Leinster SFC ready for off - what chances for Meath?

Meath manager Mick O'Dowd and his players will have a big interest in Saturday's Leinster SFC game at O'Moore Park between Carlow and Louth as Meath will play the winner.

It's the start of a long road, it will be fairly short for some teams, to Croke Park in September for the GAA football All-Ireland senior championship final and the Leinster action will begin this weekend for some of the minnows in action.

The Meath Cheonicle predicts wins for Louth, Laois and Offaly and Meath supporters can get ready for the trip to Dublin's Parnell Park for the next round against Louth.

SATURDAY
Carlow v Louth, 5pm
Laois v Wicklow, 7pm
SUNDAY
Offaly v Longford, O’Connor Park, 3.30

LOUTH v CARLOW
They meet in the Leinster championship for the first time since 2011 when Carlow surprised Louth, who had reached the provincial final in 2010 where they lost to Meath.

They were well fancied to beat Carlow in 2011 but lost by a point in Portlaoise.

It was Carlow’s last win in the Leinster championship, they have won only one (v Waterford 2014 qualifiers) of their last 12 championships matches since that win over Louth.

They also drew with Meath in 2012 but otherwise they have lost 10 games as follows: 
2011: Wexford, Antrim; 2012: Meath (replay), Laois; 2013: Westmeath, Laois; 2014: Meath, Clare; 2015: Laois, Longford.

Louth lost last year’s first round to Westmeath but won in 2014, beating Westmeath.

Louth go into the championship as Division 4 champions, having finished second behind Antrim in the group games before beating the Ulstermen in the final.

Both managers, Colin Kelly (Louth) and Turlough O’Brien (Carlow) are in their second seasons.

Next Saturday’s winners will meet Meath in the Leinster quarter-final on June 12.

LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETINGS
2011: Carlow 0-14 Louth 0-13 (Leinster quarter-final)
2009: Louth 1-13 Carlow 1-11 (Leinster 1st round)
1997: Louth 1-13 Carlow 1-10 (Leinster quarter-final)
1994: Louth 3-19 Carlow 0-11 (Leinster quarter-final)
1990: Louth 3-8 Carlow 2-7 (Leinster 1st round)

LAST YEAR
LOUTH 
Westmeath 3-14 Louth 0-16 (Leinster first round)Louth 1-16 Leitrim 0-11 (Qualifiers – Round 1) Tipperary 3-21 Louth 0-7 (Qualifiers – Round 2)

CARLOW 
Laois 3-16 Carlow 0-8 (Leinster first round) Longford 2-15 Carlow 1-8 (Qualifiers – Round 1)

LAOIS v WICKLOW
Rather surprisingly, next Saturday’s clash will be only the 14th championship tie between the counties, with Laois having won 10 to Wicklow’s three.

They last met in 2014 when Laois won by seven points in Aughrim on a day when Ross Munnelly scored nine points and Donie Kingston six for the winners.

Wicklow’s last championship win over Laois came 30 years ago when they pulled off a major shock when beating the then recently-crowned League champions by 2-10 to 1-9 in Aughrim.

Wicklow last won their Leinster first round game in 2013 while Laois haven’t lost a first round game since 2013, when they went down to Louth.

Former Currahan manager Johnny Magee is in his second season as Wicklow manager while Mick Lillis is in his first season with Laois.

The winner will play Dublin in the quarter-final in Nowlan Park on Sunday 4th June

LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP CLASHES
2014: Laois 0-21 Wicklow 1-11 (Leinster first round)
2008: Laois 0-15 Wicklow 0-13 (Leinster quarter-final)
2002: Laois 3-6 Wicklow 0-8 (Leinster first round)
1986: Wicklow 2-10 Laois 1-9 (Leinster quarter-final)
1974: Laois 3-6 Wicklow 0-2 (Leinster quarter-final)

LAST YEAR
LAOIS - Laois 3-16 Carlow 0-8 (Leinster 1st round)
Kildare 0-16 Laois 0-16 (Leinster quarter-final)
Kildare 3-18 Laois 1-11 (Replay)
Antrim 2-15 Laois 1-17 (Qualifiers Round 1)

WICKLOW - Meath 2-19 Wicklow 3-12 (Leinster quarter-final); Armagh 2-17 Wicklow 2-7 (Qualifiers – Round 1)
2016 ALLIANZ FOOTBALL LEAGUE - Laois: Division 2 – Relegated Wicklow: fourth Division 4 (Played

OFFALY v LONGFORD
Offaly are bidding to win a Leinster first round game for the first time since 2007 when they beat Carlow.
Since then, they lost to Westmeath (2008), Kildare (2009), Meath (2010), Wexford (2011), Kildare (2012), Kildare (2013), Longford (2014 and 2015).

