GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Championship continues this weekend and we have predictions, betting tips and more!
Our GAA Football ambassador Diarmuid Connolly, chats to Leon Blanche ahead of the second round of qualifiers this weekend with a place in the last eight up for grabs.
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CLARE VS ROSCOMMON
Connolly has backed Clare to make Roscommon work for their place in the All-Ireland quarter-finals ahead of their qualifier this weekend.
“There were three points in it when Roscommon were beaten by Galway and a lot of decisions probably went against Roscommon that day,” Connolly said.
“Galway were full value to win Connacht this year to be fair, but this Roscommon are still a bit ahead of Clare.
“But Clare have beaten Meath twice and the championship win in Ennis was huge for Clare football. I’m sure David Tubridy will be delighted to get a big game like this in the championship against Roscommon.
“I think they will keep it tight and if you look at Clare’s league performances, they don’t score a whole pile, but neither do their opponents. Roscommon may be a high-scoring team, but I’m expecting a low-scoring game.
“If there are to be goals, Donie Smith is the one for me in the Roscommon side. I think they will come out on top, but not by much.”
MAYO VS KILDARE
Connolly has warned Mayo that a wounded Kildare side could scupper their bid to reach the All-Ireland quarter-finals this weekend at Croke Park.
Mayo’s three-point win over Monaghan in Castlebar secured them a place in the second round of the qualifiers and James Horan’s men have been chalked up as 4/11 favourites to see off Kildare, who are seeking to bounce back from their heavy Leinster final defeat at the hands of Dublin.
“Mayo got that all-important goal to get ahead against Monaghan and stayed that goal ahead the whole game,” Connolly told BoyleSports.
“My old foe Lee Keegan was man of the match, so he still has plenty left in his legs yet.
"Cillian O’Connor looks sharp this year coming back from injury and if he manages to get the first goal like he did against Monaghan, then I think they will go on to win.
"But I just don’t know where Mayo are at, even though they are a high-scoring team."
“The fans would have been hoping for a big year after being in the All-Ireland final last year.
"They were disappointing against Galway in the Connacht championship and many would have been hoping for a backlash after they fell apart against Kerry in the National League final.
“Kildare have an embarrassment of riches with the inside forwards they have. Jimmy Hyland got 1-4 against Dublin and while Darragh Kirwan only got one, he had a load of shots. His finishing wasn’t quite there, but he’ll be a goal threat.
“I was very impressed with Ben McCormack who got five points from play against Dublin too. Everything that Kildare did well that day went through him and he will take some watching.
"I think they could go close and maybe a draw would be a good shout.”
CORK VS LIMERICK
“It’s worrying that the gap is widening between some counties and the likes of Kerry and Dublin," says Diarmuid.
"Kerry blew Cork and Limerick out of the water in Munster and I’m sure a lot of people thought Meath and Kildare were getting closer to Dublin in Leinster this year too.
“But we saw Dublin pull away in the Leinster final and it was over by half-time. It’s not great to see the gap widening."
"On the positive side, Ulster has been very competitive this year and there are three big teams in Connacht. Mayo and Roscommon will both be confident of going into the quarter finals too.”
Connolly also warned Cork that Limerick are more than capable of an upset despite the Rebels being handed home advantage at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
“Cork for me have been very poor this year. They had three scorers the last day and that’s not going to win you many games.
"They only scored 11 points against Kerry too, although they are way out in front and we know that - Limerick only scored eight against them too.
“But I don’t see why Cork are such hot favourites. Limerick are a big price and I was actually impressed by centre back Cian Sheehan who got three points in the Munster Final.
"They too haven’t had a lot of scorers and their hurlers, rightly so, get all the accolades.
"But Josh Ryan is a big full forward and he could cause havoc if he gets the ball one-on-one. I wouldn’t write off this Limerick team.”
DONEGAL VS ARMAGH
Connolly believes Donegal will bring Armagh back down to earth after they knocked the All-Ireland champions out of this year’s championship.
