A preview of the action in gaelic games this weekend

TOMORROW

LEINSTER SFC FIRST ROUND

Meath v Wicklow, Dr Cullen Park, 3.30pm – IT’S hard to remember a championship start that had Meath people so gloomily certain of being upset since the quarter-final against Carlow 16 years ago – which ended in disaster for the confident underdogs and proved the launching pad of a successful All-Ireland campaign for Seán Boylan’s unfancied team.

Wicklow have credentials after a powerful display in the Division Four league final. They also have a core of good, experienced players from Ciarán Hyland at corner back to

Tony Hannon in the full forward line – both survivors of the previous championship meeting between the counties. And they have in between a player of Leighton Glynn’s quality.

Harry Murphy’s team also have an outstanding centrefielder in James Stafford, whose display against Armagh last year put him into All Star contention.

Then again, Meath’s only All Star in the past 10 years Stephen Bray is out injured, together with a number of other players – Shane O’Rourke, Mark Ward and Paddy Gilsenan – who might well have started. They are vulnerable at centrefield and have a less than iron-clad defence.

So far so encouraging for Wicklow, but Meath’s forwards, allowing for a lack of pace, have been the best part of the side in recent years and having persuaded Joe Sheridan to rethink his emigration, they remain good enough to win this.

Mark Collins makes his senior debut tomorrow and it wouldn’t be like Séamus McEnaney if there weren’t a change or two in the starting line-up.

The bookies have Meath odds-on, but the handicap of plus-three is probably a more reliable guide.

PREVIOUSLY: It’s seven years since the counties last met and only three of tomorrow’s starting XVs lined out in what was a comfortable eight-point win, 2-13 to 1-8, for Meath.

YOU BET: Meath are 2/5, Wicklow 6/4 and 15/2 the draw.

JUST THE TICKET: Stand tickets €20, Terrace €10, €10 (stand) and €5 (terrace) refund for OAPs and students (terrace only), juveniles (16 and under) free on terrace.

CRYSTAL GAZING: Anxious times for Meath as they cope with the pressures of disaffection in the county and a confident, in-form Wicklow. Despite severe injury problems on top of all this, they retain enough quality to fend off a surprise.

MEATH: D Gallagher; M Burke, K Reilly, S McAnarney; D Tobin, B Menton, S Kenny; C Gillespie, B Meade; A Forde, M Collins, G Reilly; B Farrell, J Sheridan, C Ward.

WICKLOW: J Flynn; C Hyland, A McLoughlin, A Byrne; D Healy, M McLoughlin, S Kelly; J Stafford, R Finn; L Glynn, D O’Sullivan, D Hayden; T Hannon, S Furlong, J McGrath.

Referee: P Hughes (Armagh).

ULSTER SFC QUARTER-FINAL

Monaghan v Antrim, Clones, 3.30pm – NOT unlike the above match, this sees favourites who have been relegated to the level of their opponents for next season hit by debilitating injuries to important players in centrefield and attack.

Eoin Lennon and Tommy Freeman join Darren Hughes – the team’s best player – on the indisposed list.

CJ McGourty hasn’t recovered fitness in time for Antrim, but his club-mate Aodhán Gallagher is passed fit to captain the side.

Monaghan have slipped all the way from the top to Division Three in successive seasons, but that still has given them football at a higher level than Antrim have experienced over the same period.

Under Liam Bradley, Antrim have been a far stickier proposition than in the past even if there has been no building on the success of reaching the Ulster final two years ago.

They can play at pace, cover back effectively and have some productive forwards.

Monaghan have enough experience to weather this one, but it’s doubtful whether they can rediscover the edge that took them to within a score of a provincial title and frightened the wits out of Kerry at Croke Park.

PREVIOUSLY: The counties have met very rarely in the Ulster championship and the most recent match was 22 years ago when Monaghan had an easy win when Antrim were halfway through an 18-year barren spell without a championship win.

YOU BET: Monaghan are 1-2, Antrim 6-4 and 15-2 the draw.

JUST THE TICKET: Stand tickets (€25, €15 for OAPs and €5 for under-16s).

Terrace (adults €15, OAP/Student €10 and under-16s free).

CRYSTAL GAZING: Monaghan are understrength but have enough up front to make home advantage count. Just about.

MONAGHAN: M Keogh; D Morgan, V Corey, C Walshe; K O’Connell, D Mone, K Duffy; P Dooney, D Clerkin; M McKenna, S Gollogly, J Turley; C McGuinness, P Finlay (capt), C McManus.

ANTRIM: C Kerr; A Healey, R Johnston, K O’Boyle; T Scullion, J Crozier, J Loughery; M McCann, A Gallagher (capt.); C Murray, M Sweeney, M McAleese; P Cunningham, M Magill, T McCann.

Referee: M Deegan (Laois)

MUNSTER SFC FIRST ROUND

Tipperary v Kerry, Thurles, 2pm, live RTE 2 – EVEN when things were comparatively upbeat in Tipperary they found this fixture too hot to handle.