Sunday’s game will be the seventh League and Championship meeting between them since the start of 2014.

In 2014, Longford won a Division 3 League clash by 1-15 to 1-10 before repeating the success in the first round of the Leinster championship, winning by 0-19 to 0-15.

Longford maintained their good run against Offaly when winning a Division 4 game by 0-13 to 0-10 in March 2015, but lost the final (1-12 to 4-16) in Croke Park a few weeks later.

However, Longford regained the upperhand in the first round of last year’s Leinster championship, winning by 0-15 to 0-12 in Tullamore.

Offaly were back on top in the opening round of this year’s Allianz League (Division 3), winning by 0-12 to 0-10 in Tullamore.

Unusually, this will be the third successive year that the counties have met in the Leinster championship.

Prior to 2014, they hadn’t met in the Leinster championship since 1997.

Pat Flanagan is in his second season as Offaly manager while Denis Connerton is in the first season of his second term with Longford, having previously been in charge in 2002-2004.

Both had the same record in this year’s Allianz League, winning four of seven Division 3 games while there was very little between them in scoring terms either, with Offaly holding a four-point scoring difference advantage after seven games.

Next Saturday’s winners will play Westmeath in the Leinster quarter-final on June 12.

LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP CLASHES

2015: Longford 0-16 Carlow 0-13 (Leinster 1st round)
2014: Longford 0-19 Offaly 0-15 (Leinster 1st round)
1997: Offaly 5-17 Longford 0-13 (Leinster 1st round)
1993: Offaly 0-22 Longford 0-10 (Leinster 1st round)
1984: Offaly 3-15 Longford 3-10 (Leinster quarter-final)

LAST YEAR
LONGFORD
Longford 0-16 Offaly 0-13 (Leinster first round)
Dublin 4-25 Longford 0-10 (Leinster quarter-final)
Longford 2-15 Carlow 1-8 (Qualifiers – Round 1)
Longford 2-12 Clare 1-12 (Qualifiers – Round 2)
Kildare 2-24 Longford 0-11 (Qualifiers – Round 3)

OFFALY
Longford 0-16 Offaly 0-13 (Leinster first round)
Offaly 1-20 Waterford 1-7 (Qualifiers – Round 1)
Kildare 1-15 Offaly 1-13 (Qualifiers – Round 2)

 

LEINSTER
May 14:Louth v Carlow, O’Moore Park; Laois v Wicklow, O’Moore Park.
May 15:  Offaly v Longford, O’Connor Park, Tullamore.
May 21: Kildare v Wexford, Croke Park.
June 4: Dublin v Laois/Wicklow, Nowlan Park.
June 12:  Meath v Louth or Carlow, Parnell Park or Pairc Tailteann; Westmeath v Longford/Offaly, TEG Cusack Park.
June 26:  Laois/Wicklow/Dublin v Louth/Carlow/Meath; Longford/Offaly/Westmeath v Wexford/Kildare, Croke Park.
July17: Final, Croke Park.

ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONSHIPS
June 18: Qualifiers – Round 1A
June 25: Qualifiers – Round 1B
July 2: Qualifiers – Round 2A
July 9: Qualifiers – Round 3A; 2B
July 16: Qualifiers – Round 3B
July 23: Qualifiers – Round 4A
July 30/31: Qualifiers – Round 4B

QUARTER-FINALS
July 30/31: Connacht winners Round 4A winner; Munster winners v Round 4A winner
August 6: Leinster winners v Round 4B winner; Ulster winners v Round 4B winner.
SEMI-FINALS
August 21: Connacht v Ulster, Croke Park
August 28: Leinster v Munster, Croke Park

FINAL
September 18: Final, Croke Park.