Quarter Finals

blackbelt

Now we know who plays who I will comment on each of the matches

Dublin v Derry:

A very tough draw but I feel Dublin can overcome this obstacle.

Kerry v Monaghan:

On paper,Kerry to win but Monaghan are no pushovers at all.Should be a good match.

Meath v Tyrone:

Yes,yes,yes,yes.I was hoping for this match and it came.I can't wait to watch this over in Spain with a few beers.:D

Sligo v Cork:

Same draw from 2004 but probably the same outcome.Cork to win.

WarZoneBrother

blackbelt wrote:

Kerry v Monaghan:

On paper,Kerry to win but Monaghan are no pushovers at all.Should be a good match.

I am disappointed to see Monaghan get Kerry I wanted them to get Dublin or Sligo...Should be a good game if Monaghan play from the start...I will definately be at that game..

stepbar

blackbelt wrote:

Meath v Tyrone:

Yes,yes,yes,yes.I was hoping for this match and it came.I can't wait to watch this over in Spain with a few beers.:D

Why?

An Citeog

stepbar wrote:

Why?

Possibly because it will be a good game with two direct teams. The Meath forward line has impressed me this year and seem very direct while Tyrone are another fast and direct team. For the neutral, it'll certainly be worth watching.

Het-Field

Tyrone v Meath

Are Meath truly as good as people are hyping them up to be ? One must be careful. They hammered a truly awful Kildare, before sucumming to Dublin in an epic Dublin v Meath. In the qualifiers they have performed well, but how good are the teams they played. Galway have been in terminal decline since their all ireland final success of 2001, Down are certainly not of the same ilk as the 1991-1994 vintage while Fermanagh have been no great shakes since 2004. Tyrone will be their first big test since the Dubs, and if they pass it, it will be a fantastic achievement. I see Tyrone taking this. However, Meath will be better, and Back next year

Dublin v Derry

This is a tough one to call. Qualifier victories over Mayo, Armagh, and Laois is nothing to be scoffed at. It is difficult to guage the mentality of those teams in the qualifiers as all three would have been expecting a tilt at their provincial titles. On the other hand Derry had probably resigned themselves to a seson in the qualifiers. Their defeat by Monghan epitomises this. The Dubs, however, were powerful to say the least against Laois. Against Meath Dublin put up a truly stellar performance, while they had Offaly beaten within 15 minites. Vaughan has been a revelation, while Ross McConnell has got stronger with every game. I fully expect a tight game, but if Dublin get on top early in the second half, Derry will struggle. I predict Dublin

Cork v Monaghan

In fairness Cork could not have asked for a much better draw. Beyond this game Cork wont be in the shakeup. But as in previous years Cork have had an easy passage to the Semi Final. Monaghan will try, but Cork will do enough. After this round Cork's football season is over


Kerry v Sligo.

Another easy one to call. At times they were awesome against Cork, and still appear to be able to take their scores from anywhere. Donaghy, the Goocg Mike Frank and the rest will all be too powerful for Sligo who were champions of the worst connaught championship of the last 10 years

Lemlin

Het-Field wrote:

Tyrone v Meath

Are Meath truly as good as people are hyping them up to be ? One must be careful. They hammered a truly awful Kildare, before sucumming to Dublin in an epic Dublin v Meath. In the qualifiers they have performed well, but how good are the teams they played. Galway have been in terminal decline since their all ireland final success of 2001, Down are certainly not of the same ilk as the 1991-1994 vintage while Fermanagh have been no great shakes since 2004. Tyrone will be their first big test since the Dubs, and if they pass it, it will be a fantastic achievement. I see Tyrone taking this. However, Meath will be better, and Back next year

