. 

*Donegal are bidding to reach the Ulster final for the eighth time in nine seasons. They only year they missed out was 2017.

*Tyrone last reached the final in 2017, when they beat Down.

* The winners will play Armagh or Cavan in the final on June 23.

ARMAGH v CAVAN

Following last Sunday’s thrilling draw after extra-time, it’s back to Clones on Sunday for a second instalment.

LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETINGS

2019: Armagh 1-14 Cavan 0-17 aet (Ulster semi-final)

2016: Cavan 2-16 Armagh 0-14 (Ulster quarter-final)

2014: Armagh 1-12 Cavan 0-9 (Ulster quarter-final)

2013: Cavan 1-15 Armagh 1-11 (Ulster preliminary round)

2008: Armagh 0-17 Cavan 0-13 (Ulster quarter-final)

*This will be the first Armagh-Cavan replay in the Ulster championship since 1959 when the Breffni men won a semi-final at the second attempt by 1-9 to 1-7.

*Cavan’s last replay in the Ulster championship was in 2016 when they lost to Tyrone by 5-18 to 2-17 in a semi-final. Armagh’s last replay was in 2014 when they lost a semi-final to Monaghan by 1-18 to 0-13.

*The winners will play Donegal or Tyrone in the Ulster final on June 23.

ALL-IRELAND QUALIFERS (ROUND 1)

OFFALY v LONDON

This will be their third meeting in the qualifiers, with Offaly having won by 4-15 to 0-10 in 2003 and by 0-17 to 1-7 in 2016, both in Tullamore. Offaly, who lost in the Leinster first round to Meath, beat Antrim in the opening round of last year’s qualifiers before losing to Clare in Round 2. London, eliminated from this year’s Connacht championship by Galway, lost to Louth in Round 1 of last year’s qualifiers. London last won a qualifier game in 2011, beating Fermanagh by six points in Ruislip.

LEITRIM v WICKLOW

They last met in the qualifiers in 2012 when Leitrim won a Round 2 game by 0-13 to 0-10 in Carrick-on-Shannon. They met in this year’s Allianz League when Leitrim won a Division 4 clash by four points in Aughrim. Leitrim lost to Roscommon in this year’s Connacht championship while Wicklow were knocked out by Kildare in the Leinster first round.

DERRY v WEXFORD

They have met in the qualifiers three times previously, with Derry winning all three. They won by 3-10 to 0-9 in Wexford Park in 2003, by 2-16 to 2-5 in Parnell Park in 2004 and by 1-16 to 0-10 in Owenbeg in 2015. Their most recent meeting was in Division 4 this year when Derry won a high-scoring contest by two points (3-21 to 4-16) in Bellaghy. Derry lost their opening Ulster game to Tyrone this year while Wexford were beaten by Louth in Leinster.

LOUTH v ANTRIM

They last met in the qualifiers in 2013, when Louth won by 1-17 to 1-11 in Drogheda. Louth beat Wexford and lost to Dublin in this year’s Leinster championship while Antrim lost to Tyrone in Ulster.

CARLOW LONGFORD

They last met in the championship in the 2015 All-Ireland qualifiers when Longford won by 2-15 to 1-8 in Round 1 in Glennon Brothers Pearse Park. Carlow, who lost to Meath in the Leinster quarter-final last month, lost to Tyrone in their only qualifier game last year. Longford, who lost a Leinster quarter-final replay to Kildare last Sunday, also lost to the Lilywhites in last year’s qualifiers.

DOWN v TIPPERARY

They last met in the qualifiers in 2012 when Down won a Round 4 game by 1-13 to 0-11 in Mullingar.

Their most recent competitive meeting was in last year’s Allianz League when Down won a Division 2 game by three points in Newry. Down lost to Armagh by a point in this year’s Ulster championship, while Tipperary went down to Limerick by seven points in Munster.

FERMANAGH v MONAGHAN

They meet in the championship for a third successive year. Fermanagh won last year’s Ulster semi-final by 1-8 to 0-10 in Omagh while Monaghan won a preliminary round game by 1-20 to 1-11 in Clones in 2017. Monaghan lost their opening Ulster game to Cavan this year while Fermanagh went down to Donegal.

