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Marc Ó Sé previews Sunday’s inter-county matches

| 05.02.2022

Three-time All Star Marc Ó Sé has become the latest Ladbrokes ambassador to join our team and will give us his thoughts on all the GAA’s inter-county league action every weekend.

There are three Allianz National Football games on Sunday and the former Kerry footballer is examing all three matches from the second round, starting with the clash between Armagh and Tyrone, who are slight favourites at evens. 

Armagh v Tyrone – Sunday 14.00

Rian O’Neill was in flying form last week, kicking 1-4 against Dublin, while Jason Duffy also found the net. Although it wasn’t clear whether he was going for a goal or a point, it was still a good goal.

Armagh’s back line passed the test, defending in numbers, but when they hit that long diagonal ball into O’Neill, it proved to be devastating and really put Dublin under pressure. One thing I also noticed about Armagh is their subs which proves their strength in depth.

The Tyrone match with Monaghan was a dogged affair and conditions didn’t really help either team. Conor Boyle should have had a winner last week for Monaghan, so I think this game will certainly improve Tyrone and bring them on.

However, with Armagh being in the form they’re in, I think they will win this game.

Monaghan v Mayo – Sunday 14.00

Monaghan should have gotten over the line against Tyrone. They had opportunities to see out the game and could have been well ahead but missed too many chances, including a first-minute free. Being at home on Sunday, they will fancy their chances.

Mayo would have been disappointed with their first-half performance and but for Rob Hennelley, it would have been game over. He really was the hero on the day. He saved the Paddy McBrearty penalty and kicked an absolute screamer of a free to equalise against Donegal at the end. They showed unbelievable spirit to fight back and get the draw despite being down to 14 men.

That said, McKenna Cup champions Monaghan have shown good form the last few weeks and I would give them a slight edge here, but you can’t rule out the draw at the same time.

Donegal v Kildare Sunday 14.30

Donegal will be disappointed with how they let Mayo back into the game last weekend, especially as their opponents were down to 14 men. Had McBrearty converted the penalty it would have been a victory for Donegal.

It was surprising that Michael Murphy didn’t take the penalty, but maybe that goes back to last year when he missed one. Michael Langan gave an impressive performance, scoring four points, and he will need to replicate that on Sunday.

Kildare will be delighted to have taken a point from Kerry last weekend. Jimmy Hyland showed his nerve to get the draw towards the end of the match. They finished strongly, scoring the last three points of the game and showing good levels of fitness.

Donegal will have to be strong at the back, keep Daniel Flynn at bay and will also need to be more disciplined as Kerry learned on Sunday. Hyland will punish you if you give away cheap frees.

I do think Donegal will win this, though, with a couple of points to spare.

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Author

Warren Barner