Dublin v Derry

This is a tough one to call. Qualifier victories over Mayo, Armagh, and Laois is nothing to be scoffed at. It is difficult to guage the mentality of those teams in the qualifiers as all three would have been expecting a tilt at their provincial titles. On the other hand Derry had probably resigned themselves to a seson in the qualifiers. Their defeat by Monghan epitomises this. The Dubs, however, were powerful to say the least against Laois. Against Meath Dublin put up a truly stellar performance, while they had Offaly beaten within 15 minites. Vaughan has been a revelation, while Ross McConnell has got stronger with every game. I fully expect a tight game, but if Dublin get on top early in the second half, Derry will struggle. I predict Dublin

Cork v Monaghan

In fairness Cork could not have asked for a much better draw. Beyond this game Cork wont be in the shakeup. But as in previous years Cork have had an easy passage to the Semi Final. Monaghan will try, but Cork will do enough. After this round Cork's football season is over


Kerry v Sligo.

Another easy one to call. At times they were awesome against Cork, and still appear to be able to take their scores from anywhere. Donaghy, the Goocg Mike Frank and the rest will all be too powerful for Sligo who were champions of the worst connaught championship of the last 10 years

Think you got mixed up there in the last two.

GAAman

*Looks at location*

Lookin forward to the Dublin match even moreso now! Anyone know when the tickets are out on ticketmaster? Bad thing bout playing for a uni team is no ticket allocation chances!

Lookin forward to the tyrone match too i reckon it will be a good game both teams very head on in their approach to attacking

I reckon kerry monaghan will be a very tight game at times but kerry to run away with it near the end after wearin monaghan down

Sligo and cork,well i reckon its corks but given the surprise they put over galway i wouldnt count them out just yet

Flukey

Sligo v Cork and Meath v Tyrone is next Saturday. Saturday week is Dublin v Derry. Then on the Sunday Kerry v Monaghan will be played with the Limerick v Cork/Waterford hurling semi-final. I hope to be at the lot. Lots to look forward to.:)

MementoMori

Might be slightly biased but here are my predictions

Sligo v Cork - Cork much too strong for a Sligo team who have had a great year but aren't really AI contenders

Meath v Tyrone - Tryone even with injuries should have enough experience to take this improving Meath team.

Dublin v Derry - Trickiest one of all to predict I think. However I think Dublin will squeak by Derry.

Kerry v Monaghan - Has to be Kerry. Good year for Monaghan unfortunate not to get their hands on provincal silverware in the least competive Ulster Championship in years. {Still by far the most competitive in Ireland IMO.}

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On to the semis - Two tasty ties here

Dublin v Kerry - Kerry all the way. Can't see any scenario in which Kerry wouldn't win this.

Cork v Tryone - Reckon this could be awesome. Personally prefer Tryone to win this in order to set up the dream AI final. Also reckon Cork v Kerry would be anticlimactic as an All-Ireland.


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Tryone v Kerry - Kerry to win after a titanic struggle


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Anyone care to comment?

Nalced_irl

Agree with most of it Mori however i wouldnt quite say i couldnt see any scenario where Kerry wouldnt beat Dublin. The Dubs are a hard team to figure out at the best of times. Its hard to gauge whether Leinster teams are on the up and Dublin are facing some tough games or whether we are simply looking good over weaker opposition. Personally id put it somewhere in between at present as i think some Leinster teams are getting alot better so the games are tougher than the last few years, however i think also that once we get beyond Leinster we are facing teams far superior to many in Leinster without any real games behind us. It is really just a matter of whether the Dubs have improved enough over key areas which i would have my doubts with, specifically the backs but if we got the heads right on the day and played like a solid unit from the backline to the front i think it would be possible to upset and beat Kerry. However i am of course aware that alot of things need to click for this to happen, it certainly wouldnt be an impossibility tho. Looking at it on paper i would agree wih your predictions tho, except i really couldnt call a Tyrone Kerry final either way. I think a game like that simply depends on if Kerry can stick to their gameplan, can Tyrone turn the game into their more physical way and cause Kerry to abandon their strategy and of course some other factors but i think it would be just too close to call.

blackbelt

stepbar wrote:

Why?

Well there is a number of reasons why I wanted this draw.

