Sport

The Morning Sports Briefing

Darragh Ó Sé says depleted defence could catch out Dubs, Tyrone and Galway stick it to the establishment, Dundalk face night of European destiny and what to watch out for

Provincial wins for Galway and Tyrone have spiced up the football championship. Photograph: Inpho
Wed Jul 20 2016 - 08:20

Darragh Ó Sé: Depleted defence could catch out Dubs

In his column today Darragh Ó Sé gives his mid-term assessment of the GAA summer, and who at this stage seems the likeliest to be lifting Sam Maguire come September.

“The pecking order, as I see it, remains: Dublin out in front, Kerry next, followed closely by Tyrone, with Galway and Mayo together.”

However, he still believes there remain question marks over Dublin, particularly with a growing list of defensive absentees after it was announced James McCarthy will be out until September with a knee injury. McCarthy’s absence adds to that of Rory O’Carroll and Jack McCaffrey.

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He writes: “But the question that overrides all others is: Can the Dubs be caught? I still think they can. John Heslin caused them enough problems with his back to goal on Sunday in Croke Park to convince the remaining managers and opposing forwards that they can exploit this weakened defence...

“...Even now if we list the top 10 footballers on the island, five maybe six of them are Dubs. Still, no team can suffer the stripping of 50 per cent of their All-Ireland winning defence and retain their title. At least I don’t think so. McCarthy’s return is crucial.”

Seán Moran

And Seán Moran looks back at the provincial championships, which have confirmed certain trends in Leinster and Munster but opened up new possibilities in Connacht and Ulster, he writes: “Not alone were the victories of Tyrone and Galway noteworthy departures in themselves - first provincial wins in six and eight years respectively - but they marked a challenge to the emerging orthodoxies of the past 15 years of All-Ireland qualifiers and the last eight of a hierarchical structure in the league.”

Dundalk need to score in Iceland

Elsewhere Dundalk take on Iceland’s FH Hafnarfjordur tonight needing an away goal to give them any hope of progressing to the next round of the Champions League qualifiers following last week’s 1-1 first leg draw at Oriel Park, while Celtic look to overturn a 1-0 deficit against Gibraltar’s Lincoln Red Imps at Parkhead.

What to watch out for:

Football

Dundalk and Celtic are both in action in the Champions League qualifiers

Cycling

Stage 17 of the Tour de France (TG4 1.10pm-4.40pm, Eurosport 1 2pm-4.30pm, ITV4 2pm-4.30pm)