NOW that the winter cobwebs are well and truly blown off and all the shadowboxing of the pre-season tournaments are over It’s now time to get down to the serious business of the National League this weekend.
There has been a lot happening over the last number of weeks with club championships coming to a climax, college football in full swing and then trying to nurse your players back. With all that in mind, management teams all around the country will be happy to reach this point where the serious stuff begins.
The pre-season stuff is great as it gives fans the opportunity to get back out and watch some live action and it also allows teams to try different formations and different approaches while also allowing the opportunity to blood new players.
From the point of view of management and players, the pre-season stuff is great because the media and fans are less critical at this time of year. They are aware of what is happening but from this weekend the scrutiny will intensify as everyone tries to identify those who make a push this year as well as those teams who may be on the slide.
In years gone by I know in my own preparation I used to target maybe the third or fourth National League game to be back to my best. Nowadays, however, you have to be at yourself from the very first game because the competition is so fierce and with the shorter season you can’t afford to be playing catch up.
We are all well aware now that there is very little downtime for these county players with most returning to preseason in very good physical condition. That means by the time the National League comes around most if not all the games are highly competitive encounters.
If we look through the different divisions this weekend there are some very interesting clashes on the horizon.
In Division One Dublin host Armagh, Mayo play Donegal and then neighbours Tyrone and Monaghan face off and the clash of the round in Division Two will probably be Derry versus Down. From that point of view there are lots of interesting games to keep an eye on this weekend.
Starting with the first game in Division One on Saturday night, most people will naturally tip Dublin to win but for me this Armagh team must start to show a real sign of progression the season.
They have shown in glimpses that they can turn on the style and compete with the big boys but now in Division One this year they have to prove to themselves more than anything else that they can do this on a consistent basis.
If they can manage to get a few wins under their belts it will do wonders for their confidence and may help them to compete strongly for the Ulster Championship this season.
They have a talented young group of players starting to emerge with the likes of the O Neills and Jarlath Og Burns gaining that intercounty experience over the last few seasons. For them it’s about time they took a step or two forward this year.
In Division two on Saturday evening two of the favourites face off in Owenbeg. Visitors Down will be without their Kilcoo contingent which may perhaps have hampered their league preparations but it possibly evens itself up as the Sleacht Néill hurlers have also been tied up.
I was at the Derry v Donegal McKenna cup semi-final and I understand that it was a pre-season competition but I was a little disappointed with how Derry set up and in particular how they went about breaking down Donegal’s blanket defence.
We saw with Glen Maghera this season that Derry is laced with naturally gifted footballers so for me, like Armagh, it’s time for those players to step up as a group and put a consistent run of performances together.
Down on the other hand have sort of been in transition for the last number of years. However, with the u-20 success last year under the guidance of Conor Laverty it’s now critical for Down football that these players are now blooded through at senior level and they must try to gain a foothold at this level once more.
On Sunday in the early game Mayo face off against Donegal in Sligo. Mayo are always flying under the radar at this time of year because they put little or no emphasis on their pre-season tournament down there so it’s really hard to judge were they are that particular this early on in the season.
Going into the game I feel that there is a little more pressure on this Donegal team given their first-half display in the McKenna cup final last weekend. The spirited comeback halted some serious debate that may have taken place had Donegal not clawed their way back into the game.
I understand that people looking on will try and pick holes but you also must look at the the number of big influential players who were perhaps ruled out because of injury or college commitments. For those reasons, as a Donegal supporter, I wouldn’t panic just yet and hopefully on Sunday we will see a few more familiar faces take to the field.
The last game in division one will see neighbours Monaghan and Tyrone face off. Both of these teams have had contrasting pre-seasons with Monaghan flying high and winning the McKenna cup and on the other hand Tyrone still trying to blow off the holiday cobwebs. This game is always fiercely competitive and although it’s early doors I can’t see this one being any different. When looking at all the games and all the situations effecting all teams I can see wins for. Dublin, Donegal, Derry and Monaghan this weekend.
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