Now, with John Evans departed, players missing, most damagingly Barry Grogan who has top scored against Kerry in the past two years, and Division Four once again looming it looks more like an ordeal.

Kerry have more routine house- keeping issues. Manager Jack O’Connor has to refit the defence in the absence of Tom O’Sullivan (permanent) and Marc Ó Sé (temporary). He gives Daniel Bohan the number three jersey.

Four years ago the Stacks player performed a useful cameo at full back, looking after a rampant Joe Bergin, who had been sent in at full forward during the terrific All-Ireland quarter-final against Galway played in a monsoon at Croke Park.

Injury has disrupted Bohan’s career since and it will be interesting to see how he gets on against the star of Tipp’s minor All-Ireland triumph of last September. It could however be the only interesting aspect of the afternoon.

PREVIOUSLY: This is the third year the counties have met and the record makes cheerless reading for Tipperary, the county has gone down to 11- and 12-point defeats with, coincidentally, Bryan Sheehan scoring two goals on each occasion.

YOU BET: Kerry are unbackable 1-50 favourites, Tipp 14-1 and 28-1 the draw.

JUST THE TICKET: Stand tickets (€30 and €25). Terrace (adults €10 and children €5). Other packages available on gaa.ie.

CRYSTAL GAZING: Kerry.

TIPPERARY: P Fitzgerald; A Morrissey, P Codd, C McDonald; B Fox, R Costigan, A Campbell; G Hannigan, H Coghlan; L Egan, P Acheson, S Scully; A Maloney, M Quinlavan, P Austin.

KERRY: B Kealy; S Enright, D Bohan, K Young; T Ó Sé, E Brosnan, P Crowley; A Maher, B Sheehan; P Galvin, D O’Sullivan, K O’Leary; C Cooper, D O’Sullivan, P Curtin.

Referee: Marty Duffy (Sligo)

MUNSTER SHC FIRST ROUND

Tipperary v Limerick, Thurles, 4pm, Live RTÉ 2 – LIMERICK defied the odds last year to force Waterford into a late, late winning goal.

The odds tomorrow are more than twice as discouraging and the circumstances not as propitious for an ambush as they were last year when the team had won Division Two of the league to secure, as they thought, top-flight hurling for this season.

They’ve failed to live up to that precedent this year and new manager John Allen has had his hands full trying to play catch-up in the league after losing the first match against Clare, an urgency that impacted on potential team-building as did Na Piarsaigh’s run to the All-Ireland semi-finals.

The team still boasts some fine young forwards in Kevin Downes, Shane Dowling and Graeme Mulcahy with Declan Hannon on the bench but tomorrow’s opponents are a more threatening collective than Waterford last year.

Nonetheless, Tipp aren’t firing on all cylinders either. For the second year running they got off to an inglorious league start against Kilkenny.

Significantly or not there are only three changes to the team that did so badly in Nowlan Park and two of those, Eoin Kelly and James Woodlock put in an appearance that day.

Declan Ryan could point out that the team’s two best forwards from last year, Lar Corbett and Patrick Maher, are on the way back and that’s just as well because the team was still lacking zip last month in the league semi-final defeat by Cork.

For tomorrow Tipperary are going to have to show some progress in key areas. Donagh Maher is the only debutant and he has had a promising league campaign but this is going to be a step up.

Pádraic Maher’s form has been subdued and the team desperately need him back to his elemental best. Another of the Mahers, Brendan, has still to ascend the heights of two years ago since coming back from injury at the end of last summer and the attack has been comparatively toothless in the absence of Corbett and Patrick Maher.

At full tilt Tipp would win this comfortably. It’s not likely that they’ll be at that level but it’s equally unlikely that Limerick will be able to exploit that.

PREVIOUSLY: The two most recent championship meetings differ starkly. It’s five years since the three-match mini-epic, finally won after extra time by Richie Bennis’s Limerick. Two seasons later in the All-Ireland semi-final Tipp in vengeful god mode hit them for six goals – three from Lar Corbett.

YOU BET: Tipp are hot favourites at 1-6, Limerick 9-2 and 12-1 the draw.

JUST THE TICKET: See Tipperary v Kerry above.

CRYSTAL GAZING: It hasn’t been a great season so far for Tipp but they’ve been a strong championship side in recent years and are too strong for Limerick.

TIPPERARY: B Cummins; D Maher, P Curran, M Cahill; T Stapleton, C O’Mahony, Pádraic Maher; J Woodlock, B Maher; G Ryan, N McGrath, P Bourke; E Kelly, B O’Meara, J O’Brien.

LIMERICK: N Quaid; S Walsh, R McCarthy, T Condon; W McNamara, D O’Grady, G O’Mahony; P Browne, J Ryan; D Breen, C Allis, S Dowling; G Mulcahy, K Downes, S Tobin.

Referee: B Kelly (Westmeath)

Seán Moran