Qualifiers draw Round Two: A tough day for Dublin football was compounded by last evening's qualifying draw that saw Tommy Lyons'S defeated Leinster champions draw Mickey Moran's Derry team. It is the marquee game in a series that has thrown up a number of local derbies.
The draw for home advantage in this match will take place when the Games Administration Committee meets today. A visit to Celtic Park is about the most forbidding assignment a team could draw from those on offer.
It means Lyons and Moran get to pit their wits against one another for the second consecutive summer. The Derry man was in charge of the Donegal team dismissed from the championship by Dublin after a replay last year.
All-Ireland champions Armagh enjoyed a more fortuitous draw. Banished from the Ulster championship by Monaghan, they nonetheless return to the familiar pastures of Casement Park to face Antrim, who disappointed against Tyrone yesterday. For the second successive qualifying round, Joe Kernan's team will be heavily favoured to advance with little trouble to the next stage.
The tie between Monaghan and Meath is perhaps the most intriguing. Monaghan's designated weaker status means Seán Boylan must visit Clones to face his old player Colm Coyle, under whom the Ulster county have made tremendous progress.
Monaghan will be encouraged by a solid victory over Westmeath this weekend, while Meath face the prospect of a short turnaround after their narrow loss against Kildare on Saturday.
Another potentially attractive game features neighbours Sligo and Donegal, who have no championship history. The venue for this derby will also be decided by draw but their close proximity promises a big crowd. The form of both teams remains uncertain and, like a number of other qualifier matches, this will be tough to call.
Offaly's visit to Clare is something neither county will particularly relish, while Cavan against the losers of the Fermanagh/Down game has the ring of the familiar about it. That match, incidentally, is the only qualifier that will not take place next weekend.
Carlow and Tipperary are both designated weaker counties and as such will also have to draw for the right to stay at home. Both sides, however, should be pleased with having avoided the giants lurking around a particularly tight qualifying section.
Tom Carr will not be displeased with the draw. After a tough and nerve-racking win against Cork, his Roscommon team face a potentially easier passage against Leitrim.
However, Leitrim will have home advantage and will hope to build on the promise they showed against Galway.
The games promise another hectic weekend of GAA activity, with the knockout dimension of the competition returning in earnest. No matter what happens, several reputations are going to take a bruising over the next seven days.
Football qualifiers
Leitrim v Roscommon
Antrim v Armagh
Clare v Offaly
Derry v Dublin
Monaghan v Meath
Carlow v Tipperary
Cavan v Fermanagh/Down
Donegal v Sligo
