TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Championship Previews
Compiled by Jackie Cahill
THE remaining semi-final slots are up for grabs this weekend in the TG4 All-Ireland senior and intermediate championships, while the identities of the junior semi-finalists will be revealed.
It’s another busy weekend as a number of counties in the senior and intermediate championships also battle to avoid the drop, in the relegation play-offs.
On Saturday, Tipperary face Waterford and Cavan take on Monaghan in provincial derbies, as these counties aim to preserve senior status.
In the intermediate grade, Fermanagh play Offaly and Down play Longford in relegation play-offs.
The other intermediate semi-final pairing will also be confirmed on Saturday, as Clare tackle Meath and Roscommon face Laois.
There are also two junior championship games on Sunday, the most crucial of those a winner-takes-all clash between Carlow and Limerick in Askeaton.
On Sunday, attention turns to the remaining senior quarter-finals, and all eyes are on Dr. Hyde Park in Roscommon.
Mayo clash with Galway at 3pm, a game that will be streamed Live and available to view on the TG4 player, while there’s also a deferred TV showing at 7pm.
At 5pm, All-Ireland champions and favourites Dublin tackle Kerry.
The winners of these two fixtures will meet on August 25 for a coveted spot in the September 16 decider.
Also on Sunday, two of the favourites for the junior title, London and Louth, clash in Group A of the group phase.
Both counties are already safely through to the last four.
Sunday August 12:
TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship Quarter-Final
Galway v Mayo; 3pm, Dr. Hyde Park, Roscommon (LIVE on TG4 Player, deferred TV showing at 7pm).
In a repeat of the TG4 Connacht final, Galway and Mayo lock horns again but this time in a knock-out championship fixture.
Mayo had players who have since departed on board when Galway defeated them in the provincial decider - but that will count for little at Dr. Hyde Park in Roscommon.
Mayo claimed a morale-boosting victory over Cavan in the qualifiers which effectively booked them a slot in the quarter-finals, while they also proved a tough nut for Dublin to crack.
It was only in the latter stages that Dublin pulled away and Mayo boss Peter Leahy will have taken encouragement from that.
Galway are an expansive and free-scoring outfit but they’ll have to work hard to break through against a well-drilled Mayo.
Having contested an All-Ireland final last year, Mayo won’t want to bow out of the championship at this early stage either.
But Galway are one of the fancies for All-Ireland glory and this is a chance for them to show that they justify that tag.
There’s one change on the Galway team that excelled against Westmeath in the final group fixture.
Catriona Cormican, who appeared as a half-time sub on that occasion, is handed a start as Aine McDonagh drops to the bench.
Leahy, meanwhile, has named an unchanged team from the Dublin game, as Mayo prepare for a return to Dr. Hyde Park.
Galway: L Murphy; N Connolly, S Lynch, S Burke; E Flaherty, N Ward, C Cooney; L Ward, A Davoren; O Divilly, T Leonard, C Cormican; S Conneally, R Leonard, L Coen.
Mayo: S Murphy; E Lowther, N O’Malley, D Caldwell; R Kearns, C McManamon, K Sullivan; N Moran, D Finn; S Mulvihill, F Doherty, L Cafferky; N Kelly, S Rowe, G Kelly.
TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship Quarter-Final
Dublin v Kerry; 5pm, Dr. Hyde Park, Roscommon (LIVE, TG4)
A repeat of last year’s All-Ireland semi-final sees Dublin and Kerry lock horns a round earlier.
Dublin ran out 5-10 to 0-11 winners on that occasion but Kerry did get within five points of the Sky Blues during the group stages of the Lidl National League Division 1 campaign earlier this year.
Dublin cruised through to the last eight after seeing off Cavan and Mayo over the course of successive weekends.
Kerry, meanwhile, gave a good account of themselves in Group 1, seeing off Tipperary in a critical fixture before running Donegal to a point.
There’s stability back in the Kingdom under the stewardship of Eddie Sheehy, and with former Munster and Kerry GAA chairman, and ex-GAA Presidential candidate Sean Walsh the current Kerry chair.
Dublin are aiming for a second successive All-Ireland title but they won’t get anything easy from Kerry as they eye up a semi-final clash with Galway or Mayo.
Kerry are a settled bunch again and there’s just one change to the starting team that lined out against Donegal, with Laoise Coghlan coming in for Andrea Murphy.
Dublin, meanwhile, will announce their starting 15 after training on Friday evening, for the LIVE TG4 offering.
Dublin will provide the ultimate test for Kerry, and the accurate gauge of how far they’ve come in a short space of time since suffering relegation from Division 1 of the Lidl League.
The Dublin juggernaut is expected to trundle on into the last four but manager Mick Bohan is a keen admirer of Kerry and the talented individuals they possess.
Dublin: TBC.
Kerry: L Fitzgerald; L Coughlan, A Desmond, E Lynch; D Kearney, S Murphy, A O’Connell; L Scanlon, A Brosnan; E Dineen, L Ní Mhuircheartaigh, A Foley; K O’Sullivan, E O’Leary, S Houlihan.
