Eircom Football Championship Preview

As part of the JOE Prediction League in association with the folks at Eircom, we look ahead to the games in this weekend’s Football Championship and give our ‘expert’ opinion on how we think they’ll go down. Whether it’s in the stand, on the barstool or in the comfort of their own homes, every GAA fan fancies themselves as an expert come championship time with opinions that would put Spillane and Brolly in the ha’penny place. If you’re one of those, you can seek reward for those expert opinions through the folks at Eircom and experiencemore.ie but while you’re on these pages you might as well join the JOE League and be in with a chance of winning a pair of highly sought-after All-Ireland Final tickets. Simply click on the link above, enter the code CTYVG and Bob’s your uncle. No time like the present to make a start, so if you’re in search of some advice, here is our lowdown on how we think the weekend’s games will go down in the Football Championship and our, eh, ‘expert’ opinion on who we think will come out on top. Offaly v Kildare Odds of 1/20 on a Kildare victory gives you an idea of just how much the Lilywhites are fancied to do the job on Saturday and after a more than decent campaign in Division One, they should have far too much for their near neighbours despite Offaly generating some much-needed momentum after promotion from Division Four earlier in the year.

The Lilywhites will be looking to Niall Kelly to put Offaly to the sword on Saturday

With Jason Ryan added to the coaching ticket, Kieran McGeeney will be looking for a little more subtlety and potency in attack than previous years and if they get a run on Offaly early, Emmet McDonnell’s side could be looking at a heavy defeat. JOE Prediction: Kildare   Kerry v Waterford Last weekend’s victories for Kerry and Cork showed just how large the gulf has grown between the top two and the rest in Munster and Waterford will need a miracle of loaves and fishes proportions if they are going to upset the form book in Killarney on Saturday evening. Waterford’s main concern will be how to cope with a Kerry attacking sextet that looked in fine fettle while marshalled by the excellent Colm Cooper at centre forward last weekend but with the Déise finishing in the bottom three in the country in the league, we can’t see beyond a comprehensive victory for the Kingdom once again. JOE Prediction: Kerry   Dublin v Westmeath After last weekend’s tour de force by All-Ireland Champions in Donegal, it will be interesting to see how the team most people perceive as their closest rivals for this year’s title fare in what is a trickier-than-it-looks clash with Westmeath at Croke Park. The Lake County earned promotion from Division Two in the league, are coming off the back of a facile victory over Carlow last time out and in the likes of Denis Glennon, John Heslin and the evergreen Dessie Dolan, they have the personnel to trouble the Dubs if they’re not firing on all cylinders. Pat Flanagan may well instruct his troops to filter back and make life difficult for Brogan, Kilkenny, Connolly and company but plenty of teams did that during the league and it didn’t stop Jim Gavin’s men from racking up an average of more than 18 points per game. We fancy the Dubs to win with a degree of comfort and to showcase that as far as this year’s All-Ireland is concerned, that they are the real deal. JOE Prediction: Dublin   Derry v Down Arguably the most intriguing game of the weekend and a game that has GAA fans north of the border nostalgically recalling some titanic battles between the sides in the past, not least the 1994 Ulster Championship clash when Joe Brolly and company were dethroned as All-Ireland Champions by a Down side that went on to claim Sam Maguire for the second time in four years. While Down are now on the way down after finishing bottom of an incredibly competitive Division One, Derry are on the way up after promotion from Division Two and home advantage at Celtic Park might just swing this one in their favour. Then again, the prize for the winners of this one is an Ulster semi-final with Donegal so losing on Sunday isn’t necessarily the end of the world. JOE Prediction: Derry