The
August issue of The Harp has over the last number of years, looked
forward to the quarter and semi-final stages of the All-Ireland
championships and this year, yet again, is no exception as we head
deeper into the knock-out stages in order to claim either the Liam
McCarthy or the Sam Maguire trophy.
This year’s championships has been a fascinating one, especially
in the Football tournament as a mixture of the old guard and some newer
boys on the block try to stake their claim on ‘Sam’.
The quarter-finals throw up a mixture of interesting ties, with three
teams from Ulster making their march to GAA HQ, Croke Park in Dublin,
which is now seeing Gaelic Games being played in the lush green sward
as opposed to Rugby Union and Football.
Ulster teams Tyrone, Derry and Monaghan have been kept apart in the
draw, with Monaghan drawing the short-straw as they take on defending
Football champions Kerry at Croker on 12th August.
Kerry are looking in great shape at the moment to retain their crown
as the Kingdom easily breezed their way to claim the Munster Championship,
defeating Cork by two points, 1-15 to 1-13.
Monaghan meanwhile, continue to be the surprise package of the football
tournament. After the narrowly missed out on the securing an Ulster
title (they were beaten 1-15 to 1-12 by Tyrone in Clones) they went
into the merry-go-round that is the qualifiers. Luckily for them, they
only had to play the one game, booking their spot in the last eight
with an eight point victory over Ulster rivals, Donegal.
This year’s Connacht champions are Sligo, who claimed the crown
after yet another narrow victory in the championship by defeating the
Tribesmen of Galway by one point. This victory saw the men from the
west head into the quarter-finals where they will do battle against
the mighty Cork for a place in the last four.
Cork have had to come through the ‘back door’ as it is
described after losing the Munster final, they had to take on Laois
in order to claim their last eight berth and they managed this with
a two point victory over the Leinster men, setting up the tie with
Sligo on 4th August.
Both teams will be nicely rested and fresh for the challenge as Cork
have only played once since the 1st July and Sligo have not had a competitive
game since 8th July.
Later that day at Croke Park, Ulster champions Tyrone take on Meath
in another battle royale. Whilst Tyrone have had a reasonably trouble-free
route to the quarter-finals, Meath have been very busy, playing six
games so far in their campaign.
Meath needed to go through the qualifier route to get into the final
eight, playing three games, and defeating Down, Fermanagh and finally
former champions Galway by a whopping 10 points.
Last, but by no means least, is the quarter-final tie between Derry
and Dublin. Yet again, Dublin are Leinster champions and in some quarters
are classed as serious contenders to Kerry and Cork for the Sam Maguire.
The Dubs beat Laois by six points in the Leinster final and are creating
a momentum playing in their ‘home’ ground, meaning that
Derry will have a tough battle ahead of them.
Derry were defeated in the Ulster semi-final, forcing them into the
qualifiers, but victories over Mayo and Laois respectively secured
them their place, leaving them, and all of the teams, two games away
from Croke Park on finals day in late September.
In Hurling, activities are at a more advanced stage as the semi-finals
are on the horizon for four more teams as they try and secure their
place in history as the winners of the Liam McCarthy cup.
First off into the semi-finals are the defending champions from 2006,
the Black Cats of Kilkenny. The newly-crowned Leinster champions swept
aside Wexford in the Leinster by a huge margin of 15 points, and after
that, they took on Galway in the quarter-finals.
Sometimes when a sporting lesson gets delivered, you have to recognise
it, and when Kilkenny turned over Galway in the quarter-finals by 10
points, with a sublime second-half performance, the defending champions
threw down the gauntlet to the rest of the teams still left in the
All Ireland.
Also in the semi-finals are the defeated Leinster finalists, Wexford,
who after losing to Kilkenny, still made it through to the final eight,
with a stunning 3-10 to 1-14 victory over Tipperary at Croke Park.
Limerick booked their place in the semi-finals with a comprehensive
1-23 to 1-16 victory over Clare at Croke Park.
In the fourth quarter-final, Waterford and Cork must meet again after
a pulsating contest ended all square, 3-16 to 3-16, in front of more
than 70,000 in glorious sunshine at Croke Park.
The draw for the two semi-finals has thrown up some interesting ties
with Wexford due to take on Kilkenny again, trying to avenge their
Leinster final defeat of early July, and Waterford could be due to
take on Limerick again in the other semi-final, if they can find their
way past Cork.
One thing is for certain the this stage in the All-Ireland is the most
fascinating time and you can read more on who makes the finals in next
month’s Harp.
|
