Going into the final round of matches in the Allianz Football League, all things considered it has been a disappointing campaign from the perspective of the majority of the Connacht counties. In Division 1, Mayo go into the final round against Donegal at MacHale Park with the possibility of being relegated, but also with an outside chance of reaching the final if results elsewhere go their way. All the possible permutations (there are a lot) are gone into in more detail below. Roscommon, who are already relegated, host Cavan on Sunday at 2pm in Dr Hyde Park looking for their first win of the campaign to try and generate some momentum for their Connacht Championship Semi Final against the winner of London and Leitrim in Dr. Hyde Park on June 18th.
In Division 2, Galway are at home in Pearse stadium on Sunday at 2pm to already promoted Kildare, knowing that a win or a draw will be enough to seal their place in the final the following week in Croke Park and promotion to Division 1. If Galway lose we could see Meath leapfrog them and snatch second spot as they managed to beat Galway earlier in the campaign.
Sligo travel to Drogheda to take on newly promoted Louth at 2pm on Sunday in Division 3 knowing that they could still be in danger of dropping to Division 4 if results go disastrously against them, despite being a point ahead of Offaly, Laois, Longford and Antrim, who all play each other.
In Division 4, Leitrim are at home to Waterford at 1pm, without any prospect of promotion. However, they will be looking to build on last weekend’s good win against London with an eye on the Connacht Championship quarter final against the same opposition on Sunday 28th May in Ruislip.
In the Allianz Hurling League, the round robin part of the league has concluded and we have now moved on to the quarter finals, divisional deciders and relegation play offs. In the Division 1 quarter finals, Galway take on Waterford at Pearse Stadium at 4pm after their footballers take on Kildare at 2pm.
Mayo and Roscommon face off in the Division 2B relegation play-off in Castlebar on Saturday night at 5pm.
Below is a detailed article published on gaa.ie containing all fixtures and permutations for the weekends football games.
DIVISION 1
Monaghan v Dublin, Clones.
Mayo v Donegal, Elverys MacHale Park.
Kerry v Tyrone, Fitzgerald Stadium.
Roscommon v Cavan, Dr. Hyde Park.
There are no Division 1 semi-finals this year, so the top two teams after Sunday’s final round of matches will qualify directly for the Allianz Football League Final.
It’s worth remembering that if two teams finish level on the same points then their head to head record separates them. Whereas if three teams or more finish level on points then they’re separated by scoring difference.
Dublin and Donegal currently occupy the top two positions, but Monaghan, Tyrone, Kerry, and Mayo all still have a mathematical chance of making the Final.
The Dublin-Monaghan game is probably the most decisive game of the weekend. A win for either team will guarantee a League Final berth, while a draw will also be enough for Dublin.
Donegal can also be certain of a place in the Division 1 League Final if they defeat Mayo. After that, things get a lot murkier with a host of possible outcomes depending on how the games go.
Mayo’s situation sums up just how finely poised the Division is going into the last round. They’re in danger of being relegated, but were they to beat Donegal, Kerry to beat Tyrone, and Dublin to beat Monaghan, they could still qualify for the Final.
Such a sequence of results would leave Donegal, Monaghan, Kerry, and Mayo level on eight points each, after which they would be separated by scoring difference.
In terms of the relegation picture, Roscommon are already condemned to drop down to Division Two after failing to win any of their six matches thus far.
Cavan currently sit second from bottom, but were they to beat Roscommon in their final game they’d give themselves a fighting chance of avoiding the drop.
That would leave them on six points, so were Mayo to lose to Donegal then Cavan would leapfrog them in the table because of the head to head rule, and Mayo would be relegated.
Were Cavan to beat Roscommon, Mayo to lose to Donegal, and Kerry to lose to Tyrone, then Cavan, Mayo, and Kerry would all finish on six points and scoring difference would determine which side of the three would be relegated.
Unless they shoot the lights out against Roscommon, that would probably be Cavan, as their scoring difference is currently -20, whereas Mayo’s is -5 and Kerry’s is +6.
So, lots of possibilities going into the final round of Division 1. It could be a clear-cut scenario at either end of the table by the time the final whistle blows on all four games, but there’s a chance too you might need a calculator to figure it all out.
DIVISION 2
Galway v Kildare, Pearse Stadium.
Clare v Meath, Cusack Park.
Cork v Down Pairc Ui Rinn.
Fermanagh v Derry, Brewster Park.
Kildare are already promoted to Division 1 but the second promotion spot is still up for grabs.
Galway currently sit in second place, but were they to lose to Kildare at Pearse Stadium on Sunday then they could open the door for Meath.
A defeat for Galway and a victory for Meath over Clare would see Meath promoted as they have already beaten Galway so would jump ahead of them in the table if they both finish on nine points.
Of course, if Galway defeat Kildare or even draw with them, then they’re guaranteed promotion.
At the other end of the table it’s going to be a real scrap. Cork, Clare, Fermanagh, Down, and Derry can all be relegated depending on how results go.
Cork are in fourth position on six points and are probably safe because of the relatively healthy scoring difference (-2) they enjoy compared to teams like Down (-18) and Fermanagh (-30) who could join them on six points were they to win their final match.
After that, there are a myriad of possible scenarios. Derry are currently bottom of the table but will survive if they defeat Fermanagh and Down lose to Cork. In that scenario Down and Fermanagh would be relegated.
Clare would be relegated were they to lose to Meath, and Fermanagh and Down to defeat Derry and Cork respectively.
Fermanagh could defeat Derry and still be relegated on scoring difference were Down to defeat Cork and Clare to defeat Meath or draw with them.
Division Two really is on a knife-edge.
DIVISION 3
Armagh v Tipperary, Athletic Grounds.
Offaly v Laois, O’Connor Park.
Louth v Sligo, Gaelic Grounds, Drogheda.
Antrim v Longford, Corrigan Park, Belfast.
Louth have already won promotion to Division Three. They will be joined there by either Tipperary or Armagh who will go head to head in a straight shoot-out on Sunday.
A draw would be good enough for Armagh to win promotion, but only a victory is good enough for Tipperary.
The relegation picture in Division Three is more complicated. Four teams – Longford, Laois, Antrim, and Offaly – have four points each, while Sligo are also still in danger on five points.
The bottom four all play one another on Sunday – Offaly v Laois & Antrim v Longford – and those two games are likely to decide how everything pans out.
Whoever wins will stay up, whoever loses will go down. A draw in either game will ensure that scoring difference comes into the equation when determining what teams are relegated.
DIVISION 4
Westmeath v London, Cusack Park, Mullingar.
Leitrim v Waterford, Carrick-On-Shannon.
Carlow v Wexford, Dr. Cullen Park.
Limerick v Wicklow, Newcastlewest.
The final round of Division 4 is effectively a dead-rubber because Westmeath and Wexford have already qualified for the Final.