WESTMEATH v LONGFORD

They meet in the championship for the first time. Their most recent competitive meeting was in the 2017 Allianz League when Westmeath won a Division 4 game by 3-13 to 2-11. Westmeath lost to Laois in this year’s Leinster championship while Waterford lost to Clare in Munster.

Waterford enjoyed a rare win in the qualifiers last year, beating Wexford in the first round before losing to Monaghan in Round 2. Westmeath haven’t won a qualifier game since beating Louth in 2012.

GAA FOOTBALL ALL-IRELAND & PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2019

CONNACHT

May 5: Quarter-finals: Galway 0-16 London 1-9, McGovern Park, Ruislip; Mayo 1-22 New York 0-4, Gaelic Park.

May 12: Quarter-final: Roscommon 3-17 Leitrim 0-12, Dr. Hyde Park.

May 19: Semi-final: Galway 3-11 Sligo 0-7, Markievicz Park.

May 26: Semi-final: Roscommon 2-12 Mayo 0-17, Castlebar

June 16: Final: Galway v Roscommon, Pearse Stadium

LEINSTER

May 11: First round: Kildare 0-15 Wicklow 1-10, Netwatch Cullen Park.

May 12: First round: Louth 0-22 Wexford 1-14, Innovate Wexford Park; Meath 1-13 Offaly 0-14, Pairc Tailteann.

May 25: Quarter-finals: Dublin 5-21 Louth 0-10, Portlaoise; Meath 2-18 Carlow 0-9, Bord na Mona Park, Portlaoise.

May 26: Quarter-finals: Longford 3-15 Kildare 1-21 (aet), Tullamore; Laois 0-12 Westmeath 0-10, Tullamore

June 2: Quarter-final replay: Kildare 1-18 Longford 0-10, Tullamore

June 9: Semi-finals: Dublin v Kildare; Meath v Laois. Both in Croke Park.

June 23: Final: Croke Park

MUNSTER

May 11: Quarter-finals: Limerick 3-11 Tipperary 1-10, Semple Stadium; Clare 0-9 Waterford 0-8, Ennis

June 1: Semi-finals: Cork 3-18 Limerick 0-6 Pairc Ui Rinn; Kerry 1-15 Clare 0-12, Ennis.

June 22: Final: Cork v Kerry, Pairc Ui Chaoimh.

ULSTER

May 12: First round: Tyrone 1-19 Derry 1-13, Omagh.

May 18: Quarter-final: Cavan 1-13 Monaghan 0-12, Kingspan Breffni Park.

May 19: Quarter-final: Armagh 2-17 Down 3-13 (aet), Newry.

May 25: Quarter-final: Tyrone 2-23 Antrim 2-9, Athletic Grounds.

May 26: Quarter-final: Donegal 0-15 Fermanagh 0-9, Brewster Park.

June 2: Semi-final: Cavan 0-17Armagh 1-14 (aet), Clones

June 8: Semi-final: Tyrone v Donegal, Clones

June 9: Semi-final replay: Cavan v Armagh

June 23: Final: Clones

ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 8: Qualifiers – Round 1: Louth v Antrim; Tipperary v Down; Leitrim v Wicklow; Wexford v Derry; Offaly v London; Monaghan v Fermanagh; Carlow v Kildare/Longford; Westmeath v Waterford.

June 22: Qualifiers – Round 2 (Round 1 winners v beaten provincial semi- finalists). Beaten provincial semi-finalists: Mayo, Sligo, Clare, Limerick, Dublin or Kildare, Meath or Laois, Cavan or Armagh, Donegal or Tyrone.

June 29: Qualifiers- Round 3 (Round 2 winners play off in four games)

July 6: Qualifiers – Round 4 (Round 3 winners v beaten provincial finalists)

July 13/14: All-Ireland quarter-finals – Phase 1

July 20/21: All-Ireland quarter-finals – Phase 2

August 3/4/5: All-Ireland quarter-finals – Phase 3

August 10/11: All-Ireland semi-finals, Croke Park.

September 1: Final, Croke Park.