Footballers setting off on tricky voyage
Down test at home will reveal plenty
Wicklow v Down
January 28, 2pm
Echelon Park Aughrim
Many people’s favourites, including the bookies, for league honours in 2024 are Down. The Mourne men are available at odds of 5/6 to take the Division 3 title.
Don’t forget they almost caught Cavan for a place in the Division 3 final of 2023, only losing out in the end on the head-to-head rule. Averaging 16 or 17 points a game, their style has noticeably changed to be a more attack-minded team in the past couple of years.
They really showed this to be the case with an eight-goal haul against Laois in the semi-final of the Tailteann Cup last June! They subsequently lost the final, somewhat unluckily to Meath in mid-July.
Thus far in 2024 they have played Derry and Cavan in the McKenna Cup. By all accounts they should have beaten Derry in Mickey Harte’s first home game as Derry boss but missed a host of chances, a win did come against Cavan.
There’s no doubting the appointment of Conor Laverty has been a key factor in the change of fortunes and mentality in the Mourne County. Replacing James McCartan, he readily got the Kilcoo contingent fully focused and pulling in the right direction.
A couple of Ulster Under-20 titles in 2021 and again in 2023 will swell the talent pool further for Laverty. Ciaran Meenagh who impressed in his stint as Derry boss last summer, has also joined the backroom team and they will provide a serious test in the opening game in Echelon Park.
Players to watch: Niall Kane is another of the new breed of goalkeeper who kicks long-range frees. Odhran Murdock is fast building a reputation as a top-class midfielder and got the upper hand of no less an opponent in Brendan Rogers in that recent Dr McKenna game.
Pat Havern is a classy score taker with ample back up from Liam Kerr, Oisin Savage and Andrew Gilmore. Throw in the Kilcoo
Johnson’s and Branagan’s, Miceal Rooney and Ceilum Doherty and it shows the size of the task ahead for all the Division 3 aspirants.
Past Record: Wicklow and Down have only met five times since the early seventies in league action. The only win for Wicklow in those meetings came in 1997. A late penalty from Conan Daye was the decisive score in a 1-10 to 0-10 win. A draw under Hugh Kenny’s management in 2004 in a game we really should have won was our next best result.
Interesting fact: In the win in 1997, nine clubs were represented on the Wicklow team that played including subs. They breakdown was Rathnew (3), Baltinglass (2), An Tóchar (1), Blessington (3), Carnew (2), Annacurra (1), Hollywood (2), Bray (1) and Dunlavin (2).
Wicklow v Sligo
February 4, 1pm
Markievicz Park
Our second game will be against Sligo in Markiewicz Park.
Revenge will play a small part in Wicklow minds after the Croke Park loss last April.
Sligo, still under the stewardship of Tony McEntee, had beaten them earlier in the campaign in Echelon Park but a different Wicklow tested them to the limit in the league final.
Oisin McConville will be itching to finally get one over his old Crossmaglen teammate. Odds of 14/1 for the Yeats County men seem a little generous if their improvement continues.
McEntee did ask for patience when he was appointed and has a long-term plan in place which to date hasn’t went too badly at all.
Will be there or thereabouts when the final standings close to the top of the table are up for grabs.
Players to Watch: Players like Sean Carribine, Keelan Cawley, Niall Murphy, Luke Towey, Evan Lyons and goalkeeper Aidan Devaney would fit easily into many teams. Lee Deignan and Alan McLoughlin have emerged to strengthen the squad and they will have plenty of players like Daire O’Boyle, Dylan Walsh and Luke Marren coming aboard from their Under-20 team of 2023.
That Under-20 team lost to Kildare in the All-Ireland final after a great win over Kerry in the semi-final. They will fancy their chances of back-to-back promotions and they will be happy enough with the hand they have been dealt fixture wise.
They start with a winnable trip to Ennis to face Clare.
Past Record: The meeting in Markievicz Park will mark the tenth occasion they have met since 1970. Wicklow have had wins in 1993 and again in 2020. The win in 1993 by 1-15 to 2-5 featured a strong Baltinglass contingent who had defeated Sarsfields in a replay the previous day. Ah, the days of yore when player burnout didn’t exist!
Interesting Fact: When Sligo defeated Wicklow 0-16 to 2-4 in Markievicz park in 1975 it marked Wicklow’s relegation from Division 1. Sligo would win the Connacht championship later that summer.
Sunday, February 18, 2pm Echelon Park Augrim Westmeath come to Echelon Park on Sunday, February 18. Dessie Dolan is in his second season as manager after taking over as manager following the Tailteann Cup triumph in 2022.
They lost to Louth in the Leinster championship of 2023. They later acquitted themselves well in the group stage of the All-Ireland, losing narrowly to Armagh and Galway and drawing with Tyrone.
They will hope to have themselves in a position to challenge before they finish with a trip to Down and Sligo in Mullingar.
They certainly didn’t show their hand too much in the recent O’Byrne Cup with Dolan fielding a very experimental side.
Players to watch: Having seen plenty of Westmeath in the past two seasons, Oisin McConville will be well aware of the quality Dolan has at his disposal despite losing Sam Duncan who is away travelling. They have one of the top players in the country at the minute in John Heslin who can operate effectively around the middle or closer to goal.
Tearaway centre-back Ronan Wallace, Luke Loughlin, Ronan O’Toole, Kevin Maguire, Ray Connellan and Sam McCartan add plenty of quality while long serving Kieran Martin always makes an impact. They are second favourites at 11/4 and it looks like Dolan has earmarked promotion as a big target for 2024.
Past Record: The dozen meetings of the past have seen Wicklow defeat the Midlanders on three occasions. The visit of Westmeath will only be the fourth time they have played in Echelon Park since 1980 in the league. The last Wicklow win was back in 1999 when they won 3-11 to 0-5. A repeat would be nice.
Interesting Fact: In that win in 1999, all the Wicklow scores came from play from the starting forward line. Keith Byrne 2-3, Ciaran Shannon 1-0, Trevor Doyle 0-2, Tommy Gill 0-1, Ronan Coffey 0-3 and Kevin O’Brien 0-2 made up the impressive six.
Wicklow v Clare
Sunday, February 25
Cusack Park, Ennis
The trip to Ennis will tempt the die-hard Wicklow fans with a weekend away and a real chance of a win on the road. No team in the country has suffered anything like the loss of bodies through retirements and players opting out more than the Banner men.
Colm Collins, who was the longest serving manager at intercounty level, stepped aside after a decade in charge and many players followed suit. New manager Mark Fitzgerald will have to shape a team of his own.
The Kerry man has some intercounty experience after managing Limerick in 2023 and will relish the challenge. Current Clare football champions Cratloe had no players present in his opening two squads of 2024 against Cork and Waterford.
They were well in the game against Cork before losing out and subsequently had a big win over Waterford in those McGrath Cup ties.
Players to watch: The loss of 2023 captain Eoin Cleary who