GAELIC GAMES NEWS ROUND-UP:THE CENTRAL Competitions Control Committee has decided to schedule back-to-back double headers in the football and hurling championship at Croke Park this weekend.
In fact, five matches will take place at GAA headquarters as the minor hurling All-Ireland quarter-final between Waterford and Galway takes place at noon on Sunday before the senior quarter-finals. Cork against surprise packages Antrim is at 2pm followed by the highly-anticipated meeting of Galway and Tipperary at 4pm.
The Dublin footballers, as expected and despite the low turnouts for their recent victories over Tipperary and Armagh, are back in Croke Park for a fifth time this season, and third successive week, as they attempt to salvage their campaign against Louth.
That means the defeated Leinster finalists must return to the scene of the crime that saw referee Martin Sludden assaulted by supporters after the provincial decider against Meath on July 11th.
Limerick, like Dublin, have also been awarded home advantage against Cork but this is due to an agreement in place between the two counties to toss a coin. Limerick presumably chose correctly so the Cork footballers must travel to the Gaelic Grounds.
The throw-in is 7pm.
Cork report a clean bill of health, with Nicholas Murphy passed fit despite his withdrawal in Sunday’s defeat of Wexford with a cut around the eye area.
Monaghan must plan without captain Vincent Corey and JP Mone, the central cogs in their defence, as they attempt to recovery from Sunday’s Ulster final defeat to Tyrone. It was a performance manager Séamus McEnaney described as the worst during his six-year tenure.
Corey tore ankle ligaments in a training game last week and is out for the season, while Mone was stretchered from the field of play after 45 minutes having sustained a knee injury.
Monaghan face Kieran McGeeney’s Kildare, who revived their campaign with defeat of Derry, in Croke Park on Saturday at 2pm after that confidence-sapping 1-14 to 0-7 loss in Clones.
It is going to be tough to go straight back out, said trainer Martin McElkennon.
“They are hurting there at the minute,” he said. “That should help them. It was surprising considering we have clicked all year. We are better than that. We had a couple of goal chances we didn’t take. We spilled a lot of ball and Tyrone’s half-back line all came up and scored.
“Just overall, a lot of the players didn’t get their best. That was disappointing for them. Tommy Freeman, Conor McManus and Paul Finlay have been scoring freely.”
The other fourth-round tie has Sligo seeking to recover from their shock Connacht final defeat to Roscommon, against Down in Breffni Park at 7pm on Saturday. This is the only match not being televised live, with TV3 covering Dublin against Louth and RTÉ broadcasting the other two football qualifiers and hurling quarter-finals on Sunday.
WEEKEND FIXTURES
SATURDAY
GAA All-Ireland football qualifiers Round Four
Monaghan v Kildare,
Croke Park, 3pm RTE
Louth v Dublin
Croke Park, 5pm TV3
Limerick v Cork
Gaelic Grounds, 7pm, RTE
Sligo v Down,
Breffni Park, 7pm
SUNDAY
All-Ireland hurling quarter-finals
Cork v Antrim
Croke Park, 2pm RTE
Galway v Tipperary,
Croke Park, 4pm RTE
All-Ireland minor hurling quarter-finals
Waterford v Galway,
Croke Park, noon
Antrim v Dublin,
Crossmaglen, noon
