GAA Preview: Ulster semi-finals take centre stage in football
The Ulster semi-finals are down for decision this weekend as Armagh and Tyrone renew their rivalry at Clones.
All-Ireland champions Armagh got their championship campaign underway against Antrim, while Tyrone were made to work for victory over Cavan in the quarter-finals.
Advertisement
The winners will face either Donegal or Down, who meet in Clones on Sunday.
Donegal were able to hold on for victory against Monaghan last Sunday, while Down had to come from behind to overcome Fermanagh last weekend.
In Leinster, there is plenty to play for in the semi-finals, as Dublin face rivals Meath, while Louth take on Kildare.
Dublin have dominated Leinster since 2011, with Meath the last team to stop them in the 2010 semi-finals. Meath would love nothing more than to cause a huge shock to Dublin, who were unconvincing in their win over Wicklow.
Advertisement
In the other semi-final, Louth and Kildare and playing for not only a place in the Leinster final, but a place in the All-Ireland.
After a poor league campaign, Louth finished in sixth, while Kildare were promoted from Division Three.
Should Louth reach a third straight Leinster final, they will be in the All-Ireland once again.
In hurling, every team is still searching for their first win after two draws last weekend.
Advertisement
After rescuing a draw in the last second against Clare, Cork take on Waterford, while Clare face Tipperary, who held Limerick to a draw.
In Leinster, Galway will aim to recover from a disappointing defeat to Kilkenny when they face Offaly, while Dublin take on Wexford, with both teams hoping to build on impressive opening wins.
Here is where you can see this weekend's action:
Saturday April 26th
Ulster Senior Football Championship semi-final
Armagh v Tyrone, Clones, GAA+, 4.45 pm.
Advertisement
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Round Two
Offaly V Galway, Glenisk O'Connor Park, 6.30 pm.
Dublin V Wexford, Parnell Park, GAA+, 4.30 pm.
Joe McDonagh Cup
Kildare v Westmeath, Cedral St Conleth's Park, 4.30 pm.
Down v Laois, Ballycran, 1.30 pm.
Munster Ladies Senior Football Championship
Cork v Kerry; Cloughduv GAA, 2 pm.
Sunday April 27th
Munster Senior Hurling Championship round 2
Cork v Tipperary, Supervalu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, RTÉ, 4pm.
Waterford v Clare, Walsh Park Waterford, RTÉ, 2pm.
Leinster Senior Football Championsip semi-finals
Meath v Dublin, Portlaoise, GAA +, 4pm.
Louth v Kildare, Tullamore, GAA+, 2pm.
Ulster Senior Football Championship semi-final
Down v Donegal, Clones, BBC, 3pm.
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Round 2
Antrim v Kilkenny, Corrigan Park, 2.00pm.
Connacht Ladies Senior Football Championship
Mayo v Leitrim; Swinford Amenity Park, 1pm.
Leinster Ladies Senior Football Championship
Kildare v Dublin; Cedral St Conleth's Park, 2pm.
Munster Ladies Senior Football Championship
Tipperary v Waterford; Fethard Town Park, 2pm.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
All-Ireland SFC: Who needs what in final group games?
Right, here we go then: for the last time - at least for the foreseeable future - the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship has arrived at the all-important final round of group next year, the competition will have another new guise, with the round-robin phase scrapped in favour of a new format. More on that here. But this weekend, four teams will have their dreams of lifting the Sam Maguire Cup shattered for another year at least as 16 is whittled down to put, there are eight matches this weekend: four on Saturday and four on Sunday. As it stands, holders Armagh are the only team guaranteed a spot in the All-Ireland quarter-finals. As for the rest, a wide assortment of possibilities await. Let's get into it. A quick reminder: the team that finishes first in their group moves straight through to the quarter-finals. Second and third earns teams a preliminary quarter-final spot (those finishing second will have home advantage), while fourth is knocked out of the championship. Group One Tyrone v Cavan, Brewster Park, Sunday, 16:00 BSTDonegal v Mayo, Dr Hyde Park, Sunday, 16:00 BSTPermutations everywhere you look here. After two games, Donegal, Mayo, Tyrone and Cavan all sit on two points heading into the final round-robin weekend, the first time this has happened since this format was introduced. Ulster champions Donegal comfortably hold the most superior scoring difference (+16), thanks to their 19-point victory over Cavan in round two. However, the first tie-breaker is head-to-head, and given that Tyrone beat Donegal in the first round, the