Unblemished record on the line
Inniskeen in aanother re-fixture from last weekend, called off because of a hard frost and snow.
Last year Monaghan managed a win on the road against the Kingdom and it went a long way to guaranteeing they played in the top flight for the fourth consecutive year under Malachy O’Rourke.
Kerry turned over Mayo in their last game a fortnight ago, following on from their opening day defeat of Donegal.
While Conor McManus continues to recover from injury they have found another prolific prospect in David Garland.
The final game to have been lost to the snow last weekend was Cavan and Meath in Kingspan Breffni Park. The delay in the fixture allows Cavan manager Mattie McGleenan to get his house in order and with a number of players on the injury list, some big names such as Gearoid McKiernan, Seanie Johnston and Cian Mackey could be on their way back sooner rather than later.
The Ulster Under-21 club Championship at Creggan Kickhams reaches its climax tomorrow at 2pm when the two strongest sides in the competition in Donegal’s Gaoth Dobhair and Lavey of Derry square up.
The talent on the sidelines is mighty impressive. Gaoth Dobhair have Tom Beag Gillespie in charge, a man who has overseen the revolution of youth coaching in the club, and his selector is Donegal two-time All-Star, Kevin Cassidy.
The Derry club have Seamus Downey, the Derry All-Ireland winning player from 1993, along with the legendary figure of John Brennan.
Gaoth Dobhair boast a number of players who have won All-Ireland underage honours with their county, with current county senior Michael Carroll and Niall Friel, although they have Cian Mulligan and Ciaran Gillespie on the injured list.
In the opposite corner, Lavey have Thomas Donnelly who has been in serious scoring form throughout the tournament. GEMMA Begley has lost no time getting into her stride in the Tyrone attack and tomorrow she will have a key role against Tipperary in Division Two of the Lidl Ladies National Football League at Drumragh (2.00).
Begley’s penchant for snapping up goals has highlighted the Red Hands’ two wins to date and victory tomorrow could see them move clear at the top of the table.
The teams met in last year’s All-Ireland Intermediate championship final when Tipperary came out on top so they will certainly be familiar with each other’s style of play.
Tyrone manager Gerry Moane is watching his fresh blend of youth and experience begin to make an impact and victory tomorrow would prove a major boost in terms of their drive for promotion to the top tier.
Also in Division Two, Armagh will need to be on their toes even though they will be facing a Sligo side that has suffered back-toback defeats to date.
Armagh lost narrowly to Tipperary in their opening game before holding Cavan to a draw but their free-scoring forward Aimee Mackin acknowledges that victory is essential tomorrow if they are to stay in the hunt to move up.
“It was good to get that draw against Cavan but obviously we are particularly keen to record our first win. We certainly cannot afford to lose any more ground,” says Mackin.
Meanwhile, Monaghan find themselves in the rather unusual position of being pointless in Division One after falling to Galway and Mayo. In recent years Monaghan have been very much to the fore in the ladies game but they are currently undergoing a transitional period.
New manager Annmarie Burns has drafted in a number of untried players and is working towards achieving a fresh level of cohesion.
Monaghan face Kerry at Blanchardstown today in a re-arranged match from last weekend and badly need a win if they to make any impact in the top sector.
Kerry have already beaten Mayo and with ace scorer Louise Ni Muirheartaigh in fine form they may take a lot of stopping, particularly as victory could bolster their chances of landing the title.