FOLLOWERS of football (most of them anyway) will be taking a breather next weekend as the fixture list becomes a tidying up operation with particular interest for Division Four teams. Four matches' are scheduled for Sunday and these, may have a bearing on the fate of steams like Wicklow, Longford, Offaly and Limerick. The table below, shows the state of play with one series of matches to go.
Since people will have time on their hands, the ifs and buts of the situation can be worked out at leisure. The situation is that Wicklow lead the table with 13 points and will meet hapless Waterford in Aughrim knowing that victory will give them promotion and a place in the quarter finals.
In this kind of a situation one cannot see Wicklow doing Waterford any favours, particularly since defeat would probably involve them in a play off. That would come about if Wicklow were to lose, and Longford were to beat London in Pearse Park, which seems likely.
In the unlikely event that Longford lose to London, the result could open up a "window of opportunity" for Offaly. They are at home in Tullamore to Kilkenny. A win for Offaly, combined with a defeat for Longford, would earn Offaly a play off for promotion against Longford.
In Division Two of the National Hurling League, Parnell Park will reopen its gates to the match between Dublin and Laois. Dublin have little at stake here except their pride, but Laois have a game in hand on the division leaders Wexford and it would suit them perfectly to go into their final round practically certain of promotion band a place in the quarter finals.
As things stand at the moment, Wexford have 10 points from six matches while Limerick and Antrim have eight points each from their six. Laois also have eight, so that a victory over Dublin would set them up nicely for a continuance of interest in the later stages of the competition.
The slack weekend is being used by the Mayo Gaels club as a convenient date for their annual intercounty tournament for the Sean Flanagan Cup, presented before his death by the Mayo captain in the 1950 and 51 All Ireland finals.
The twice postponed Railway Cup football semi final between Ulster and Munster has been refixed for Sunday at Clones, and both, teams hope to be at full strength. Ulster will want to continue their remarkable run of seven consecutive victories. Teams will not be announced until later in the week.
. The Munster Council are to find a new date for the McGrath Cup final between Kerry and Cork, who qualified at the weekend as a result of their wins over Limerick and Clare respectively. Sunday March 24th had been chosen as the date for the final, but with the counties due to meet a week later in the league quarter finals, the Council said last night that they could not expect them to meet one week earlier.
