Ulster rivals meet again
That duo aside, the big name sides including Kildare, Mayo, Derry and Wexford were kept apart for the weekend of June 26.
The Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) will meet today to finalise times, dates and venues for the games with GAA chiefs revealing last night that any team drawn away for the second year running will have home advantage. That means that London will host Jason Ryan’s Wexford while Longford entertain Mayo. All other first drawn teams will be at home.
Donegal have suffered numerous heartbreaks at Armagh’s hands down the years but manager John Joe Doherty is relishing the tie on Saturday week. Armagh defeated the north-westerners during five successive championships between 2002 and 2006, with the only Donegal success coming in the 2007 Ulster quarter-final in Ballybofey.
Doherty said: “It’s probably the biggest of all the first round ties. Last year we had two Division Four teams at home in Carlow and Clare and it was painful stuff to watch from us at times. It took a big draw in Derry and a good win to get us going and we’re facing a similar game now. It should be no problem motivating ourselves. Donegal teams have plenty of motivations for all those defeats against Armagh for the last decade or so.”
Donegal were hammered 2-16 to 0-6 the last time they bumped into Paddy O’Rourke’s team in the last league game of the season at Letterkenny in April.
Armagh manager Paddy O’Rourke last night confirmed Ronan Clarke is certain to miss the Donegal game after the former All Star suffered an Achilles injury set back.
O’Rourke revealed: “He’ll be out of football for some time. I’m not sure for how long but he’ll not be playing against Donegal. The Armagh boss also confirmed they will be appealing against Brian Mallon’s controversial sending-off against Monaghan. Mallon received a one-month ban for a high challenge on Rory Woods.
Another Armagh legend, Kieran McGeeney will see qualifier action, with his Kildare side set to host Antrim. The Saffrons boss Liam Bradley admits his side face an onerous task
“We’ll be facing a team that I believe is one of the top eight in the country at the moment. There’s no doubt we would have preferred a home draw and it’s not a draw we would have wanted but we just have to accept it and it’s not something that we’ll be afraid of.”
Bradley is confident that Paddy Cunningham and Sean Kelly will be fit after recent knocks.
Meanwhile London manager Noel Dunning last night welcomed the announcement their game would be in the English capital.
Dunning said: “The draw could have been a lot worse but home advantage is a big boost for us. Last year we had to travel and play a game on the same day which is hardly ideal.”
Dunning watched Wexford’s clash with Dublin yesterday and felt that the Model County: “self-destructed in the end. At half time I thought they were going to kick on but it was not to be.”
And he hasn’t any concerns about their mental state after the dejection of yesterday’s defeat to the Dubs.
“They haven’t a bad record in the qualifiers. They have improved hugely under Jason Ryan and will be looking at London as a confidence booster to do well through the back door again. But I and the lads will be viewing it differently.”
Elsewhere John O’Mahony’s Mayo bid to bounce back from their Connacht championship heartbreak away to Longford, Luke Dempsey’s Carlow meet Derry while Mick O’Dwyer’s Wicklow face Cavan
Meanwhile John Evans and Tipperary await the winners of the Meath v Laois replay which is fixed for Tullamore on Saturday.
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