Red Hands will top the group if they beat Cavan and Donegal overcome Mayo, a sequence which would eliminate the Connacht county. Tyrone will also finish top if they win and Donegal and Mayo play out a draw, which would knock Cavan out. Courtesy of their win over Tyrone last time out, Mayo will top the group if they beat Donegal and Tyrone defeat Cavan. This would eliminate Cavan. Donegal will top the group if they beat Mayo and Cavan get the better of Tyrone, thus sending the Red Hands out. Jim McGuinness' Donegal will also secure first place if they win and the Tyrone-Cavan game ends in a draw, eliminating Mayo. Both games ending in a draw is a highly unlikely occurrence, but if that does happen, Donegal will top the group on scoring difference while Cavan will finish will finish top if they beat Donegal and Tyrone beat Cavan. They will also finish top with victory over Donegal and a draw in the Tyrone-Cavan game. Cavan can still finish top despite entering the weekend bottom. To do that, they will need to beat Tyrone and hope that Mayo see off Donegal, which would eliminate Donegal. If Cavan win and Donegal-Mayo ends in a draw, Cavan will finish at the summit and Tyrone will head for the exit door. Jeopardy. That's what everyone wants and this group is full of it. It could go right down to the final kick. Group Two Kerry v Meath, Tullamore, Saturday, 16:15 BSTRoscommon v Cork, Portlaoise, Saturday, 16:15 BSTMercifully, this group's web won't take quite as long to untangle. Kerry enter the weekend top after wins over Roscommon and Cork. Having already accrued four points, a win or draw against Meath will guarantee top spot for the Kingdom and a spot in the quarter-finals. If Kerry and Roscommon win, Kerry will finish top and Cork will be eliminated. If Kerry and Cork win, Roscommon will be are the only other team that can finish top, but they will obviously need to beat Kerry for that to happen. The best Cork can do is finish third, but they'll need to beat Roscommon. If it ends in a draw, the Rossies will secure third. Group Three Monaghan v Down, Athletic Grounds, Sunday, 14:00 BSTLouth v Clare, Portlaoise, Sunday, 14:00 BSTIn stark contrast to Group One, this group's package of permutations is much slimmer. The winner of the all-Ulster encounter between Monaghan and Down in Armagh will secure top spot. Down have a slightly superior scoring difference so they will clinch top spot with a draw, which would signify remarkable progress for the Mournemen given they had not played an All-Ireland game since 2019 before this year. Neither team can finish worse than second. The losers of the Louth-Clare game will exit the championship. A draw will see Louth scrape through in third courtesy of their superior scoring difference. Group Four Dublin v Derry, Pairc Esler, Saturday, 18:30 BSTGalway v Armagh, Breffni Park, Saturday, 18:30 BST Even though Armagh have already locked up top spot, Group Four is sure to deliver some Saturday-night drama. Below the Orchardmen, there could be much to-ing and fro-ing. Armagh face familiar foes Galway in a rerun of last year's All-Ireland final. After earning a crucial point in last-gasp fashion in their thriller against Derry a fortnight ago, the Tribesmen can still finish second and earn a home preliminary quarter-final. To do that, they must beat Armagh and hope Derry beat Dublin in Newry. In that scenario, scoring difference would decide second place (Galway are on -1, with Derry on -4). Dublin will finish second with victory or a draw over Derry, regardless of what happens in the Galway-Armagh game. If Dublin-Derry ends in a draw and Galway win, Derry will be eliminated. If Dublin-Derry ends in a draw and Armagh win, Galway will exit the championship, meaning Derry will move into the next stage without having won a game. Dublin will also finish second if they win and Galway-Armagh ends in a draw, eliminating Derry. Derry are guaranteed survival with a win as they will edge out Dublin on the head-to-head rule. If Derry and Galway both win, second place will be decided by scoring difference with Dublin knocked out. If Derry and Armagh win, Derry will finish second and Galway will be will also finish second if they beat Dublin and Galway-Armagh ends in a that's that. Come Sunday evening, the road ahead will show nothing but straight knockout for the final 12 teams. Before that, expect endless twists and turns as we bid farewell to the All-Ireland group stage. Knockout schedule The preliminary quarter-finals will be played on the weekend of 21/22 quarter-finals will be played on 28/29 semi-finals will be staged on 12/13 July with the final at Croke Park on 27 July.
