Marc Ó Sé previews the weekend’s Provincial Football Championship action
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Marc Ó Sé previews four matches from this weekend’s Provincial Football Championship and thinks New York could spring a surprise at Sligo.
New York are the story of the season, having made history by winning their first ever championship game. They are guaranteed at least another Championship game so they will not hold back in this fixture because if they win they get to play in the All-Ireland series which would be some story. New York will also have huge support coming from the four provinces and this promises to be a really tight affair.
🗣️ 'If you make a mistake, in years gone by, that would annoy me and hang over you as the game goes on'@NewYorkGAA's Mick Cunningham breaks down the mental work he does to perform as a goalkeeper and enjoy the game | #GAA
🎙️ @ashoreilly@AIB_GAA | #TheToughest pic.twitter.com/3XKuprafIq
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) April 15, 2023
These two teams had a great battle last year when Sligo just got over the line by a couple of points. Sligo will take great confidence having won the Division Four final against Wicklow but I went for New York when they took on Leitrim and I am going to back them again for this game at 13/2.
Kerry will be happy to have kept their Division One status and with most players now available to Jack O’Connor, with the exceptions of Stefan Okunbor and Dara Roche, I expect The Kingdom to win this game in second gear, with David Clifford for the first goal.
I think we have a right battle in store with these two teams locking horns. We have seen some shock results this year with Monaghan beating Tyrone, and Roscommon upsetting Mayo, and with Cavan having some serious match winners on their team, there is no reason why they can’t spring a surprise against Armagh.
A look back at @CavanCoBoardGaa 🟦⬜️ & @Armagh_GAA 🟧⬜️ Ulster Championship meetings from recent times!
📷@sportsfile pic.twitter.com/MJ4r1C2qHW
— Ulster GAA (@UlsterGAA) April 20, 2023
Raymond Galligan leads the way and kicked some amount of scores in the National League final so Armagh will have to be disciplined in defence. Paraic Faulkner and Ciaran Brady will also have to be at their best to curb the influence of the Armagh forwards.
Armagh have some quality forwards even without Rian O’Neill and they also have players they can spring from the bench that will make a difference. I have spoken about Galligan, but Ethan Rafferty is a goalkeeper that the opposition always have to zone in on when he moves up the pitch. Armagh have more quality, but they haven’t been the same side this year. This game could go down to the wire and I wouldn’t rule out a draw at 15/2.
Galway have beaten Roscommon in four of the last five championship meetings with their most recent being last year. Roscommon’s last victory was in 2019 when they beat both Mayo and Galway and went on to win the Connacht final.
This year they have already beaten Mayo and with a home venue in the Hyde I wouldn’t put it past them to go on and beat Galway. They have shown in this year’s league and championship that they are more than a match for any team. Diarmuid Murtagh was in sensational form against Mayo, scoring six points.
Galway will welcome the return of Damien Comer who did very well against Kerry when he was introduced in the league game. They have a stronger panel this year and Padraic Joyce will see this as the game that will give them the Connacht title as they are in the tougher side of the draw. This game will go down to the wire, but I expect Galway to just shade it at 4/9.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
