The Teams have been announced for Sunday’s
All-Ireland Semi-Final double bill in Croke Park.
The first game on Sunday’s double-bill is the
Connacht derby between Galway and Mayo, (2pm, LIVE TG4) which will be the
fourth competitive meeting between the sides in 2019.
Galway needed two bites of the cherry to see off an
emerging Mayo in the Connacht Final, eventually winning out in a replay at the
Gaelic Grounds, after the two sides fought out a classic draw at Elvery’s
MacHale Park in Castlebar.
Galway boss Tim Rabbitt and his Mayo counterpart
Peter Leahy have named unchanged starting teams for the Croke Park showdown,
following quarter-final victories over Waterford and Armagh respectively.
Mayo were beaten Finalists in 2017, and are looking
to make it back to a first Final since then.
Galway haven’t reached a Final since 2005, when they
lost out to a Cork team that was about to embark on a magnificent period of
dominance.
Cork manager Ephie Fitzgerald has opted for one
change in personnel ahead of Sunday’s mouth-watering TG4 All-Ireland Ladies
Senior Football Championship semi-final against holders Dublin at Croke Park
(3.45pm, LIVE TG4).
Áine O’Sullivan is handed a starting berth in the
half-forward line for the clash with the three-in-a-row chasing Sky Blues, as
the counties meet in the Championship for the first time since the 2018 Final
at Croke Park, a fixture that attracted a record 50,141 attendance to Croke
Park.
Captain Doireann O’Sullivan drops to the bench as
Cork prepare to tackle an unchanged Dublin at GAA HQ.
For the very first time, the TG4 All-Ireland
semi-finals will be played at Croke Park, and the scene is set for two titanic
collisions.
Dublin and Cork have contested the four of the last
five Finals – but now they’ll meet for a coveted spot in the showpiece decider
back at Croke Park on Sunday, September 15.
Cork were impressive when dismantling Tyrone at the
quarter-final stage, while Dublin also impressed in patches against Kerry in
the last eight.
Cork skipper O'Sullivan, who struggled with injury
earlier in the year, wasn't named to start either in the Tyrone game, but she
did and scored 2-2, which might suggest that she could yet earn a late
call-up.
The TG4 All-Ireland Junior semi-finals are also
pencilled in for this weekend, with a double-header down for decision at St
Tiernach’s Park, Clones.
Both of these games will be streamed LIVE on the
LGFA’s Facebook Page https://bit.ly/2RZQNZd,
as Louth take on Antrim (1pm) before Fermanagh tackle London (2.45pm).
Louth were beaten finalists in 2018, losing out to
Limerick in the Croke Park decider, while Antrim are chasing a Final berth for
the first time since 2016.
Fermanagh, the 2017 Champions, are hoping to make it
back to a second Final in three years, with London, who fell at this hurdle
against Limerick last year, chasing a first Final appearance since 2008.
Galway
(v Mayo): L Murphy; S Burke, N Ward, S Lynch; O Murphy, B Hannon, C Cooney; L
Ward, Á McDonagh; O Divilly, M Glynn, M Seoighe; T Leonard, S Conneally, R
Leonard.
Mayo
(v Galway): A Tarpey; N O’Malley, D Caldwell, É Ronayne; K Sullivan, Ciara
McManamon, C Whyte; Clodagh McManamon, E Needham; S Cafferky, M Reilly, N
Kelly; S Rowe, R Kearns, G Kelly.
Dublin (v Cork): C Trant; É Rutledge, N Collins, M
Byrne; A Kane, S Goldrick, O Carey; L Magee, S McGrath; C Rowe, N McEvoy, L
Davey; S Aherne, N Healy, J Dunne.
Cork (v Dublin): M O’Brien; H Looney, E Meaney, S
Kelly; A Hutchings, M Duggan, E Kiely; N Cotter, M O’Callaghan; O Farmer, C
O’Sullivan, Á O’Sullivan; L Coppinger, E Scally, O Finn.
Louth (v Antrim): U Pearson; E Hand, S Quinn, S
McLoughlin; C Nolan, M McMahon, D Osborne; E Byrne, A Byrne; R Carr, S Byrne, A
Russell; L Boyle, K Flood, N Rice.
Antrim (v Louth): A McCann; S Haughey, E Kelly, N
Killen; M Hanna, C Brown, K Farren; S Tennyson, A McFarland; L Dahunsi, O Corr,
N Enright; C Carey, E Magee, Á Tubridy.
Fermanagh (v London): R Gleeson; A Maguire, E
Murphy, A McGovern; M McGloin, C Murphy, S McQuaid; R O’Reilly, A Flanagan; J
Doonan, L Maguire, D Maguire; A O’Brien, E Smyth, B Bogue.
London (v Fermanagh): C O’Reilly; N Walsh, R Hunt, N
Mulholland; C Twohig, N Lister, S Roche; N Daly, K Canavan; C O’Sullivan, H
Noonan, C McCarthy; C McGahan, A Kilkelly, C O’Brien.
