All-Ireland Senior Championship Group Two Round Two

Monaghan v Tipperary

Friday, Parnell Park, 7.30pm

EXPERIENCED Monaghan attacker Ellen McCarron hopes that all the pieces are in place to bounce back from 2019.

Their All-Ireland championship campaign throws-in against Tipperary this weekend, and it’s their first competitive match since the spring as their Ulster Championship semi-final against Cavan was postponed with so many opposition players in self-isolation.

The Farney girls were relegated from the top flight last year, and a possible Division Two final beckoned before lockdown struck back in March, so they’ll be quietly confident of making their mark in the Intermediate Championship.

She admits that the postponement of their Ulster Championship semi-final wasn’t ideal – it will now go ahead after the All-Ireland championship is run off – but that’s just the way the cookie crumbled.

McCarron said: “We were looking forward to it. It would’ve been a good challenge game even but it was in the Ulster Championship and we’d been gearing towards it.

“It was called off at the last minute which was a bit disappointing, but there’s nothing you can do about that. We kept training away and now we’re focused on playing Tipperary.”

McCarron was actually unavailable last season as she went travelling, so her return has been a big boost to a Monaghan team which has slipped down the pecking order in Ulster.

She’s happy with how things are going under their new manager Ciaran Murtagh,who was part of Niall Treanor’s backroom team last year.

“Ciaran and his management team bring a lot of freshness to the table and kept the whole thing going over lockdown which was good. There was a lot of craic as well which brought the team together.

“Our trainer Adam Treanor is actually my club manager at Emmett Og’s so we knew him and knew how good he was. They’ve a really good team there, they’re all young and fresh and bring good ideas of the table.”

There’s been a few new additions bolstering the Monaghan panel ahead of the championship, including McCarron’s Emmet Og teammates Anita Newell and Marian McCarville.

“We have brought in a couple of new players including two from my own club. Having the club games before county was a great way for managers to see games, and a few were deservedly called up and are doing well, and some of them would be pushing for a starting place this weekend.”

Friday’s group stage clash against Tipperary, which will be broadcast live on TG4, has the potential to be a really competitive contest. Tipp won the All-Ireland Intermediate title tlast year,, and were faring reasonably well in Division One before the lockdown.

McCarron said: “It probably helps that we got to see them at the weekend against Galway, they played really well but were beaten by a point. We know they’ll give us a hard game especially with Aisling Moloney up front. She’s unbelievably skilful so we’ll have to keep tabs on her.”

McCarron, who lives on the outskirts of Clones, also says that Monaghan have been reasonably lucky in the lead-up to the match as they haven’t been hit too hard by Covid.

“A few players missed a training session or two because they were close contacts, but thankfully the tests for those contacts all came back negative. We’re taking all the precautions we can and everyone’s doing their best to stay safe. We haven’t been hit by anything and hopefully it’ll stay like that.”

All-Ireland Senior Championship Group Four Round Two

Tyrone v Mayo

Saturday, Sean McDermott Park, 1pm

GERRY Moane’s Tyrone have no option but to claim victory over Mayo if they’re to stand any chance whatsoever of making the semi-finals.

It’s their second and final group stage clash after losing to Armagh on Friday evening by 6-16 to 3-13.

They’re now playing catch up as they hone their preparations for a Mayo side making their first outing in the championship, and they’ll need to tighten up at the back if they’re to stand any chance of making the semi-finals.

All-Ireland Junior Championship Group A Round Three

Carlow v Fermanagh

Sunday, Lannleire, 1pm

THIS is a massive clash for the Fermanagh ladies as the winners advance to an All-Ireland semi-final against Limerick.

Jonny Garity’s side lost at the weekend to Wicklow by 0-9 to 1-2. The Garden County have already booked their place in the semi-finals as they won their opening day match against Carlow as well.

This should be a close contest and Fermanagh have a great panel at their disposal at the moment with the likes of Joanne Doonan back from AFL while Eimear Smyth has returned to fitness after missing league games earlier in the year.

All-Ireland Junior Championship Group B Round Three

Derry v Antrim

Sunday, Augher, 1pm

LIMERICK have already topped the group and therefore advance to the semi-finals of the All-Ireland Junior Championship, but there is still plenty at stake for Antrim and Derry in this winner-takes-all clash.

Even though they’ve both already lost to Limerick, the victors of this particular game will sneak through the backdoor into an All-Ireland semi-final against Wicklow.

On current form, Antrim look better placed to advance as they gave Limerick a much better game than Derry managed.