Saturday 25 May 2013
Kerry took the points against Tyrone, Paul Mannion stole a late point for Dublin to draw against Donegal and the whole sequence of events left the All-Ireland champions relegated on the last day of the season on their own turf at Ballybofey.
They may have diced with danger for the greater part of their journey through Division Two of the Allianz Football League but when push came to shove yesterday Armagh suddenly stood up to be counted.
Dublin will play Mayo and Tyrone will take on Kildare in the NFL semi-finals, as a result of a dramatic day of action.
The task ahead is beautiful in its simplicity. It's Fermanagh against Meath in Navan. Avoid defeat, and Peter Canavan will have presided over successive promotions from the depths of Division Four to Division Two.
Derry football boss Brian McIver is hoping that his softly, softly approach to Sunday's all-important Division Two showdown with Westmeath will pay handsome dividends.
Aaron Kernan never dreamt at the outset of the Allianz Football League that he would be entrusted with the demanding task of attempting to oversee Armagh's survival bid in Division Two.
Dublin is facing the prospect of a logistical headache with two big sporting fixtures on either side of the Liffey potentially colliding on the same afternoon later this month.
Kilkenny manager Brian Cody will be taking a break from team affairs with the Cats after undergoing a pre-planned heart operation.
The inviting prospect of a third successive Ulster U21 football title looms large on the horizon for Cavan following this emphatic semi-final win over Down at the Athletic Grounds, Armagh.
A whirlwind start to the second half shot Donegal into their third Ulster U-21 final in four years, but not before being pushed all the way by determined Derry at Healy Park.
It could be construed as coincidence but the only game in which Mark Donnelly did not start for Tyrone this year saw the side suffer their solitary hiccup to date.
Antrim are facing into a double dip recession of a sporting nature.
Experienced defender Gerard O'Kane believes that Derry is in line for a dual football bonus.
Cavan are chasing three consecutive Ulster Under-21 titles and tonight face Down in what should be an entertaining semi-final.
Kildare won the Leinster U21 Football Championship with a 1-12 to 0-12 win over Longford at Portlaoise.
Statistics do not necessarily tell the whole story in relation to a particular game or, indeed, to an overall league campaign.
Armagh manager Paul Grimley’s wish that he might just have a lengthening queue for the two midfield positions in the do-or-die Allianz Football League showdown against Galway on Sunday is closer to being granted.
Tyrone legend Peter Canavan is currently nurturing two major sporting aspirations — at county and club level.
Two of Ulster's outstanding players who graced Croke Park with their many-sided attributes in the past are poised to return there on a rather different mission on Saturday week.
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Calum Clark is a doubt for England's tour of Uruguay and Argentina after an ankle injury ruled him out of Saturday's Aviva Premiership final.
Stuart Lancaster has been formally set the challenge of leading England into the 2015 Rugby World Cup as one of the two top-ranked nations on the planet.
Chelsea's players appear to have grown used to the likelihood of Jose Mourinho returning return to the club.
Tottenham winger Andros Townsend has pulled out of the England Under-21 squad for this summer's European Championship in Israel after being charged by the Football Association with betting offences.
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