1.It never occurs in the League and hasn't occurred in the Championship in donkies years.

2.They are both teams that are rivals with Dublin.To see your two rivals tear lumps out of each other and battle it out is great,it is also good for the neutral supporter.

3.Both are physically gifted teams.They won't give each other an inch.It would be very interesting to see Geraghty and Mulligan on the pitch both driving their respective teams.

4.It will be a better indication of how far Meath have come.People are writing them off against Tyrone.Some people say there will be a shock in the quarter-final.I think this fixture would be the one to look at for this.

5.If Tyrone played the two other Ulster teams,we would be looking at Ulster Championship football again.With Cork,that would be a real cracker but I think Meath will give a great game.

VERYinterested

GAAman wrote:

Lookin forward to the Dublin match even moreso now! Anyone know when the tickets are out on ticketmaster? Bad thing bout playing for a uni team is no ticket allocation chances!

Tickets are on sale Tuesday from 10am.


http://www.gaa.ie/plugins/newsfeed.cgi?rm=content&plugin_data_id=19700

yayamark

u can buy tickets now for the kerry game on gaa.ie. As its on the same day as the lim vs cork/watfod clash and u can buy them under that

agree with most of yer predictions. i think it will be a tyrone kerry final again
heart says kery but head says tyrone

Pride Fighter

MementoMori wrote:

Dublin v Kerry - Kerry all the way. Can't see any scenario in which Kerry wouldn't win this.

Derry look to be in excellent form this year, beating Laois, Mayo and Armagh is an excellent feat. At the start of the year I would have said those 3 are definite quarter finalists with at least one in the final itself. Last year the Dubs lost to Mayo in the semis after a facile win over Westmeath in the quarters. My main point is that this match will be very hard and if Dublin win I think they can take Kerry as they will be battle hardened after playing one of the top teams in the country (on form anyway). In the 90's when Dublin were consistently losing all Irelands (until 95 anyway) they were playing the likes of Clare and Leitrim in the semis so they played the finals with no hard games behind them. The Derry match will make Dublin, win and they have a great shot at sam, lose I will have to wait till next year to celebrate success.

blackbelt

Well here is my analysis/prediction

Dublin v Derry:

Dublin have the honour of getting a provincial title while Derry have acquired the title "Giant Killers".Are Derry much better than they used to be or is it that those three teams Armagh,Mayo and Laois have weakened from previous years.My opinion is both.Armagh are an aged side while Mayo are gone back into transition phase with some new blood and some vintage players past their prime.Laois were a weakened team with 1 or 2 crucial injuries that swayed things in Derrys favour.

Dublin have played 3 competitive matches while Derry have played four.The midfield battle will determine who wins this game and Dublin have the midfield strongpoint with Whelan and Ryan being the masters of breaking balls.Bradley is Derrys key man and Vaughan will be Dublins target for the supply of ball.If the decision to put Griffin on Bradley is made,Dublin may keep Derrys top player more quiet.

Verdict: Dublin

Kerry v Monaghan:

Monaghan have improved leaps and bounds and their defeat of Derry and Donegal proved this.They ran Tyrone close and gave a good account of themselves.Kerry have had a 6 week break which will do them no favours and Monaghan may be refreshed from their two week break coming off the defeat of Donegal.Thomas Freeman is Monaghans strength-hold and if enough ball is supplied to him,we will be looking at another high scoring match.

However,this may not be the case.Kerrys midfield should be way capable of stopping the Monaghan midfield from supplying ball to Freeman.A better tactic would be to supply it from defense if at all possible.Kerry have the forwards to score goals in Kieran Donaghy and Gooch Cooper and Mike Frank Russell may be on hand to put them over from the sideline.

Verdict: Kerry

Sligo v Cork:

Sligo have arised from Connaught and are the only Connaucht team still standing,albeit that they won the provincial title.O Hara will be the player to lead Sligo in the hope of upsetting Cork but one man teams don't beat the likes of Cork.Cussen and Masters are on top form and will certainly be up for putting them over from long difference.The key to success is the forwards,which Cork boasts a better lineup and form.