The Ulster rivals face off at Clones on Sunday in their second championship meeting this season and the Orchardmen are going in buoyed by a 1-16 to 1-10 victory over Tyrone in the first round of qualifiers.
“There was a seven-point gap between these two when they met in the Ulster championship and that probably has tightened a bit,” Diarmuid Connolly BoyleSports.
“But I don’t see the gap closing that much. Armagh did beat Tyrone and I was impressed by a few of their players.
"Stefan Campbell got two points, but he was just everywhere and he looks fit. Kieran McGeeney has clearly put a lot of work into their legs. But the All-Ireland champions aren’t the same team as they were last year.
“Donegal were only beaten by two points by Derry in the Ulster final and a couple of goal chances went away, so things could easily have been different.
"Donegal are a more seasoned and solid team for me than Armagh. Paddy McBrearty looks sharp – he had two injury-ridden seasons and he nearly missed the whole of last season.
"He’s put a lot of work in to get back to playing at this level and he just looks top of the ground. Any time he gets the ball, he looks like he’s going to create something.
“It may be a tighter game, but Donegal are still on top.”
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More about the author:
Diarmuid Connolly is a six time GAA All-Ireland Football winner with Dublin. During his illustrious career he also won two All-Star awards. He retired from inter-county football in October 2020.
The 6' 1" forward still plays for club team, St Vincent's, with whom he won five Dublin Senior Football Championship titles.
Connolly also won ten Leinster Senior Football Championships with St. Vincent's as well as four National Football League titles.
He also joined the Dublin hurling panel as a dual player where he won an U21 Leinster medal.
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Our GAA Football ambassador Diarmuid Connolly, chats to Leon Blanche ahead of the second round of qualifiers this weekend with a place in the last eight up for grabs.
SCROLL DOWN FOR AN EXCLUSIVE MOBILE EPIC ODDS OFFER ON DONEGAL V ARMAGH!
Sign up to BoyleSports in Ireland & GET €40 FREE BETS WHEN YOU BET €10! T&Cs apply
CLARE VS ROSCOMMON
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⚔️ Roscommon vs Clare
⌚️ Saturday 3.45pm
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Connolly has backed Clare to make Roscommon work for their place in the All-Ireland quarter-finals ahead of their qualifier this weekend.
“There were three points in it when Roscommon were beaten by Galway and a lot of decisions probably went against Roscommon that day,” Connolly said.
“Galway were full value to win Connacht this year to be fair, but this Roscommon are still a bit ahead of Clare.
“But Clare have beaten Meath twice and the championship win in Ennis was huge for Clare football. I’m sure David Tubridy will be delighted to get a big game like this in the championship against Roscommon.
“I think they will keep it tight and if you look at Clare’s league performances, they don’t score a whole pile, but neither do their opponents. Roscommon may be a high-scoring team, but I’m expecting a low-scoring game.
“If there are to be goals, Donie Smith is the one for me in the Roscommon side. I think they will come out on top, but not by much.”
MAYO VS KILDARE
? GAA All-Ireland SFC
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⚔️ Mayo vs Kildare
⌚️ Saturday 6pm
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Connolly has warned Mayo that a wounded Kildare side could scupper their bid to reach the All-Ireland quarter-finals this weekend at Croke Park.
Mayo’s three-point win over Monaghan in Castlebar secured them a place in the second round of the qualifiers and James Horan’s men have been chalked up as 4/11 favourites to see off Kildare, who are seeking to bounce back from their heavy Leinster final defeat at the hands of Dublin.
“Mayo got that all-important goal to get ahead against Monaghan and stayed that goal ahead the whole game,” Connolly told BoyleSports.
“My old foe Lee Keegan was man of the match, so he still has plenty left in his legs yet.
"Cillian O’Connor looks sharp this year coming back from injury and if he manages to get the first goal like he did against Monaghan, then I think they will go on to win.
"But I just don’t know where Mayo are at, even though they are a high-scoring team."
“The fans would have been hoping for a big year after being in the All-Ireland final last year.
"They were disappointing against Galway in the Connacht championship and many would have been hoping for a backlash after they fell apart against Kerry in the National League final.
