Things are hotting up.
The first round of the qualifiers have come and gone and eight teams have fallen by the wayside now. Each winning team has built up a head of steam and they’ll be gunning for the next round to continue in their fine vein of form. On the other side, the beaten provincial semi-finalists provincial are there waiting and they’ll be desperate to bounce back.
The biggest surprise of the weekend was more than likely Waterford’s triumph over Wexford down in the sunny south east El Classico. The other games went to script for the most part, though Tyrone had to work hard to emerge from their tricky Meath assignment.
Mayo blew Limerick away with Cillian O’Connor closing down on Colm Cooper’s standing as the championship’s highest ever scorer. Meanwhile, Cian O’Neill’s Kildare put a woeful losing streak to bed with their first victory in over a year up in Derry.
The draw for Round Two took place on Morning Ireland on Monday morning with Tom Parsons and GAA president John Horan special guests.
The format for the draw saw a Round One winner come up against a beaten provincial semi-finalist.
Here was how the draw panned out, with the first team listed having home advantage. The matches will be played on the weekend June 23/24.
The tie of the round is undoubtedly the clash of Tipperary and Mayo in Semple Stadium. The counties met in the All-Ireland semi-final in 2016 and Mayo had to dig deep to emerge on top from that one. A wounded Tipperary animal will be dangerous here.
Sligo V Armagh
Leitrim V Louth
Longford V Kildare
Tipperary V Mayo
Carlow V Tyrone
Offaly V Clare
Waterford V Monaghan
Cavan V Down
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