GAELIC GAMES:THERE WERE plenty of ifs, ands, buts and maybes in the draws for the third and fourth round of the All-Ireland football qualifiers last night, with the only confirmed tie to really stir the blood a rematch between Meath and Kildare. Otherwise the draw was either pretty tame – Limerick v Waterford and Antrim v Down – or too dependent on hypotheticals to be getting excited just yet.
Meath against Kildare will draw a crowd, though, most likely in Navan on Saturday (dates and times will be confirmed this afternoon).
The two sides have already met in a somewhat controversial Leinster championship match this summer, when Graham Geraghty’s disallowed goal and Brian Farrell’s soft sending-off tilted the day in Kildare’s direction. That was the day Kildare shot 18 wides, however, a habit they look to have gone some way towards kicking in the month since then.
If Armagh find a way to get out of Aughrim next weekend with a win, they will meet Tyrone. But given that better, more experienced teams than Paddy O’Rourke’s have come unstuck when visiting Wicklow, that’s a fairly sizeable if.
Despite being close neighbours, Down and Antrim haven’t met in the championship since 2000 when Antrim took an Ulster quarter-final match 0-13 to 1-7. By contrast, Limerick and Waterford met in last year’s Munster championship, with Limerick running out easy winners.
The draw for the fourth round was also made last night, pitting the winners of round three against the losing provincial finalists in a fortnight’s time.
Again, there are oceans to cross before the mouth can water at any of the fixtures but there is at least the potential for a repeat of last year’s All-Ireland final, with the winners of Down v Antrim drawn against Cork.
Wexford’s reward for their doughty display in Croke Park yesterday was a game against either Waterford or Limerick, which you’d have to imagine lifted the heads of Jason Ryan’s team when they heard it.
There was bad news for whichever team loses Sunday’s Ulster final, as they will have to cope with the dreaded six-day turnaround before meeting the winners of Kildare v Meath. But assuming the Connacht final doesn’t go to a replay, the losing finalists there will have the grace of a fortnight’s break while they wait on the Armagh/Wicklow/Tyrone entanglement to sort itself out.
