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Allianz Football League Round 4: All you need to know

Updated / Saturday, 22 Feb 2025 14:53
John Maher of Galway in action against Donegal players, from left, Shane O'Donnell, left, and Aaron Doherty in last year's All-Ireland semi-final
John Maher of Galway in action against Donegal players, from left, Shane O'Donnell, left, and Aaron Doherty in last year's All-Ireland semi-final

SATURDAY 22 FEBRUARY

Allianz FL Division 1
Armagh v Mayo, BOX-IT Athletic Grounds, 5pm
Dublin v Derry, Croke Park, 7.30pm

Allianz FL Division 2
Monaghan v Cork, Inniskeen 2.30pm

Allianz FL Division 3
Antrim v Leitrim, Corrigan Park, 2.30pm
Kildare v Laois, Cedral St. Conleth's, Newbridge 7pm

Allianz FL Division 4
Tipperary v London, FBD Semple Stadium, Thurles, 5pm
Carlow v Limerick, Netwatch Cullen Park, Carlow, 6pm

SUNDAY 23 FEBRUARY

Allianz FL Division 1
Tyrone v Kerry, Pomeroy, 1.45pm
Galway v Donegal, Pearse Stadium, 3.35pm

Allianz FL Division 2
Westmeath v Cavan, TEG Cusack Park, 2pm
Louth v Down, Integral GAA Grounds, 2.30pm
Meath v Roscommon, Páirc Tailteann, 2.45pm

Allianz FL Division 3
Sligo v Clare, Markievicz Park OFF
Fermanagh v Offaly, Ederney, 2pm

Allianz FL Division 4
Longford v Waterford, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park 2pm
Wexford v Wicklow, Chadwicks Wexford Park - OFF

ONLINE
Live blogs each day on RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News app.

TV
Saturday's Dublin-Derry will be live on BBC iPlayer (also live on GAAGO). On Sunday, Galway-Donegal will be live on TG4, with a deferred showing of Tyrone-Kerry on the channel from 5.35pm.

Highlights from the weekend on Allianz League Sunday from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.

RADIO
Live commentaries and updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport.

WEATHER
Saturday: A day of sunny spells and scattered showers, mainly for Atlantic areas at first but extending eastwards through the morning and afternoon. Cloud will build from the southwest later. Highest temperatures of 9 to 12 degrees with mostly moderate southwest winds.
Sunday: It will be a rather windy day with strong to near gale force and gusty southwest winds, reaching gale force at the coasts. Heavy rain which may lead to spot flooding along Atlantic coastal counties will clear eastwards in the morning and early afternoon with sunny spells and scattered showers following. Highest temperatures of 11 to 14 degrees. For more go to met.ie.

Roaming charges!

And so we're are at the halfway(ish) point in the league. Much of the talk so far has been about how teams are adapting to the new rules. The influence of goalkeepers in joining the attack, so creating a 12v11 scenario, is now the hot topic of debate. Critics will point that the presence of the No 1 in an advanced position is only adding to slow play and the continued recycling of the ball.

Former Monaghan star Dick Clerkin, speaking on Today FM's The Last Word, is of the view that if goalies want to wander so much they should consider swapping the No 1 jersey for that of an outfield player. In last weekend's Kerry-Dublin clash, there was a period of at least three minutes where the Dubs held on to possession with goalkeeper Evan Comerford centrally involved in distributing the ball far away from home.

Tyrone goalkeeper Niall Morgan runs back to his goal during last weekend's game with Mayo

Another view from the land of the Farney came from the recently retired Conor McManus, who believes we should not restrict goalkeepers' advances, but allow an extra defender to keep tabs on the marauding custodian.

McManus outlined his 'solution', when speaking on the Second Captains Podcast, and said: "If the goalkeeper crosses over the half way line, you could drop one of your 'three-up' to go and mark him to go 12 on 12, so you only have to leave 'two-up,' that could be a way of looking at it and it might discourage keepers from coming up a wee bit more."

He also had another suggestion: "The other one is if the keeper comes up, you still have to have four back in your defence".

It will be interesting to see what alterations, if any, the FRC come up with on limiting the instances where 12v11 can occur - and on the goalkeeper being master of all he surveys in in the opposition half.

To further underline that the new rules and their application are still a work in progress, we had the breaking news that, following a meeting between the FRC and the referees panel, a goalkeeper now has just 20 seconds to get his restart away.

It seems that not everybody in the room was aware of this, not players and team management, it would seem.

