In An Amazing Late Rally

Longford had 5 indicate spare over Carlow when the sides satisfied in round 5 of the league, beating them 1-19 to 1-14, so it is a little unexpected to see them as big as 7-4 to win Saturday's final.


In an amazing late rally, Longford originated from 11 points down to beat Wicklow by a point last weekend, sealing promo and a slot in the Division 4 last, and they look overpriced to continue their celebrations.


Down vs Wexford


7.15 pm Saturday, TG4


The only last that looks cut and dried this weekend is the Divsion 3 decider where Down can prove a level above surprise bundles Wexford.


Westmeath were on their way to the final, holding a two-point lead with only seconds staying last weekend, but a late smash-and-grab raid from Wexford courtesy of a Sean Ryan objective secured the unlikliest of promotions.


The events were wild at the last whistle and appropriately so, however Mark McHugh and his Wexford side could be in for a rude awakening at headquarters this weekend. It won't be simple boiling down from such a huge high.


Down have already hammered them by 10 points - 1-29 to 1-19 - on their home spot and some silverware will be a huge deal for the Mourne men, who will have goals of making an impact in the Ulster championship. Wexford look set to be whipping kids in the Leinster one.


Wexford conceded 2-17 to Clare in round six and 1-18 to Westmeath last weekend having actually been quite tight defensively prior to that and it is tough to imagine them keeping Pat Havern and Odhran Murdock quiet. Those are 2 quality opponents who will relish returning to Croke Park.


Down could win this by a double-figure margin and backing them to defy a five-point handicap looks the very best bet of the weekend. They might net a couple of goals along the way.


Cork vs Meath


1.45 pm Sunday, TG4


Cork and Meath clashed in three All-Ireland finals within the area of four years between 1987 and 1990 and once again in 1999. There was a huge rivalry between the two counties in those days however current years have actually been barren for both sides.


Meath have actually emerged from nowhere under Robbie Brennan and reached last year's All-Ireland semi-final, while Cork could, and probably should, have actually beaten Kerry in in 2015's Munster championship.


There were simply 2 points in between the sides when they satisfied at Pairc Ui Rinn in round four when a scoring surge at the end of the very first half put the hosts in an incredible position and they managed to hold on at the end of the video game.


Meath have considering that beaten Kildare by 14, Tyrone by five and Offaly by 10, so it's not a surprise to see them head into the Division 2 decider as minor favourites.


Both these teams play an appealing brand of football and Meath have scored at least one objective in each of their last six outings. Indeed, they have got 10 of them because time and may have got more had they gone looking for them late in their recent tussle with Offaly.


Cork have actually stopped working to discover the internet in two of their last 3 trips, but Chris Og Jones will enjoy the prospect of dipping into and his speed has the possible to trigger the Meath rearguard all sorts of problems.


You can get odds-against about three or more objectives in the video game which looks value as it looks more like an odds-on shot.


Donegal vs Kerry


4pm Sunday, TG4


The Division 1 league last is an unusual types. Typically teams don't truly seem to care whether they win it or not as their sole focus is on the forthcoming championship project so it will be interesting to see what sort of technique Jim McGuinness and Jack O'Connor take this year. Will they want to release statements of intent, or will it be another round of shadow boxing?


The finest guess looks to be that McGuinness might wish to set a marker for the summer season and will toss the kitchen sink at it. If he does, that will mean making life really tough for David Clifford and co up front for Kerry. If Donegal are going to treat this like a champion clash, which appears more than likely, the foundations will be dug at the back. An open, high-scoring shootout is no great to them. Kerry would win that every day of the week and twice on Sunday. They require to keep it tight and turn it into a fight.


Donegal managed to keep Kerry to 1-18 when the sides satisfied in round two and the total points line looks too high at 46.5.


In 2015's last produced an overall of only 36 points as Kerry strolled past Mayo by a scoreline of 1-18 to 1-12 and if either team gets to 21 points this year it need to be adequate, too.


The worst-case situation for these sides heading into the champion is a hammering and it is tough to see McGuinness enabling that to occur to Donegal. Nor Jack O'Connor to Kerry. This will be tight, and while last year's champions Kerry might have a slight edge up front, it is tough to be determined that they will defy a two-point handicap.


Donegal have taken their foot off the throttle over the last few years and yielded 2-20 to Roscommon and 3-15 to Monaghan in the last 2 rounds. But prior to those 2 video games their typical concession was under 19 points per game and they kept tidy sheets versus Dublin, Mayo, Armagh and Galway. That is a huge achievement under the new rules and Kerry will do well to assemble a huge score in the decider against such a well-drilled protective unit.


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