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\nJarly \u00d3g Burns tackled by Ryan McEvoy in the 2024 Ulster semi-final<\/p>\n
After a highly competitive and surprise-laden provincial championships, we’re at the semi-final stage in both Leinster and Ulster, the weekend providing us with four fixtures which are again extremely difficult to call.<\/p>\n
Leinster SFC semi-finals<\/p>\n
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We’ve an exciting weekend ahead, and starting in Leinster, Dublin go into the semi-final against Louth as underdogs – and that\u2019s deserved.<\/p>\n
They were fortunate to get past Wicklow. It was an under-performance, and they\u2019re still dealing with issues around form and the fitness of key players. There\u2019s no real fluency to them at the moment.<\/p>\n
Louth, on the other hand, come in off the back of a very accomplished win over a decent Wexford side. There\u2019s a balance to them now. The younger players like Dara McDonnell and Tadhg McDonnell are adding serious energy, and then you\u2019ve the established All-Stars in Sam Mulroy and Craig Lennon leading things.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just a good team – it\u2019s a complete squad, and they\u2019ve a bench that can help close games out.<\/p>\n
This is a huge moment for Louth. They won Leinster last year without beating Dublin – doing it here would be a significant step for them.<\/p>\n
But Dublin are a wounded team. Injuries are part of it, but they\u2019re also being questioned as a group. I expect them to respond – and if Paddy Small, Se\u00e1n Bugler and Niall Scully get going up front, and Brian Howard, Ciar\u00e1n Kilkenny and Peadar O\u2019Cofaigh Byrne can get a foothold around the middle – then they absolutely have the talent to turn Louth over.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s very tight. Really difficult to call. Dublin to edge it.<\/p>\n
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On the other side, Kildare and Westmeath is just as close.<\/p>\n
The big factor is Luke Loughlin\u2019s injury. It\u2019s a massive loss for Westmeath and takes a lot out of their attack. Kildare won\u2019t mind that, but they still need to focus on their own job.<\/p>\n
Defensively, they have to be ready for Westmeath\u2019s goal threat. Shane Corcoran is central to everything they do in attack now – he needs to be shut down – and Ray Connellan has to be nullified in midfield as well.<\/p>\n
From Kildare\u2019s point of view, it starts with matching Westmeath\u2019s energy. If they don\u2019t do that, nothing else matters. After that, it\u2019s about being clinical. Eoin Cully, Darragh Kirwan and Ben Loakman inside, along with Ben McCormack, need to take their chances.<\/p>\n
Again, it\u2019s very tight. Kildare might just edge it, and Loughlin\u2019s absence is probably the reason why.<\/p>\n
Ulster SFC semi-finals<\/p>\n
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The big question is whether Down can reproduce the level they hit in that win over Donegal. That was a huge performance. Conor Laverty has built a panel that suits summer football \u2014 direct, aggressive, and hard running.<\/p>\n
Odhran Murdock is a generational talent, and that Down half-back line is something Armagh will need to pay serious attention to.<\/p>\n
But Armagh won\u2019t be surprised this time. They\u2019ve seen what Down can bring. The concern for Armagh is defensively.<\/p>\n
\nJarly \u00d3g Burns tackled by Ryan McEvoy in the 2024 Ulster semi-final<\/p>\n
Fermanagh opened them up in the second half, and that\u2019s something they\u2019ll need to tighten. They\u2019ve also a huge loss in Ben Crealey around midfield.<\/p>\n
For Down, there\u2019s a lot on this. Reaching the final gives them a shot at Sam Maguire. The Tailteann Cup won\u2019t motivate them at this stage of their development.<\/p>\n
But Armagh are ruthless, and you\u2019d expect them to be more clinical in front of goal than Donegal were. That might be the difference. Armagh just about for me.<\/p>\n
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Derry look like a rejuvenated group. They had a solid league and backed it up with a straightforward win over Antrim, but this is a different level.<\/p>\n
Monaghan looked much more like themselves against Cavan after a poor league. All six forwards scored, and they were far more connected as a unit.<\/p>\n
Dessie Ward is key – operating in that pocket and consistently taking scores. He\u2019ll need attention, likely from centre back.<\/p>\n
Monaghan will improve again from that Cavan performance, so this is far from straightforward for Derry.<\/p>\n
But Derry have more experience across their group, and their attack looks more in sync this year. That could be enough to get them through – but it\u2019s another one that’s very tight to call.<\/p>\n
Watch Armagh v Down in the Ulster Football Championship on Sunday from 3.45pm on RT\u00c92 and RT\u00c9 Player. Follow our live blog on RT\u00c9.ie\/sport and RT\u00c9 News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RT\u00c9 Radio 1<\/p>\n
Watch The Saturday Game and The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RT\u00c92 and RT\u00c9 Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on the RT\u00c9 News app and on rte.ie\/sport<\/p>\n
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Listen to the RT\u00c9 GAA Podcast on the RT\u00c9 Radio Player<\/a>, Apple Podcasts<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, or wherever you get your podcasts<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a highly competitive and surprise-laden provincial championships, we’re at the semi-final stage in both Leinster and Ulster,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426759,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,112],"class_list":["post-426758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}