Verdict: Cork

Tyrone v Meath:

These teams have not played for donkeyyears and this will pit two physically gifted teams against each other.Mulligan and Dooher will lead Tyrone while Geraghty and O Rourke will be the key men for Meath.

Tyrone would be the fresher of these two teams and Meaths fixtures will have them tired out in my opinion.Tyrone boast strength all around the pitch while Meaths defense will have adopted a blanket tactic...at least thats what I'm expecting.In such a case,I'd imagine Tyrone will have an answer.Expect Tyrone to stop the flow of action if they fall behind and re-group and take the lead.

Tyrone have the experience while Meath are only coming back from their transition period.

Verdict:Tyrone

Delboy05

blackbelt wrote:

Well here is my analysis/prediction


Sligo v Cork:

Sligo have arised from Connaught and are the only Connaucht team still standing,albeit that they won the provincial title.O Hara will be the player to lead Sligo in the hope of upsetting Cork but one man teams don't beat the likes of Cork.Cussen and Masters are on top form and will certainly be up for putting them over from long difference.The key to success is the forwards,which Cork boasts a better lineup and form.

Verdict: Cork

Cussens and Masters on top form!!!! did you not see the Louth match? Master got 5 points but 3 of them were frees. Cussen did sweet fa as the balls being played into him were dreadful. He was coming out to centre forward to try and get posession in the 2nd half. Got no scores.
Sligo will be well able for this cork team who don't seem to travel well outside of munster wheras sligo play well when in croker. at 5/1 in the bookies for a sligo win, it's a great chance to make cash

EARMUFFS

My two cents:

Dublin VS Derry- A match too far for Derry. Physically sticking it to Laois in breffni is all well and good but Dublin at Croke Park is a different proposition. Dublin to be too pacy and sharp. Dublin by 5.

Kerry VS Monaghan- Kerry to start slowly and allow Monaghan to stay close for 50 minutes. Then the usual secenario. O Se starts to lord it and its over. Kerry to win by 2 goals.

Sligo VS Cork. This one has the potential to have an upset result for Sligo but lets look at the hard facts. The reason they beat Galway was they had more hunger for the win not anything else. Their forward line is limited and at midfield questions over o Haras fitness don't help their cause. Cork haven't set the world alight but have infinitely more options than Sligo. If the Sligo defence plays as well as they did in the second half of the Galway game then they'll keep the score tight. Cork to win by 4.

Tyrone VS Meath. One that is too close to call as the pundits say but again if we look at the facts its less cloudy. Meath have too many injuries and will have to employ Moyles in the half back line. Bray is on for an all star and will be player of the year material if Meath can beat Tyrone. Played well against Paul Griffin and we all know how good he is. Tyrone have buckets of experience and possibly the best midfielder in the country at the minute in Sean Cavanagh. They had too much for Monaghan in the first half at Clones but faded in parts of the game. If Meath can keep up the intensity and pepper the unreliable tyrone full back line with plenty of clever passes(from Dooher especially) this one will be very close. At a push though i still plump for Tyrone. Should be good though!:)

blackbelt

Do not be surprised to see a draw in either Meath v Tyrone or Dublin v Derry.I am looking forward to Meath v Tyrone.God if my hopes and predictions are coming true this year,then Dublin would win the AI.:D
Having correctly predicted the last two qualifiers and getting my wish ofa Meath-Tyrone game,I should have done the lotto last week.:)

It is going to be extra hot here in Spain on Saturday and equally so in Croke Park when Meath and Tyrone meet.I will enjoy seeing one team I dislike knock out another team I dislike over a couple of beers.Flukey,please don´t upset our Meath counterparts if you meet them and if they lose.We have to be very sensitive don´t you know.:D

gingerGiant

C'mon the Royal. Only two more games till we beat the dubs in Croker to bring sam home.

yayamark

Its Kerrys All Ireland to lose now.