HISTORY didn’t favour Meath before a ball was kicked in this year’s League, and it’s stacked even more against them now. Their defeats to Tyrone and Donegal have seen them move from 2/5 favourites relegation to as small as 1/20 for an immediate drop to Division Two. A newly-promoted county has been relegated from Division One in seven of the 12 seasons since the League was restructured in 2008. It’s become more pointed in recent times, however, having occurred in each of the last four years.
Last year, both promoted sides (Roscommon and Cavan) went down for the first time. Counties like Tyrone and
Donegal Dublin Kerry Monaghan Tyrone Galway Mayo Meath Laois 2 1 1 0 Armagh 2 1 0 1 Kildare 2 1 0 1 Clare 2 1 0 1 Fermanagh 2 1 0 1 Westmeath 2 1 0 1 Cavan 2 1 0 1 Roscommon 2 0 1 1 Cork Longford Down Tipperary Derry Offaly Leitrim Louth Sligo Limerick Wi
VITAL Mcentee’s side have lost two from two and no team has ever survived after losing first three in Div 1
JAMIE BRENNAN has played down Donegal’s awful Letterkenny record.
Donegal have a tradition of staging their home League games at different venues and play one of their fixtures at O’donnell Park every year.
However, since beating Monaghan in 2014, they’ve been beaten there in each of the last five years.
Indeed, the one-point loss to Galway two years ago ultimately cost them their place in Division One.
“I would not pass too much heed on that,” said Brennan. “There is a lot of talk about it. On the day we need to be performing.
“Two years ago we played Galway and we just did not perform. It is a lazy sort of excuse to be
blaming the pitch.
“Looking at Galway, they have some serious threats going forward with the pace of Shane Walsh and Eamonn Brannigan who are also good finishers and then you have Comer and Rob Finnerty so it is definitely going to be our toughest test yet.”
Donegal have already been careless at home in this League campaign, dropping a point when drawing with Mayo in Ballybofey a fortnight ago.
Galway will feel they ought to be on full points having bossed Kerry for long periods last weekend before losing by a point.
But if Donegal’s record in Letterkenny is just a quirk as Brennan suggests, then surely they’ll turn it around sooner or later.
VERDICT: Donegal
HOME Donegal have poor record in Letterkenny
FACE-OFF Brennan with Galway’s Sean Mulkerrin