Paul Flynn previews Derry-Galway & Dublin-Armagh
Derry v Galway: A must-win showdown
Galway's championship this year is certainly turning into a bit of a rollercoaster. Their provincial triumph over Mayo feels like a distant memory now after that lacklustre performance against Dublin.
And while Dublin were decent that day, Galway's key players were effectively shut down - a scenario they cannot afford to repeat if they hope to leave Derry with a win.
Paul Conroy has to be the heartbeat of the Galway attack and if Derry man-mark him, they rest of the guys have to step up and help free him up to get him on the ball. They need Shane Walsh to perform, to find his rhythm after his injury. A big performance from him is really, really required. Up front, Rob Finnerty and Matthew Thompson have been good and now they need to rest of the attack to support them.
Their midfield, typically their strength, faltered against Dublin and faces another stern test against Derry's formidable quartet of Conor Glass, Anton Tohill, Dan Higgins and Brendan Rogers - whichever formation of them start. The outcome of that midfield battle will be decisive. Derry's attack, we know they have talismanic forwards, and Paul Cassidy and Shane McGuigan played well the last day, scoring ten between them against Armagh.
" />
Like Galway, Derry will need more of a collective effort in attack to prevail. These team played out a draw in the league in February and that feels like a long time ago now. It's going to be another tight contest, one that is really hard to call. But for me, it's so hard to see last year's All-Ireland finalists bowing out of the championship now and I expect Galway to find a way to grind out a victory here.
Dublin v Armagh: Expect a Croker classic
Armagh and Dublin meet in the championship for the first time since 2010. I played in that game, and let me tell you, it wasn't pretty. Dublin scraped an ugly win, and they'd gladly take the same result this weekend.
Dublin have been formidable in Croke Park this season, at times looking like a different team compared to the other performances, but this is their toughest test yet, with Con O'Callaghan now absent from the squad. As always with the way team announcements are made now, we likely won't know the full picture of who's playing where until throw-in.
Armagh have been excellent in recent weeks, showing real quality even in their loss against Donegal. Against Derry, they dominated the game for 55 minutes before a little bit of a lapse in concentration flattered the scoreboard a bit.
They have got depth, they have got talent, and now have the magic of Rian O'Neill back who thrives in Croke Park. O'Neill isn't alone; Oisin Conaty has been in super form, Conor Turbitt was excellent off the bench the last day and Rory Grugan is still the main link in attack. That said, Armagh will need to perform for 70 minutes this weekend.
Any lapse and Dublin's high energy and high-press style will really punish them. Ciarán Kilkenny's form will be crucial in the attack to try and penetrate that Armagh zonal defence. But for me, I really want to see Lorcan O'Dell, Killian McGuinness and Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne build on their strong performances against Galway. If Dublin bring their high intensity power-plays and have their key players firing, they can win. But without the energy - and without O'Callaghan - this might be a stretch too far for them.
This game has all the makings of a classic.
Watch Dublin v Armagh in the All-Ireland Football Championship on Sunday from 3.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Highlights on The Sunday Game at 9.30pm
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Rory Grugan felt like Armagh had 'something special' and wanted to go again
Rory Grugan was 33 when he helped Armagh land the All-Ireland title - but walking away never entered his head. It was a long and painful climb to the top with plenty of heartache along the way, including back to back Ulster Final penalty shoot out defeats and All-Ireland exits (2022/23). But the idea of 'One and Done' wasn't something the Ballymacnab playmaker entertained for a second. 10 months on from that famous All-Ireland Final win over Galway, Armagh are back in the last eight again and looking formidable. Their five point victory over Dublin at Croke Park at the weekend meant Kieran McGeeney's men not only topped the table for the third successive year, but they also made another piece of history. Armagh became the only side across the three years of the round robin series to qualify for an All-Ireland quarter-final with a game to spare. 'I think when you reach that pinnacle there might be a perception on the outside like, oh you'd walk away or whatever,' says Grugan, who hit eight points against Dublin. 'I was 33 at the time. It was honestly the opposite - where you wanted to go again. 'You felt like you had something special and that was Geezer's thing straight away. It's just the way he is. It's about driving it again and seeing where it can take us. 'No team in Armagh has certainly done it (back to back All-Ireland titles). It's obviously a very long way away to be talking about that type of thing. 'I suppose it's something that drives you, and we are at a stage where we are at an All-Ireland quarter-final and we'll just see where it takes us from there.' Grugan says Armagh can use all the experience they had from the good days and the bad ones. 'I think we are in a position where we probably were frustrated,' he says. 'You were in danger of being given a tag of not getting over the line in a close game, or nearly men, or whatever you want to call it. 'Then when you get there and you win that thing, there's definitely a sense of it taking a certain element of pressure off and it liberating you a bit. 'You know that you have that reliance on your experience to get over the line and to win that. 'That when it comes to it, you think that you've been here before. That doesn't mean that it's easy. 'If anything it's actually harder because you have teams that are coming for you now, but I suppose that experience stands to you. You'd like to think that it helps as the year goes on.' Grugan had an easy sell for his team mates in the huddle at Croke Park last Sunday as Armagh geared up for a first Championship encounter with Dublin since 2010. 