Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Premier Junior Championship semi-finals (Saturday, Donaghmore-Ashbourne)
Tipperary v Roscommon (12pm)
Armagh v Clare (2pm)
DESPITE having reached the last three All-Ireland premier junior finals, Armagh will enter the second of the two semi-finals scheduled for Ashbourne tomorrow as underdogs writes Séamas McAleenan.
The main reason for that is the form of Clare who have yet to lose a game this year.
They sped through Division 3B of the league, beating Antrim along the way – and then edged the Saffrons out in the final by a point.
Although their opposition in the group games was weak enough, the manner in which they dismissed Cavan a fortnight ago in Clane was very impressive.
Cavan had beaten Armagh in a thrilling Ulster intermediate semi-final back in May and pushed Antrim to extra-time in the final.
They were regarded as genuine contenders for the junior title this year – but Clare brushed them aside on a 3-14 to 0-7 scoreline, with Sarah Loughnane hitting the net twice and Olivia Phelan raising another green flag in Clare’s 3-14 to 0-7 win.
Armagh’s season has been less pronounced. Aside from the Ulster semi-final loss to Cavan they fell to Carlow in the Division 3A league final by a single point. Carlow, though, are an intermediate team and were able to retain that status in the last couple of weeks.
Like Clare, Armagh’s championship group offered little more than shooting practice. Their real test for 2023 comes in this semi-final with the winner strongly tipped to go on and win in Croke Park.
For that to be Armagh, there cannot be periods of the semi-final where they are not scoring; a long barren spell in the league final allowed Carlow to get into a winning position, albeit that they only managed to get a few points ahead.
The Orchard county seems to find it difficult to come from behind to win.
They have leaders in the team, including joint-captains Jenny Curry and Shelly McGuigan and midfielder Leanne Donnelly, and this is a game where those leaders must push the rest of the team to greater effort.
Roscommon were surprise quarter-final winners over Limerick who had been progressing fairly well, while Tipperary went up to Kingspan Breffni to record a group victory that saw them top the table and progress directly to this level.
Tipp will have been put on their guard by the Roscommon win over Limerick (0-13 to 1-7) and will have prepared for any sense of complacency.
Verdict Both games promise to be close affairs. Tipperary should win the opening game and, although my Ulster bias would like to see Armagh get over the line, Clare look to be favourites for the second game.