FRC member Peter Canavan, speaking on Allianz League Sunday, accepts communication could be better, but doesn't believe the FRC is to blame over the ensuing confusion.

And while the new footballing landscape has so far brought much free-flowing fare and high-scoring, the desired impact, if such an end-point actually exists, has still to be realised. It may come at the end of the league, in time for championship. Or we may have to wait until Special Congress in November for clarity and a universal acceptance that the changes going forward are in the best interests of the game.

Division 1

Before a ball was kicked in this league, minds were already focused on summer fare. Jim McGuinness' disappointment was acute in the wake of Donegal's loss to Galway in last year's All-Ireland semi-final. A fortnight later Jim watched on and no doubt thought 'it could have been us'.

Perhaps it's too simplistic to say that Jimmy and co can now go a step further and more... and deliver Sam in this, year two, of his second coming as manager. But you don't have to whisper it too loudly, Donegal kept cropping up as pundits looked into their crystal balls over the Christmas and New Year.

McGuinness' squad had a good pre-season, we're told, and lead the way with three wins from three in the top tier.

Peter Canavan, in assessing the victory over Armagh on Allianz League Sunday, heaped praise on the Tír Chonaill display, saying "they were a delight to watch" and that the return of Michael Murphy to a side already on an upward trajectory makes them All-Ireland favourites.

Michael Murphy finds the range against Armagh

Murphy's introduction saw him fire over a point in no time, this after Aidan Forker laid out the welcome mat, with the Armagh man seeing red for his 'pleasantries'.

In all, Murphy scored three points and set up another score for Ciarán Thompson. A telling impact then from a player who last played for his county on 12 June, 2022. Needless to say his manager was happy with his impact, telling RTÉ Sport: "It was great to see him out there from a Donegal point of view. Great to have a leader like that amongst us again on the pitch. And delighted for him that he managed to kick some fantastic scores, particularly the first one off his left foot.

"It took a lot of courage to kick that after a two-year gap."

As things stand after three rounds

As for Galway, well they remain unbeaten, though they had to settle for a share of the spoils against Derry, this after letting a nine-point lead at the break, slip.

That said, there was a still a lot to like about the way the westerners have adopted to the new rules, with Shane Walsh again showing his prowess at kicking two-pointers. They got 1-05 off Derry turnovers. Late on, John Daly's brilliant block on Ethan Doherty prevented a certain goal. All told, the Tribes will be happy with a point, against opposition who were ravenous on the resumption as they sought to get their campaign up and running.

Michael Murphy's comeback adds that bit more to Donegal's options up front, a line of the field where they are pretty well served as it is. Galway also have riches offensively, so the hope would be for a shootout at Pearse Stadium. Let's hope the weather plays ball; it doesn't always at the venue. But a drier sod and the sun higher in the sky would be more fitting for this pair to show their true worth. We may have to wait for the shootout!

Derry make the trip south to take on Dublin at Croke Park.

Once Shane McGuigan fired over their only two-pointer against Galway, Paddy Tally's men found a renewed belief. The direct running from sub Lachlan Murray, allied with Brendan Roger and Conor Glass exerting more of an influence, were key in the Oak Leaf revival at Celtic Park.

Much heart and fight from Tally's crew and more of that will be required if they are to survive in what is an ultra-competitive top tier.

Conor Glass holds on to possession despite the attention of Galway's Seán Fitzgerald

Last year, Dublin and Derry played out a thrilling Division 1 final, with the latter prevailing after extra time and penalties. It's unlikely we'll see such high-octane fare on Jones Road 11 months on, but while Derry will hope that last weekend's second-half surge against the Tribes will be a catalyst for better things, the Dubs are also eyeing a more sustained upturn after they turned it around on the resumption in edging Kerry.

Two late two-pointers from substitute Lorcan O'Dell - coupled with a tour de force performance from Sean Bugler in the second half - helped deliver only Dublin's fourth ever league win in the Kingdom.

The breeze was a notable factor in Tralee and the Dubs certainly made use of it as they chipped away at the 11-point deficit they faced at the break.

As more of the personnel central to Dublin's six in a row walk away, new names are stepping up. Whether they can fill the boots of those who led the charge for more than a decade remains to be seen, but manager Dessie Farrell was nevertheless pleased by the manner in which his young guns fought back at Austin Stack Park.

He told RTÉ Sport: "The new players stood up. Luke Breathnach came on and kicked a two-pointer, Lorcan O'Dell kicked two two-pointers.

"David Clifford came on for Kerry for 20 minutes and Theo Clancy nullified him.

