Football 1st round qualifier draw

[Lone Shark]

Seeing as the hurling has a similar thread....

This takes place this week, and it's probably not unfair to say that outside of counties looking for the handy game against London, we'll be the one most teams want. I really don't know who we'd be fit to beat, but I suppose all we can hope for is a home draw against someone half decent but not fully decent, so that if we do get a win it'll actually mean something and might lead to the start of something. The full list of teams in the pot is:

Connacht: London, Leitrim
Ulster: Donegal, Fermanagh, Down, Armagh, Monaghan
Munster: Tipperary, Waterford
Leinster: Offaly, Louth, Carlow, Wexford, Wicklow, Longford, Meath.

Of all of those, you'd have to say that unless we get London, Carlow or Waterford we are underdogs, maybe 50/50 against Wicklow, Longford or Leitrim, but realistically it looks like a long road. With that in mind, are we as well off getting a tougher team to either make or break us? Or is there merit to getting a few games, even against poor opposition, just to get a bit of winning spirit back in the county?

What do we think?

[Phoenix]

A few more games would be good for the manager to find out what he has. He was brave in his last selection and now he needs to learn the lessons from the Kildare match.

The Ulster teams look like the ones to avoid.

[Archangel]

You have to hope for a good draw first out, get a win, that's all. See where you go from there.
Embrace the joy of a Championship win!!!!

[Bord na Mona man]

You have to hope for a good draw first out, get a win, that's all. See where you go from there.
Embrace the joy of a Championship win!!!!

We're still dining out on our last championship win...Carlow in 2007.

[Archangel]

We're still dining out on our last championship win...Carlow in 2007.

Ok then...... bring on London! We can take them!

[Phoenix]

Armagh top of list in Qualifier By Martin Breheny


Thursday June 18 2009

SIXTEEN counties, including two All-Ireland winners from the last decade, will be in the draw for the first round of the football Qualifiers, which takes place live on TV3 next Sunday evening (6.05 approx).

Meath, the 1999 All-Ireland winners, will be in the draw for the fifth time since the introduction of the new system in 2001, as well Armagh, who won the 2002 All-Ireland and seven of the last 10 Ulster titles.

Wexford, who reached the Leinster final and All-Ireland semi-final last year, Monaghan, Donegal and Fermanagh are also among the stronger outfits in the first round. The opening round is comprised of all teams who didn't qualify for their provincial semi-finals.

Galway and Kerry are the only two counties who have yet to play in the first round of the Qualifiers, but then given their strength within Connacht and Munster, it was always most unlikely they would be early entrants.

However, Mayo and Cork and Dublin have each had one outing in the first round.

The teams in Sunday's draw, which will be held in the Gaelic Grounds after the Tipperary-Clare hurling tie, are as follows: Carlow, Longford, Offaly, Meath, Wexford, Wicklow, Louth, Down, Monaghan, Armagh, Fermanagh, Donegal, Tipperary, Waterford, London and Leitrim.

Teams drawn first will have home advantage and there will be no restriction on pairings, which means that those who have already met in provincial competition could be re-matched. There are three possibilities in this category: Carlow v Louth, Longford v Wicklow and Down v Fermanagh.

The Qualifiers begin on Saturday week, July 4, with the second round a week later between the eight first-round winners and the eight beaten provincial semi-finalists, as follows:

Kerry, Clare, Galway or Sligo; Roscommon or Mayo; Cavan or Antrim; Derry or Tyrone; Dublin or Westmeath; Kildare or Laois.

- Martin Breheny

[black and red exile]

NIGHTMARE DRAWS. Armagh, Down, Monaghan and Donegal.
HORRIBLE LITTLE BITCHES OF DRAWS. Wicklow[Aughrim], Louth[Drogheda], Leitrim[Carrick on Shannon],Tipp[Thurles], Meath[Navan], Fermanagh[Enniskillen], Carlow[Dr Cullen Park], Waterford[Fraher Field], Longford[Pearse Park].
DREAM DRAW. London of course and after that all the horrible little bitches listed above, in Tullamore with the possible exception of Meath.

[red exile]

i think it is also very important to be drawn first for home advantage as travelling support is very poor especially a northern fixture.london would be a dream at home but there was nothing in the kildare game to suggest that london would not fancy their chances and i might add that a lot of other teams in the draw would be hoping to be drawn against offaly

[black and red exile]

If we can't beat London then we might as well throw in the towel. Can you imagine losing at home to London, we would be the laughing stock of the country.

[Doon Massive]

A saturday night in Carrick might not be such a bad thing.....

[TheManFromFerbane]

A saturday night in Carrick might not be such a bad thing.....

Good auld spot I believe?

[Lone Shark]

A saturday night in Carrick might not be such a bad thing.....

Good auld spot I believe?

Outstanding would be the word. Could be a good chance for a touch of carnage all right.

[TheManFromFerbane]

Some competitive angling would be in order so?

[Lone Shark]

Cut me open and count the rings indeed.

[black and red exile]

Sorry, I forgot about a team on my list of horrible draws, WEXFORD[WEXFORD PARK] YUK, remember 2004 and the Matty Ford show, also I think we all have had our fill of Wexford Park this year.