'You are talking about being one of the older players,' he continued. 'I think when you know you are closer to the end in your career, you relish these things. 'I said after the game last week (win over Derry) I've never played against Dublin in a Championship game in Croke Park. 'I know it wasn't a sellout but I suppose playing into the Hill, the sun shining in Croke Park. I said it to the boys in the huddle before the game. 'This is why you play football. If you can't enjoy that, there's something wrong with you. It's obviously easier when you win. Those are the days you relish, so we'll be looking forward to being back here.' Grugan is playing as well as he ever has, conducting the Armagh attack and weighing in with scores and big defensive plays. 'I think you always have to try and improve,' he says. 'The minute you feel like you are the finished product you are in the wrong game. 'Even the new rules have rejuvenated it for me. You are looking for new things all the time. How you can get better and whether that's defensively or with your shooting and different things. 'There is so much of my game I would like to be better at. You'll come away after the thing (Dublin game) and it's all great, but there's so much I know from both the team perspective and even my own that you could do better. 'That's what high performance is. You are always striving for perfection. You will never get there.' The 34 year old French teacher says Armagh won't be treating the Galway game lightly, even though it's a dead rubber for them. 'I don't think at this level taking a step back or having some sort of mindset of not wanting to win a game is a good thing,' he continued. 'Momentum is a big thing. You have two weeks to Galway and two weeks after that to an All-Ireland quarter-final. 'So I think we are going to be really going after it. We just have to take it as a normal game. I know it's not do or die in the sense of we have already topped the group. 'There is talk about the boys that want their spot. Everyone is going to be pushing on, so I think everyone has enough pride in the thing to be saying they want to go on and win that game. 'It means you are going into a quarter-final with momentum rather than coming off a loss.'
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Rachel Blackmore's retirement
Sir, – Would I be alone in losing interest in Irish horse racing after the recent retirement of Rachael Blackmore? I would eagerly scan the runners and riders to see if 'herself' was on board and then making a mental note to see how she did in the results section the following day. As an retiree with no background in horseracing I avidly read the sports pages but they are a little less interesting now that she has gone. I suspect there are a few like me. – Yours, etc, IAIN KENNEDY, READ MORE Co Fermanagh.
Irish Daily Mirror
6 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Joe Brolly on the hilarious welcome he received at a Mayo pub
Joe Brolly has given a glimpse into the hilarious welcome he received at a Mayo pub over the weekend. The Derryman has moved to the West of Ireland, where he lives in the Knockmore area with his wife and radio host Laurita Blewitt. Brolly is on the coaching team for Knockmore GAA and has seemingly left a big impression on the local community. The former RTE pundit went to O'Tooles pub in Tourmakeady to watch his beloved Derry take on Galway on Sunday. And Brolly was greeted by a hilarious series of signs that stated his claim to many objects in the pub. Brolly was recently bemoaning the Mayo footballers for ruining a multiple bet he had put on with a friend across a number of GAA matches over the course of a weekend. The All-Ireland winner explained on his Free State Podcast: "I'm the GAA guy. He's the horses guy, I don't know anything about horses. But I'm the GAA guy. "We're really careful with it. Built up a lovely kitty. It's a lovely kitty. So we're sitting with it. "I said, look, I am telling you every fibre of my being is screaming to me that Limerick hurlers are going to beat Cork. "I said 'I know this in the way that a man knows when he's in love that Limerick are going to beat the Cork hurlers'. "They're stinging from last year. This is one of the greatest dynasties that's ever been, never mind in hurling or f***ing Gaelic football or anything else. A truly exceptional, frightening, demolition job of a team that can play it whatever way you want to. And I said, they're going to beat Cork. Great odds. "And I said, why don't we pad it out? We'll fire in a few more certs. He said, 'we'll build it up'. "We brought the whole package up to 11/1 with Down footballers to beat Clare and that was a good one "Down footballers to beat Clare, which we had surprisingly good odds on, I think because it was in Clare. "Tipp to beat Waterford in the hurling. Tipp always beat Waterford in the hurling. "And then the fourth vote. I said, like, come on 'there's absolutely no way that Cavan can beat Mayo in MacHale Park in Mayo'. I said it to him and he said, 'even I know that and I don't know anything about football, but you're right'. "Tick the box. Off he went, he's the wee online thing with the bookies. 11/1 for the package. "And there they came rolling in. There they came rolling in. Down slaughtered Clare, Tipp beat Waterford. He said, 'fair play to you Brolly'. He said, 'Limerick are already sort of 1-3 to no score up against Cork'. "And then the word runs through from McHale Park. Cavan are stuffing Mayo. "Martin Carney, the great Martin Carney, the inimitable Martin Carney, one of the great people of the GAA apparently, he was raging after the match because the Mayo super fans are all out in the pitch getting the autographs of the players after being beat by Cavan. Like, f*** me. "He says, 'those people out there, I wouldn't be surprised to see them climbing the Himalayas naked waving a Mayo flag'. "Oh, bloody Mayo. We put two-thirds of the kitty on. Substantial kitty. This was a good kitty. A very, very good kitty. "The only risky one was Limerick and Cork. People would say I mean, come on, Limerick. I was so certain. That was the foundation of the bet. "That was the foundation. I didn't even tune in to Midwest Radio for the Mayo game, so certain was I. "To be fair, I love the Cavan boys. And I've always had a great grá for the Cavan clubs and the Cavan people. I was truly delighted for them."