"For this Dublin team, it's character building. The confidence that they will take from this going down the road, it's a big thing for them as we didn’t see it coming at half-time."

It wasn't a thing of beauty but Mayo got their first points on the board after accounting for Tyrone in Castlebar. 0-12 to 0-10 the final score says it all in a world where tallies are now more akin to hurling scorelines.

Two late points from substitutes Ryan O'Donoghue (free) and Fergal Boland were the scores that eventually broke Tyrone’s resistance and delivered a much-needed win for Kevin McStay's side, who now head to the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds to take on Armagh.

The Green and Red deserved it and will also be buoyed by the return to action of the likes of Jordan Flynn, Aidan O'Shea (above) and Jack Coyne for the first time this season, while Frank Irwin and Fergal Boland also kicked a string of eye-catching scores.

For Armagh, it's just one win in three matches after their loss in Ballybofey. After Darragh McMullan fired past Shaun Patton for a goal on 10 minutes, the All-Ireland champions then fell asleep as the hosts hit 10 unanswered points. They never really awoke from their slumber.

No time for panic you would think for fans of the Orchard County. They showed enough in the win over Tyrone in Round 2 that they have it in them to stay in the division. Kieran McGeeney is looking further ahead in having his troops fine-tuned for their defence of Sam.

Kerry, after seeing their age-old rivals pip them on their home patch and so leave them two losses from three, head north to take on opposition whom they've had a tasty rivalry with since that All-Ireland semi in 2003. Tyrone enter the game in Omagh also on the back of two successive defeats. It's likely that the Errigal Ciarán contingent will return to aid the Red Hand cause, though captain Paudie Hampsey is still unavailable after undergoing a shoulder operation.

David Clifford is tackled by Conor Meyler left and Paudie Hampsey during the March 2023 clash of Tyrone and Kerry in Omagh

Malachy O'Rourke's side were poor in going down to defeat in Mayo and you'd the expect the sight of the Green and Gold jersey to stir them.

For Jack O'Connor, it was a case of a few regrets as he felt his side panicked against Dubs in the second half, while also lamenting their inability to hang on to the ball. David Clifford did see game time in Tralee and you would think if he had been on from the off the Kingdom would have built up an bigger half-time advantage. Expect the Fossa clubman to be on from the start on Sunday.

Division 2

The Rossies are flying after defeating Monaghan to make it three wins from three. Diarmuid Murtagh spearheaded a second-half Roscommon revival at the Hyde, kicking four two-pointers to enable Davy Burke's men move top of the Division 2 table outright.

Next up is a trip to take on a Meath side who are showing real signs life under Robbie Brennan.

Jordan Morris and Eoghan Frayne scored 0-08 each as the Royals held on for the victory in Down - and a promotion tilt is very much on the cards for a county who also have designs on narrowing the gap to Dublin in Leinster.

As it stands in tier 2

Alongside Meath on four points are Monaghan and Cork and they meet in Inniskeen in a game brought forward to Saturday due to weather concerns.. Chris Óg Jones was the Rebels' star as his 3-04 helped in no small way to defeating Westmeath by the bare minimum.

The latter now host Cavan, with the Breffni getting off the mark when two goals in as many minutes in the closing stages seeing them get the batter of Louth.

The Wee County now welcome Down to Ardee.

Division 3

Kildare remain on track for promotion, as are Offaly.

The Lillies had little trouble in overcoming Leitrim in Ballinamore and now play host to Laois, who chalked up an impressive tally themselves when defeating Sligo.

Offaly's latest victory came courtesy of a 16-point win over Antrim, with the Faithful hitting four goals. The Saffron cause was not helped with the sending off of their two midfielders Conor Stewart and Conor Hand in the first six minutes of the second half. That said, Declan Kelly and Mickey Harte have the midlanders in good fettle. Promotion would be one of the stories of the spring and their quest continues with a visit to Brewster Park and a clash with Fermanagh.

Lilies lead the way on score difference

Clare, with two wins on the bounce, are away to a Sligo side who have disappointed so far.

Antrim will be confident of a second victory when they host Leitrim.

Division 4

Wexford v Wicklow is the one to watch here. This pair were fancied by most to clinch the promotion spots and a win for the Slaneysiders would give them a bit of breathing space, this after the Garden County lost to London in Round 1.

As it stands in the race to reach tier 3

Tipperary, after a difficult 2024 are going well so far, and they'll fancy getting the points at home to London, so keeping alive their own push for promotion.

Elsewhere, Longford host basement side Waterford and Limerick are the visitors to Carlow.

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