This will be a thrilling round of fixtures.
The draw for the second round of the football qualifiers took place on Monday morning and some classic encounters are on the horizon for football folk.
The tie of the round will undoubtedly be the meeting of Tipperary and Mayo in Semple Stadium on Saturday June 23. The sides last clashed in the All-Ireland semi-final of 2016 when The Premier County gave Stephen Rochford’s men a serious scare before a Conor O’Shea goal edged Mayo over the line.
Tipperary are a wounded animal coming into this Round Two qualifier game, having been handed a walloping by old rivals Cork in Munster, so Liam Kearns’ men will be gunning for a response here, especially in front of a home Thurles crowd.
UPDATE: Mayo v Tipperary goes ahead at 5pm on Saturday 23rd June in Semple Stadium, Thurles. The game is live on @SkySportsGAA. #mayogaa #gaa pic.twitter.com/Pz9Tz9PqKw
— Mayo GAA (@MayoGAA) June 11, 2018
It will be a big ask for the Premier men, when you consider the explosive form both Cillian O’Connor and Andy Moran showed against Limerick at the weekend. But Tipperary have firepower of their own, in Quinlivan and Sweeney and if we know anything about Mayo over the last few years it’s that they’re capable of dawdling in front.
Thankfully, Sky Sports have made the best choice by deciding to broadcast that game ahead of all of the others. Unfortunately, that’s the only one of the eight games that will be televised live.
Here’s the rest of the fixture details for the second round.
First team listed are the home team.
Saturday June 23
Games, venue and time
Waterford v Monaghan, Fraher Field, 2pm
Tipperary v Mayo, Semple Stadium, 5pm – Live on Sky Sports.
Cavan v Down, TBC
Carlow v Tyrone, Netwatch Cullen Park, 5pm
Sligo v Armagh, Markievicz Park, 6pm
Leitrim v Louth, Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada, Carrick-on-Shannon, 7pm
Longford v Kildare, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, 7pm
Sunday June 24
Offaly v Clare, Bord Na Mona O’Connor Park, 1.30pm
