SATURDAY, 29 MARCH
DIVISION 2
Down v Kildare, Inniskeen, 1.30pm
DIVISION 3
London v Mayo, Hawkfield, 1.30pm
DIVISION 4
Fermanagh v Louth, Truagh, 1.30pm
ONLINE
Live scores on RTÉ Sport Online and the RTÉ News app
TV
Live coverage of the Division 2 final between Down and Kildare on the Spórt TG4 Youtube channel.
Allianz League Sunday will be on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 9.30pm on Sunday.
RADIO
Updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta's Spórt an tSathairn.
WEATHER
Largely dry for a time and while there will be some bright or sunny spells, it will become increasingly cloudy through the morning and afternoon. Highest temperatures of 10 to 13 degrees in moderate to fresh and occasionally gusty southerly winds, veering south-westerly. For more, visit met.ie.
Rivals hope to break new ground with title in tow
The merits of Down and Kildare's promotion to Division 1B become obvious when you consider the last time they played a Division 1 game of hurling.
For the Ulster side, that was 2007 and a rather chastening loss at the hands of Wexford. Kildare have to go much further back, to a five-point defeat to Laois in 1980.
There is a bit of an asterisk there as both counties have played in the second tier, when there was just Division 1 and 2, since but the psychological boost of being able to call yourself a Division 1 team is massive. To do that with a league title as well won’t hurt either.
Calling this match is a fool’s errand but predicting a tight encounter isn’t a particularly brave call. The last five league meetings between them have had a winning margin of 1.4 points per game and the record is an even tie of two wins, two losses and a draw.
Down boss Ronan Sheehan, now in his seventh season and still with a certain Diarmuid 'Rock’ O’Sullivan in his backroom team, has had the Midas touch of keeping a core group together for a number of years, something that has often hindered the county’s progress.
The addition of talented youngsters like the Savages, Phelim and Liam, free-scoring duo Tim Prenter and Tom McGrattan and Finn Turpin have allowed them to build on that base.
The Lilywhites responded from their opening-day loss to Down with five straight wins, scoring 10 goals in the process.
Interestingly, eight different players got in on that goal-scoring act, with the ever-dangerous Jack Sheridan the only player to raise more than one green flag having netted against Tyrone, Derry and Meath.
Manager Brian Dowling will also be looking at David Qualter for a big return while at the back, Rian Boran has been in outstanding form.
Exiles out to protect perfect record
London enter the Division 3 final against Mayo having picked up 12 points from 12 – the only side across all five divisions to come through the group stages with the perfect return.
That’s not to say they’ve had it all their own way though, with Wicklow and Mayo giving them massive bother before they sealed the victories.
The Connacht side will be hoping that they’ve found the extra few ideas to turn that result around on Saturday.
Ray Larkin’s side have recent experience to call on, having defeated Sligo in last year’s Division 3B decider, but this will be a significant step up.
They have managed seven goals in their last two games so confidence should be high in attack. Joe Burke and Cormac Phillips have each grabbed a brace while free-taker Shane Boland and Liam Lavin have also been rattling up high tallies.
London boss Neil Rogers has understandably been delighted with his side’s character, while he has also praised the impact of his new coach this season, former Cork goalkeeper Anthony Nash.
That they have achieved what they have so far without last year’s Christy Ring Hurler of the Year Jack Goulding, who is in Australia, speaks volumes to the talent that still exists in the panel – David Devine in particular has stood up in Goulding’s absence.
Fermanagh hoping for a reverse in fortunes
When Louth and Fermanagh met in the first round of the league, Trevor Hilliard’s side had a comfortable nine points to spare – and they haven’t really looked back since. A draw with Leitrim in Round 4 was the only time that they dropped points.
That 0-13 return against Leitrim was also unusual as it was the only time they didn’t comfortably clear the 20-point barrier – although that can be attributed to the poor conditions on the day, both in terms of the weather and the firmness of the pitch.
It’s no surprise to see Darren Geoghegan once again topping their scoring charts but the likes of Leon Fox, Sean Flynn and Peter Fortune have been helping out in that regard too.
This will be Fermanagh’s first chance of silverware under manager Joe Baldwin, and given they were missing key players such as Danny Teague, Francie McBrien and Caolan Duffy for that first Louth clash, they’ll be hoping to be much more competitive this time around.
John Duffy may miss out through injury however.
Follow the Allianz Football League finals on Saturday and Sunday on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Watch Allianz League Sunday from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Listen to updates on RTÉ Radio 1
