Weekend previews

A look at this weekend's matches.

A look at this weekend's matches.

Today

Leinster SHC Semi-final

Westmeath v Kilkenny, Cusack Park, 7pm - Séamus Qualter set this as the team's target for the season - bringing Kilkenny to Mullingar. Now comes the tricky part. In this sort of weather, even on a small hurling pitch, the home side will have a whale of a job keeping this within 20 points.

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Westmeath have a good free-taker in Andrew Mitchell and showed huge heart and application in keeping five of Dublin's forwards scoreless - albeit in the rain at Portlaoise. Brian Cody's son Donnacha makes his debut in the championship due to the hamstring strain picked up Noel Hickey.

WESTMEATH: M Briody; C Jordan, C Murtagh, P Greville; J Shaw, D McCormack, N Gavin; B Connaughton, E Loughlin; G Gavin, B Murtagh, A Mitchell; B Kennedy, D McNicholas, J Clarke.

KILKENNY: J McGarry; M Kavanagh, JJ Delaney, D Cody; J Tyrell, J Tennyson, T Walsh; D Lyng, R Mulally; W O Dwyer, M Comerford, E Larkin; E McCormack, H Shefflin, J Fitzpatrick.

Christy Ring Cup

Division A: Down v Antrim, Ballycran, 3.30pm - After the farce of the non- event Ulster final, Antrim will be happy to get on to the field and should win.

Division B: Kildare v Wicklow, Newbridge, 3.30pm - Great result for Kildare down in Kerry. The trend should continue. Carlow v Mayo, Dr Cullen Park, 3.30pm - Dual star Keith Higgins has come home in time for this and Mayo can put that to good effect.

Tomorrow

Leinster SHC Semi-final

Offaly v Wexford, Nowlan Park, 3.30pm - For the first time in a while, the momentum is with Offaly in this. Their young team had a creditable league and came through a nightmarish outing in the swamps of Portlaoise with a competent win, albeit against a Laois side that was more disrupted by the weather than they were.

This is a critical barometer for John McIntyre's team in that it's a big opportunity for empirical improvement, a win over a county they haven't beaten for six years and a low-pressure place in the Leinster final against Kilkenny.

This contrasts with Wexford's typically dreary spring, combining poor results with the usual, sporadic unrest. Manager Séamus Murphy has already indicated he won't be extending his two-year tenure so the mood isn't exactly settled. But that's what must bother McIntyre.

As some sort of antidote, Offaly got trimmed by Cork in a challenge on their return from warm-weather training, which has helped restore some realism. Wexford conversely have picked it up in a couple of challenges, giving Waterford a seeing-to and losing narrowly to Galway. They also have the advantage of a recent championship pedigree that generally starts well.

On a sunny day there's potential for this to be a cracker given the ability of the players.

Wexford have shown they can play it fast at their best and Offaly need to demonstrate that same facility. It's a step up, but they can take it.

OFFALY: B Mullins; B Teehan, P Cleary, D Franks; K Brady, R Hannify, G Oakley; G Hannify, D Hayden; M Cordial, M O'Hara, B Murphy; B Carroll, J Bergin, A Hanrahan.

WEXFORD: D Fitzhenry; M Travers, D O'Connor, K Rossiter; R Kehoe, D Ruth, D Lyng; T Mahon, D Stamp; M Jacob, E Quigley, R McCarthy; S Doyle, M Jordan, R Jacob.

Munster SFC Semi-finals

Kerry v Tipperary, Fitzgerald Stadium, 3.30pm - The open draw in Munster has had one disadvantage for the traditionally less successful counties in that it can create a situation like here when the likes of Tipperary end up taking on the likes of Kerry, who have a match already played.

Kerry's selection was significant for the dropping of Eamon Fitzmaurice, which would seem to indicate that the experiment of using him at centre forward is being shelved.

Darren O'Sullivan comes in and his pace and use of width will be at its most lethal in the current conditions, which will also suit Colm Cooper.

O'Sullivan and Cooper will be a stretch for Andrew Morrissey and captain Michael Phelan in the corners. Tipperary might have been better positioned to punish a bad Kerry display than Waterford were, but it's likely to be up a notch this weekend.

KERRY: D Murphy; A O'Mahony, M Ó Sé, T O'Sullivan; T Ó Sé, S Moynihan, M Lyons; D Ó Sé, K Donaghy; Declan O'Sullivan, E Brosnan, P Galvin; Darren O'Sullivan, B Sheehan, C Cooper.

TIPPERARY: P Fitzgerald; M Phelan, P King, A Morrissey; P Costigan, L England, I Maher; K Mulryan, E Hanrahan; P Austin, D O'Brien, B Lacey; B Mulvihill, D Browne, B Hickey.

Limerick v Cork, Gaelic Grounds, 4pm - Three years ago, Limerick went down to Cork and hammered the home side in what was the best result of the renaissance under Liam Kearns. Mickey O'Sullivan has taken over in the post-Kearns era and done creditably well, emulating the 2003 achievement of getting promotion to Division One.

The difference this year is that there has been the draining away of the dual talent and the brio of a coming team is gone. O'Sullivan is also coping with injuries, including Muiris Gavin and Stephen Kelly, who were major figures in the defeat of Cork three years ago.

Billy Morgan had a good championship last year, until the semi-final wipeout by Kerry, and half the team has changed since then. Anthony Lynch is back in the corner from the half backs. This is a match Cork have to be expected to win.

LIMERICK: S Kiely; S Gallagher, J McCarthy, P Browne; C Mullane, S Lavin, A Lane; J Stokes, J Galvin; O Keating, D Reidy, S Buckley; M Crowley, J Murphy, M Reidy.

CORK: A Quirke; K O'Connor, G Canty, A Lynch; N O'Leary, G Spillane, S Levis; N Murphy, D Kavanagh; C McCarthy, D Niblock, K McMahon; J Masters, F Goold, K O'Sullivan.

Ulster SFC Semi-final

Armagh v Fermanagh, Clones, 2.15pm - High hopes for the competitiveness of this fixture hang on Fermanagh's win two years ago and a discreet drawing of the veil over the eight-point reversal of that result last year.

In fairness to Charlie Mulgrew's team, they have been back in Division One this year and had a good campaign holding on to their status. Combined with that has been a palpable faltering in Armagh. A non-descript NFL season wasn't in itself remarkable and the slow start against Monaghan may be ascribed to hitting top gear too early. But the overall impression isn't as formidable as in the past.

There is a suspicion the announced line-ups might prove notional. Rumours Marty McGrath and Ryan McCloskey might start for Fermanagh are rife, as is the suggestion that Francie Bellew may yet start for Armagh.

Fermanagh have the speed to put it up to the champions, but Armagh's half backs are far quicker than two years ago. That improvement will be decisive.

ARMAGH: C McKinney; A Mallon, T McEntee, E McNulty; A Kernan, C McKeever, P Duffy; K McGeeney, P McGrane; P McKeever, B Mallon, M Mackin; S McDonnell, R Clarke, O McConville.

FERMANAGH: C Breen; P Sherry, B Owens, S Goan; R Johnston, H Brady, S McDermott; L McBarron, M Murphy; M Little, J Sherry, T Brewster; E Maguire, S Doherty, C O'Reilly.

Christy Ring Cup

Division A: Roscommon v London, Athleague, 2pm - An opportunity for the home side to put points on the board.

Seán Moran

Seán Moran

Seán Moran is GAA Correspondent of The Irish Times