Who will be celebrating in Croke Park?
After dozens of games, hundreds of points and thousands of fans through the various rickety turnstiles nationwide, only eight sides remain in the hunt for Allianz football league honours this weekend.
Saturday sees the Division Four and Three deciders while, on Sunday, the race for Division One and Two glory will be completed
Allianz Football League Division One Final: Cork V Dublin Croke Park Sunday 4pm
The last time these sides met in a league final was back in 2011. Cork racked up 0-24 on their way to the second of three Allianz league titles in a row, while Dublin were building to a crescendo that would culminate in September All-Ireland glory.
Sunday’s final is an interesting crossroads for both sides. Cork have responded to last year’s league and championship disappointment by developing a new counter-attacking policy that has seen their full-forward line flourish.
Jim Gavin has used the league to change his team’s style and approach for almost every game after learning a harsh lesson from Donegal, and, if possible, develop even more options for the summer.
Their respective semi final wins add another layer of interest to Sunday’s league finale. Cork could easily have been caught out by Donegal, conceding 0-19 in a game played well below championship pace. Dublin shifted gears just in time to see off a Monaghan team who were desperate to atone for a hammering the week before in the final round of the group stages.
Cork boast the two in-form forwards in the country right now in Brian Hurley and Colm O’Neill and it would be a huge surprise if they didn’t help Cork extend their scoring to 15 goals or more in this year’s league campaign.
Jim Gavin described the Rebels as the ‘most defensive Cork team’ he has seen when the sides clashed in round two of the league, in February. Since then, the Dubs will have been working at trying to break through any screen they encounter – they got a fine lesson in how to do so when facing the wall erected by Derry, last month.
It may not be as high scoring as people would like but we feel that the Cork football renaissance will prove too strong for a Dublin side who will be happy to put Sunday down to experience for future summer challenges.
Allianz Football League Division Two Final:Down v Roscommon, Croke Park, 2pm
We don’t want to anger any Down or Roscommon football fans out there, but surely even they would have been surprised that these two sides are contesting the second tier’s league final.
Roscommon, under John Evans, have secured their second successive promotion while Down have exceeded all expectations by topping Division Two.
The Ulster side began with a last-gasp win over Kildare and kicked on from that win to secure promotion with a game to spare despite a four-point home loss to Roscommon mid-campaign.
The Connacht side defied all expectations they would be happy to consolidate in Division Two with a fine mix of attacking verve and fine defensive work seeing them through to another Croke Park decider.
Roscommon are well used to Croke Park at this stage – having claimed the Division Three title at Cavan’s expense 12 months ago. Down’s last league final appearance was in 2010-the same season they made it all the way to the All-Ireland final only to be beaten by Cork.
Their squad has changed significantly since then but the experience gained this Sunday may prove invaluable in the months ahead.
Evans has already admitted his side are looking forward to championship and London in a few weeks time.
Promotion was their aim and with one eye on next month’s Connacht opener it may just allow Down secure a rare piece of silverware in Croke Park.
Allianz Football League Division Three Final: Armagh v Fermanagh, Croke Park,Saturday 7.15pm
Kieran McGeeney spoke at the league launch of his primary objective for 2015 – promotion from Division Three. With that achieved, and at some ease, his side can now look forward to Ulster championship action.
Confidence has been restored after the acrimonious end to their 2014 campaign, and there is a sense that McGeeney is building a side that is much more in touch with his attitude than the partnership in Kildare.
Fermanagh and Armagh were the two stand-out sides in the division with Pete McGrath’s side rarely faltering in their quest for promotion. Five wins,one draw and one loss each means there could be very little to split these sides on Saturday evening. Their group clash ended with a 1-10 each draw and it should be interesting to see how both sides have used three week break since their last competitive outing.
Fermanagh’s last divisional final was in 2012 when they lost to Wicklow while Armagh, before the fall from grace, beat Down in the Division Two decider five years ago.
McGeeney wants his side to get used to winning at Croke Park and they should give him his first taste of silverware on Saturday night.
Allianz Football League Division IV Final Longford v Offaly, Croke Park, 5.15pm
It may not be the sexiest game of the weekend for GAA football fans but for Offaly and Longford this may well be the biggest game of the year – at least for their supporters.
For counties who don’t get to grace Croke Park when there’s a cup in the Hogan Stand on offer, the emphasis must be on getting the most out of the occasion as they can.
It is also, of course, a nice way for both sides to warm up ahead of a championship encounter between the teams on May 16. With that in mind, both managers may be hoping to play not quite at 100%, but players in a final don’t think that way.
Their most recent meeting saw Longford beat Offaly by 0-13 to 0-10, but that result comes with the health warning of three red cards for the Faithful county.
Bot sides have promotion safely in the back pocket and with one eye on that championship encounter in a few weeks Offaly, and with Niall McNamee and William Mulhall in full flight, should secure the Division Four crown.