“Kildare have an embarrassment of riches with the inside forwards they have. Jimmy Hyland got 1-4 against Dublin and while Darragh Kirwan only got one, he had a load of shots. His finishing wasn’t quite there, but he’ll be a goal threat.
“I was very impressed with Ben McCormack who got five points from play against Dublin too. Everything that Kildare did well that day went through him and he will take some watching.
"I think they could go close and maybe a draw would be a good shout.”
CORK VS LIMERICK
? GAA All-Ireland SFC
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⚔️ Cork vs Limerick
⌚️ Sunday 1.45pm
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“It’s worrying that the gap is widening between some counties and the likes of Kerry and Dublin," says Diarmuid.
"Kerry blew Cork and Limerick out of the water in Munster and I’m sure a lot of people thought Meath and Kildare were getting closer to Dublin in Leinster this year too.
“But we saw Dublin pull away in the Leinster final and it was over by half-time. It’s not great to see the gap widening."
"On the positive side, Ulster has been very competitive this year and there are three big teams in Connacht. Mayo and Roscommon will both be confident of going into the quarter finals too.”
Connolly also warned Cork that Limerick are more than capable of an upset despite the Rebels being handed home advantage at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
“Cork for me have been very poor this year. They had three scorers the last day and that’s not going to win you many games.
"They only scored 11 points against Kerry too, although they are way out in front and we know that - Limerick only scored eight against them too.
“But I don’t see why Cork are such hot favourites. Limerick are a big price and I was actually impressed by centre back Cian Sheehan who got three points in the Munster Final.
"They too haven’t had a lot of scorers and their hurlers, rightly so, get all the accolades.
"But Josh Ryan is a big full forward and he could cause havoc if he gets the ball one-on-one. I wouldn’t write off this Limerick team.”
DONEGAL VS ARMAGH
? GAA All-Ireland SFC
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⚔️ Donegal vs Armagh
⌚️ Sunday 4pm
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Connolly believes Donegal will bring Armagh back down to earth after they knocked the All-Ireland champions out of this year’s championship.
The Ulster rivals face off at Clones on Sunday in their second championship meeting this season and the Orchardmen are going in buoyed by a 1-16 to 1-10 victory over Tyrone in the first round of qualifiers.
“There was a seven-point gap between these two when they met in the Ulster championship and that probably has tightened a bit,” Diarmuid Connolly BoyleSports.
“But I don’t see the gap closing that much. Armagh did beat Tyrone and I was impressed by a few of their players.
"Stefan Campbell got two points, but he was just everywhere and he looks fit. Kieran McGeeney has clearly put a lot of work into their legs. But the All-Ireland champions aren’t the same team as they were last year.
“Donegal were only beaten by two points by Derry in the Ulster final and a couple of goal chances went away, so things could easily have been different.
"Donegal are a more seasoned and solid team for me than Armagh. Paddy McBrearty looks sharp – he had two injury-ridden seasons and he nearly missed the whole of last season.
"He’s put a lot of work in to get back to playing at this level and he just looks top of the ground. Any time he gets the ball, he looks like he’s going to create something.
“It may be a tighter game, but Donegal are still on top.”
BoyleSports have launched an EPIC offer for the all-Ulster clash BELOW, with either side available at 2/1 to book their place in an All-Ireland quarter-final.
EPIC ODDS ON YOUR MOBILE FOR IRISH CUSTOMERS - WHO ARE YOU PICKING?!
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More about the author:
Diarmuid Connolly is a six time GAA All-Ireland Football winner with Dublin. During his illustrious career he also won two All-Star awards. He retired from inter-county football in October 2020.
The 6' 1" forward still plays for club team, St Vincent's, with whom he won five Dublin Senior Football Championship titles.
Connolly also won ten Leinster Senior Football Championships with St. Vincent's as well as four National Football League titles.
He also joined the Dublin hurling panel as a dual player where he won an U21 Leinster medal.
Remember, always gamble responsibly. Here's our Safer Gambling Guide.
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