Qualifier System 2013....

GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Qualifiers Round 1 Draw:

Offaly v Tyrone

Galway v Tipperary

Derry v Sligo

Westmeath v Fermanagh

Carlow v Laois

Armagh v Wicklow

Louth v Antrim

Longford v Limerick

The draw was kind to all the big guns today. It's very difficult to see any of the fancies getting turned over and further punishment for the lesser lights looks on the cards. The Longford/Limerick game will be close though...

Just on the Westmeath/Fermanagh meeting in Mullingar:

One of Fermanagh's most loyal supporters will have to miss this one. Anyone see him yesterday?

Boxtyeater wrote:Just on the Westmeath/Fermanagh meeting in Mullingar:

One of Fermanagh's most loyal supporters will have to miss this one. Anyone see him yesterday?

I understand he was unable to attend as he is organising security,logistics and translation services for the PUTIN entourage at Lough Erne

Bualadh bos leatsa OMAR...

I'm pleased with Tyrone's draw.  Offaly in Tullamore will be tough enough to focus minds, but not strong enough to beat us.

Bad news for Tyrone today in the shape of Niall Morgan's suspected knee injury.  He would be a huge loss.  Also, Carlin is injured again, while PJ Quinn has left the panel.  Our already thin resources at corner back are being further stretched.

quote="Thomas Clarke"]I'm pleased with Tyrone's draw.  Offaly in Tullamore will be tough enough to focus minds, but not strong enough to beat us.

Bad news for Tyrone today in the shape of Niall Morgan's suspected knee injury.  He would be a huge loss.  Also, Carlin is injured again, while PJ Quinn has left the panel.  Our already thin resources at corner back are being further stretched.[/quote]

Derrytresk continue to make news it would seem..[

Carlow v Laois on a Friday night. Clever marketing by the GAA or a major headache for players and punters? If it's on TV then it's a winner for me!

Not holding my breath on an Armagh win, Wicklow looked much better than what Armagh did that is for sure.

GAA-Fan wrote:Not holding my breath on an Armagh win, Wicklow looked much better than what Armagh did that is for sure.

Relax GF, Wicklow won't beat Armagh, especially with the game in the Athletic Grounds. I think Armagh will improve enough to get through this one.

Wins for Longford,Louth,Armagh,Laois,Westmeath,Derry,Galway,Tyrone and i reckon those eight will face Clare,Waterford,Meath,Kildare,Roscommon,London,Cavan,Down in round 2.

Very pleased with Tyrone's win yesterday. I didn't see the game, but we clearly played with a lot of intensity, and kept that going in the 2nd half (Tyrone rarely put teams away). I felt beforehand that a 10pt win would be the acceptable minimum, so I can only be happy with 22.

It should be noted that this was a side picked to hammer a minnow. Young, fast and light, we had far too much skill and speed for Offaly, as the likes of McBride/McKenna/McCurry/McGinley represented faster (but smaller) options than the McMahons/O'Neill/Quinn. Whether or not they would have the same success against a bigger, better side remains to be seen, and I wouldn't rule out further evolution as the qualifiers go on.

Still, a good win, and a good lift to the camp. Also very pleased to see McCurry, Ronan O'Neill, McAliskey and even Coney all contributing on the scoreboard. As I've said all year, we need these lads to start staking a claim.

SFC Qualifier Round 2 draw

Clare v Laois
Derry v Down
Longford v Wexford
Leitrim v Armagh
Cavan v Fermanagh
Roscommon v Tyrone
Kildare v Louth
Galway v Waterford

Some interesting matches, including big rematches for Derry/Down and Cavan/Fermanagh.  Kildare & Wexford face tough tasks to get back on track, while Armagh, Laois and Galway have been lucky for the 2nd straight week.  Tyrone face Roscommon for the 3rd year running.

A Lot to play for here
as the four sides that emerge from the next two rounds will fancy their chances of making the quarter finals once they avoid the losers of the Munster final in round 4

OMAR wrote:A Lot to play for here
as the four sides that emerge from the next two rounds will fancy their chances of making the quarter finals once they avoid the losers of the Munster final in round 4

Omar clearly quaking in his boots at the thought of an upset in the Ulster final.

Thomas Clarke wrote:

OMAR wrote:A Lot to play for here
as the four sides that emerge from the next two rounds will fancy their chances of making the quarter finals once they avoid the losers of the Munster final in round 4

Omar clearly quaking in his boots at the thought of an upset in the Ulster final.

well if McGuinness is going to spend his Sundays watching Jim Gavins play book who he can't meet for another 4 games (Qualifiers aside) then I have to assume that there is confidence in the camp.

Great win for Derry today, have to admit i feared the worst when the draw was made and was pleasantly surprised to hear the result went in our favour. Hopefully get a favourable draw and get a good run to put a bit of cheer back into the Derry GAA circles!

Massive win for Doire. Delighted for McIvor, a true gent. Was half listening to it on the radio so don't know the in's and out's. One point in the 2nd half tells a story for Dien (sic) though.

Tyrone put to the pin of their collar by the Sheepstealers, Dien beaten well, what does that say about ourselves?

bald eagle wrote:Great win for Derry today, have to admit i feared the worst when the draw was made and was pleasantly surprised to hear the result went in our favour. Hopefully get a favourable draw and get a good run to put a bit of cheer back into the Derry GAA circles!

