SFC Qualifers/Third-round draw: The draw for round three of the Bank of Ireland All-Ireland football qualifier series duly threw out one major fixture with All-Ireland champions Tyrone drawn against Galway, their 2001 predecessors. The counties met in a storming NFL semi-final and replay in April, with Galway winning out in extra time on the second day, in Salthill, writes Seán Moran.

After a weekend of generally unappetising second-round qualifiers, it had been assumed that the coming round would generate a few cracking ties but in fact it has come up with the bare minimum. Of the other ties two bring together teams with lop-sided prospects: Dublin and Longford plus Cork and Fermanagh.

In the light of Dublin's stumbling season, Longford probably feel that they are entitled to be considered possible winners but they will need to improve on recent performances. Fermanagh had a remarkable win over Meath on Saturday and their reward is Cork, who struggled to get past Clare over the weekend.

The remaining draw isn't yet apparent. Derry, winners over Cavan yesterday, a dam-burst of extra-time scores giving them a 10-point margin of victory, have to wait until Offaly and Wexford sort out their second-round match next weekend.

The other three fixtures are scheduled to go ahead on July 10th and 11th, which is currently looking like the biggest weekend of action the GAA has ever staged. The games feature alongside the first Ulster final to be played in Croke Park, the Munster final and two hugely important hurling qualifiers, Cork-Tipperary on Saturday and Kilkenny-Galway a day later.

There is an irony in Galway and Tyrone drawing each other, as it has been validly speculated that the counties' League semi-final might have drained too much out of the teams, who both crashed to unexpected provincial semi-final defeats against Mayo and Donegal.

Now they face each other again with one match between them and oblivion. It is a situation that has produced dramatic results in previous qualifier series. A year ago Dublin and Tyrone's predecessors, Armagh, met, with both sides out of sorts, and the latter's win so successfully re-charged their season that they reached the All-Ireland final and came within a score of retaining their title.

Galway played Armagh in 2001 and picked up such momentum from the win that they went on to win the All-Ireland.

Cork and Fermanagh will meet for the first time in the championship after a lacklustre NFL fixture , which Cork won. Derry haven't met Offaly before in the championship but played and beat Wexford in last year's qualifier series.

Dublin and Longford are no strangers to each other from the Leinster championship, most recently three years ago when Dublin had an easy nine-point win, 2-19 to 1-13 in the provincial quarter-final at Croke Park.

Neither of their goal scorers will be playing this time, as Wayne McCarthy is no longer on the panel and Colin Moran is out injured for the rest of the season.Pádraic Davis, scorer of Longford's goal, is still playing.

Details of these fixtures will be announced this afternoon by the Games Administration Committee.

SFC Qualifiers Third Round Draw

July 10th/11th
Tyrone v Galway
Dublin v Longford
Cork v Fermanagh

July 17th/18th
Derry v Offaly or Wexford

Exact dates, times and venues to be decided.