BBC News
11 hours ago
- BBC News
Rugby Union Weekly Inside the Lions camp
We go behind the scenes at the Lions training camp in Portugal to see how preparations have begun for the clash with Argentina in Dublin and the tour down under. Chris chats to Ellis Genge who's already striking up an unexpected 'bromance' with one of the Irish players he's usually slating on the pitch. Genge talks openly about trying to get out of his comfort zone in camp and how he's approaching his first Lions tour aged 30. Forwards coach John Dalziel stops by to talk Argentina and what has impressed him most since the players came into camp. Plus, Jac Morgan tells us how it feels to be flying the flag for Welsh rugby on tour, his memories of the Australia tour in 2013 and he discusses the fierce competition in the back row.
BBC News
12 hours ago
- BBC News
Glentoran's time will come with fine tuning
Glentoran owner Ali Pour says the club just needs a bit of "fine tuning" and he will "give it as long as it takes" for the club to achieve took over at the Irish Premiership side six years ago and the club have only won an Irish Cup and County Antrim Shield in that season, Declan Devine guided the club to the County Antrim Shield and a third place finish in the league, when a top-two finish would have secured European they missed out on Europe by losing the play-off semi-final, and were defeated in the BetMcLean Cup final and quarter-finals of the Irish admits it was a "disappointing season" but says the club are "getting there"."We've had a few hiccups along the way, but we are very close. "Had we scored an extra goal and finished second, this would be a very different conversation. Fine margins have resulted in where we are today."The gap isn't huge. I expected better results in the last six years, in terms of silverware. We should have won more trophies, no one can dispute that. "But it's never a huge gap. It's always fine margins. Many of the games we lost or drew last season were so finely poised. We were one goal away from finishing second. "The level is up there, the squad performance, Declan's performance - it's all where it should be. I think we just need a bit of fine tuning."Glentoran haven't won the league since the 2008-09 season, but Pour says he believes the Gibson Cup will return to the Oval sooner rather than later. "Our time will come eventually, whether it's under my control or others. "We are serious contenders. There's no reason why it can't happen - the budget's there, we're still signing top players, Declan is more than qualified and capable of bringing the Gibson Cup here."If I didn't think we were capable, I probably wouldn't invest as much. What would be the point? We are capable of doing it and I'm sure one day we will, Who knows, it could be this season." 'Strong bid' for stadium redevelopment Something that the London-based owner believes could add to Glentoran's all round success and improve things on and off the pitch, is a new League clubs are awaiting news on how much money they will receive from the long-awaited Northern Ireland Football Fund. In Pour's eyes his club have submitted the best application and have requested a large portion of the available £36 million."When you look at the Oval, the stadium is falling apart here and I've seen other stadiums that need money. We have waited long enough. "The government has made a decision that they are going to put an amount of money into football. £36 million is not enough by any means for the whole league, so hopefully there will be more to come."Pour says the club have "ticked all the boxes" with a strong bid, and says it is a "big chunk" of the fund."We put a very, very strong bid in and I am very proud of what we have done. We have asked for a lot, we've asked for a big chunk. "Look, we can build a stadium for £20 million, we can build one for £100 million. It just depends how advanced you want it to be."Our need is clear, we sell out many big games because there is space available, but it's jut not safe. "In terms of impact, our social partnership has done wonders in this area and we understand the need to be sustainable. So, we're very optimistic." 'We're missing a talisman' After finishing third this season, the east Belfast side lost their European play-off semi-final to Cliftonville, something Pour admitted falls well short of the club's standards."European football is very important financially and from an emotional perspective. I was disappointed at the end of the season as our squad was more than capable of progressing through Europe. "We put a very strong team together, so we could have done really well had we qualified for Europe. It was hard to see us not get in there and obviously we could have made a lot of money in Europe in the next few months.""Emotionally, the fans and myself, we deserve to be in Europe. We're a full time club, we're very well financed, we've spent a lot of money over the past few years. It should be a given. "Even statistically speaking, there are four places available. We're a top two/top three team, we should be in Europe every year. Now this is the second year we haven't qualified, it's disappointing." Looking ahead to next season and summer transfers, Pour said manager Declan Devine has identified the positions they need to have already signed Scottish midfielder Liam Burt from Shamrock Rovers and Pour stressed there would be further additions."We may bring in two or three more players to strengthen our squad for next season. We're missing a talisman, we're still lacking a real goalscorer, someone who pulls it all together. So, I think we need one more upfront and one in a more defensive position."The club's women's team have achieved great success in recent seasons, wining three of the last five NIFL Premiership titles, achieving European football and most recently topping their group in the All-Island Cup to progress to the quarter-finals where they will host Dublin side Bohemians."The women's team are the thing that cheers me up," said Pour. "When the men's team isn't doing to well, they give me energy. The manager, Kim [Turner], is doing a great job."They've had a great start to the season and are doing so well in the All-Island Cup. I will support them all the way."
