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Assassin Kelly can ignite Galway, Donegal at low ebb

'Would you fear getting Donegal in the group stage? In reality, no'
'Would you fear getting Donegal in the group stage? In reality, no'

Two games last weekend, just the ten games this weekend. Plus the hurling is starting as well. I don't pretend to understand the complexities of the fixtures calendar, so let's not try.

Ulster again provides the greatest potential for intrigue and upset, though first off, we'll revisit last weekend's thrilling fare up north.

After an often frustrating league, Sunday's game in Omagh was a reminder that Gaelic football can be a captivating sport when played in an adventurous spirit.

It was a great antidote to the lateral, safety-first football that prevailed throughout the winter months. Some of the attacking play - on both sides - was superb.

The big caveat here is whether we'd have gotten a similar game in a knockout championship match, with everything on the line. I don't believe we would have.

More than likely, we'd have had a cagier and tighter affair, with teams more inclined to play the percentages.

If Tyrone were leading by a point in injury-time in a straight knockout game, do we think Monaghan would be able to carry it to the opposing 45 untouched?

Monaghan players celebrate Ryan O'Toole's late goal

Niall Sludden was caught in no-man's land in that he didn't know whether to hold his man or attack the ball carrier, and he probably took the wrong option in going for the latter. That left an easy pop pass to Ryan O'Toole.

But then the biggest surprise of all was that O'Toole had nearly 20 metres of free space to run into before he caught Niall Morgan unawares with the early shot. That will annoy Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher and you'd imagine it'll be tidied up by the time we reach the group stage.

There's been plenty of discussion - and amazement - over his decision to drill a shot at goal rather than pop over a handy point. Again, you'd wonder whether if there was no safety net available yesterday, would he have taken the same option? I personally prefer to think he would have and put it down to the exuberance of youth.

It tells you something about modern football that a goalkeeper stroking over a point from play is greeted as an everyday occurrence, while a lad firing an early shot for goal when a point down in injury-time is regarded as a surreal event.

Either way, it summed up the approach of both teams in the second half on Sunday.

Overall, Monaghan are due huge credit for their second-half performance and the way they re-adjusted at half-time. Their attacking play in particular was scintillating. They nearly abandoned the sweeper - or rather used Rory Beggan in the sweeping role.

Beggan gave a magnificent display of modern goalkeeping (aka, playmaking!) His diagonal pass to Karl Gallagher in the lead-up to Stephen O'Hanlon's goal was just beautiful football.

You'd hope for the same this weekend though I don't expect a pretty game in the Hyde, with the Rossies aiming to maintain their momentum against Galway.

I've happy memories of the Hyde as a venue in a playing sense - we never lost there in championship in my career - but funny enough, the graveyard behind the goal used to give me goosebumps. I always say thank God I was never a free-taker, because I'd miss everything kicking into that goal.

Without wanting to throw any disrespect in the direction of Davy and Co, I fancy Galway to get the job done here by a few points.

Galway can play the kind of slow, methodical game that Roscommon used to good effect in Castlebar but they also have the X-factor up front that can make the difference, with Shane Walsh and Damien Comer capable of running riot, as they did in last year's Connacht final in Salthill. Outside of those two, Johnny Heaney is a key cog in the forward line, often cropping up with huge scores in big games. Rob Finnerty can rack up a big score, particularly if gets off the mark early on.

I don't think we'll see the same motivation gap between the sides that was somewhat evident in Mayo-Roscommon. They won't let Enda Smith run rampant in the middle third, I reckon they'll have him tagged earlier having seen his influence the last day.

My favourite Galway player is a guy who's been a monster for them in the league - Sean Kelly. I call him the baby-faced assassin. You look at him, he has these sweet and innocent eyes, and yet then you find he's as ruthless as they come. We got it first hand when playing Maigh Cuilin in the Connacht quarter-final - he took off at one stage and he was like a bowling ball, he was popping off everything. He's as strong as an ox.

He always wants to mark the best attacking player in the opposition. Did a great tagging job on David Clifford in the league. And yet, if there's a turnover, he continues his run right to the opposite end of the pitch. More often than not, he'll be involved in the attack, and can pop up with a score.

Sean Kelly in characteristic pose against Kerry

Ulster, the most competitive province for as long as I remember, offers the greatest potential for uncertainty. Two quarter-finals that could go either way, which have big implications for the All-Ireland group stage placings.

If Cavan and Down win this weekend, that's Kildare's safety net taken from under them, with Dublin lurking on their side of the draw.

For Cavan, a game at home to Armagh in Breffni represents a huge opportunity. They've known it's the only route to the Sam Maguire race since the original championship draw. There's a lot at stake and they've Dara McVeety back after his stint in Australia.

We know that Cavan like to sit back and strike from deep, how Armagh like to play remains uncertain. Will we see the defensive-minded, cautious outfit of this year's league or will they go back to the freewheeling attacking game of 2022? They were back in their more attacking guise when putting away Antrim, though the opposition was poor.

In the other game in Newry, I sense an upset on the cards - if you could even call it that. Donegal looked to be in complete disarray by the end of the league, their confidence shot.

As if things weren't bad enough, with Murphy retired, McBrearty injured, the manager removed, now Ryan McHugh has opted out for the year. It's in danger of becoming a write-off.

A dejected Brendan McCole after Donegal's last league game against Roscommon

It's tough when you feel a season has gotten away from you. It happened to us to a degree in 2018 - though things admittedly didn't go as spectacularly wrong as they seem to have in Donegal.

We hadn't quite gotten over the '17 All-Ireland final, were pipped by Galway in Connacht and from there never really recovered. We survived despite playing terribly against Tipperary in Thurles. By the time we arrived for the Newbridge game against a fired-up Kildare, we were just waiting for the knockout punch.

Donegal seem to be at a low ebb at the moment. Can they rise from the canvas this weekend? I'm not sure.

And if they do lose, would you fear getting Donegal in the group stage? In reality, no. You'd be happy to get them at this point.

Down, meanwhile, are playing with some renewed confidence under Conor Laverty. In contrast to their opponents, they finished the league on a relative high, with a demolition job on Offaly in Tullamore. The loss of Caolon Mooney is a blow but they looked to have righted things after a chaotic campaign last year.

There is obviously a gap in quality between the divisions but they looked sharp and hungry and I would expect them to pose a fragile Donegal huge problems.

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