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Qualifiers heat up with quarter-final places on the line

Mark Lynch is in fine form for Derry
Mark Lynch is in fine form for Derry

All eyes will be on Salthill and Cavan this afternoon as we learn the identity of two more All-Ireland football quarter-finalists, with Clare facing Roscommon and Derry taking on Tipperary in the Round 4A qualifiers.

Pearse Stadium will be a sea of yellow and blue as the fans of the Banner and the Rossies head for Salthill where Clare will be looking to add another name to their growing list of scalps this year (3pm throw-in, live coverage on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport).

The Division 3 champions found Kerry too strong in the Munster semi-finals, but have already beaten Limerick, Laois and, last weekend, Sligo, to extend their fantastic season to at least the final week of July.

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Roscommon, meanwhile, might only have played one day after Clare, but RTÉ analyst Dessie Dolan is among those that fears the disappointment of last Sunday's Connacht final defeat by Galway will be too much to overcome in such short order.

"What Kevin McStay and Fergal O'Donnell have to do now is rebuild those (Roscommon) players and mentally get them back tuned in to be up to the pace of the game when they hit Salthill on Saturday," Dolan said.

Roscommon could have one advantage in that they have experience of Pearse Stadium on a difficult day, having drawn their initial encounter with Galway at the venue a fortnight ago, and conditions look set to be similar with showers and blustery winds predicted.

They will also have no shortage of experience, with veteran half-back Sean McDermott making his 155th appearance for the county.

The forecast for Breffni Park is somewhat better as Tipperary bid to reach a first All-Ireland quarter-final when they take on Derry (5pm throw-in).

Both sides are unchanged from their previous outings, which saw Derry edge out hosts Cavan at the same venue seven days ago, while Tipperary have had three weeks to recover from their 10-point Munster final defeat by Kerry.

Derry are the favourites with the bookmakers and that's no surprise with their run through the qualifiers being marked by some lethal performances from the full-forward line of James Kielt, Emmett McGuckin and Mark Lynch.

The trio have combined for 2-32 in the wins over Louth, Meath and Cavan, and will need to be well marshalled by a Tipp defence that shipped a total of 2-10 to Kerry's inside forwards on Munster final day.

Don't forget you can follow both games live here on RTÉ.ie

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