Great win indeed. I fancied Down to repeat their victory from the first day. Fair play to McIvor - a good guy, and a fine manager. He has Derry going well and, given the right draw, they could have a couple more outings this summer.

As for Down, they looked mentally and physically shattered at the end of the Donegal game, and I now have to suspect that they emptied their tanks there. Having been relegated in the league, and out of the championship in the first week in July, I'd say McCartan will now feel that he has taken this side as far as he can.

Thomas Clarke wrote:

bald eagle wrote:Great win for Derry today, have to admit i feared the worst when the draw was made and was pleasantly surprised to hear the result went in our favour. Hopefully get a favourable draw and get a good run to put a bit of cheer back into the Derry GAA circles!

Great win indeed.  I fancied Down to repeat their victory from the first day.  Fair play to McIvor - a good guy, and a fine manager.  He has Derry going well and, given the right draw, they could have a couple more outings this summer.

As for Down, they looked mentally and physically shattered at the end of the Donegal game, and I now have to suspect that they emptied their tanks there.  Having been relegated in the league, and out of the championship in the first week in July, I'd say McCartan will now feel that he has taken this side as far as he can.

Lads, I wouldn't be righting McCartan off yet. He's a great manager, the best we've had since Pete McGrath by a mile. Let's not forget where Down were a few years ago in the pre-McCartan days; losing to Leitrim in Division 3 of the league and exiting the championship to the likes of Longford, Wicklow and Sligo, having scored 4 points in 70 minutes.

McCartan has had to deal with, at one stage or another, the losses of Damien Rafferty, Conor Garvey, Darren O'Hagan, James Colgan, Liam Doyle, Jamie O'Reilly, Paul Murphy, Peter Fitzpatrick, Marty Clarke, Caolon Mooney, Conor Maginn, Paul McComiskey, Arthur McConville, John Clarke, Ronan Murtagh.  Plus the absences of Ambrose Rodgers, Dan Gordon, Aidan Carr and Danny Hughes. Now, some of those names might not mean a lot to non-Down men but let me tell you that is a serious talent drain, but he's kept us competitive.

Division 2 will be a good place for us to blood some youngsters like Gough, McParland, the Johnston brothers, Madine and others. Hopefully we will be back stronger next season. An Dún abú!

Early_Ball_In wrote:
Lads, I wouldn't be righting McCartan off yet. He's a great manager, the best we've had since Pete McGrath by a mile. Let's not forget where Down were a few years ago in the pre-McCartan days; losing to Leitrim in Division 3 of the league and exiting the championship to the likes of Longford, Wicklow and Sligo, having scored 4 points in 70 minutes.

McCartan has had to deal with, at one stage or another, the losses of Damien Rafferty, Conor Garvey, Darren O'Hagan, James Colgan, Liam Doyle, Jamie O'Reilly, Paul Murphy, Peter Fitzpatrick, Marty Clarke, Caolon Mooney, Conor Maginn, Paul McComiskey, Arthur McConville, John Clarke, Ronan Murtagh.  Plus the absences of Ambrose Rodgers, Dan Gordon, Aidan Carr and Danny Hughes. Now, some of those names might not mean a lot to non-Down men but let me tell you that is a serious talent drain, but he's kept us competitive.

Division 2 will be a good place for us to blood some youngsters like Gough, McParland, the Johnston brothers, Madine and others. Hopefully we will be back stronger next season. An Dún abú!

I agree that McCartan has done a good job with Down.  I think that he had them punching above their weight, almost winning an AI and gaining promotion to and staying in division 1.

However, Down's last 9 championship games, have seen them record 4 wins (Fermanagh, Monaghan, Tipp & Derry) by a total of 16 points. In the same period, they have lost 5 games (Donegal x2, Derry, Cork & Mayo) by a massive total of 42 points.  

It has been a very disappointing couple of years for Down, and this year alone has brought relegation from division 1, and a championship exit in the first week of July.

McCartan nearly quit last year, and I doubt very much we'll see him back in 2014.  Overall, I feel that he did a good job, but it's probably time for a change.

I think McCartan has done a decent job however after relegation and early championship exit he may step down. Niall Moyna whos on the backroom team will be looking to take over.

Cue Armagh supporters whipping themselves into a frenzy and talking about booking Dublin hotels in September! They currently lead 6-09 to 0-05.

Armagh's defence is still going to be torn to shreds once we go up against decent opposition. I will take these wins for now and worry about that later on.

Just looking at the 8 sides going into Round 3. It's a strongish looking bunch of teams. Wouldn't fancy Meath against too many of them after a heavy defeat to Dublin.

Tyrone
Kildare
Cavan
Wexford
Armagh
Derry
Galway
Laois

It's unlikely all 4 Ulster sides will be kept apart. Though if they were, it'd mean all games were inter provincial.

The four strongest for me would be Tyrone, Kildare, Cavan and Derry. Although Armagh have recorded very big wins against weak opposition which is bound to generate momentum.

3 of the 4 winners will fancy their chances of a quarter-final. The one who gets Cork is unlucky.