Fermanagh clash venue named as breffni park
Westmeath have been drawn against Fermanagh in Round 4A of the All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers.
Following their 2-13 to 0-6 defeat to Dublin in yesterday’s Leinster final, Westmeath have another chance to book a coveted place in the All-Ireland quarter-finals. Victory over the Ernesiders would see Westmeath advance to the last eight.
The other fixture in Round 4A will see Kildare face the losers of this Saturday’s Munster final replay between Kerry and Cork.
With Kildare or Fermanagh being the two possible options in the draw for Westmeath, most Lake County fans will surely be pleased to avoid the Lilywhites, who thrashed Longford in Cusack Park last Saturday evening.
In 2013, Westmeath were knocked out of the Championship by Fermanagh in a Qualifier clash in Mullingar, a fixture which followed a heavy defeat to Dublin in the Leinster championship. Westmeath fans will be hoping history doesn’t repeat itself this year.
The Westmeath and Fermanagh clash will be played at a neutral venue, with the GAA confirming this afternoon that Kingspan Breffni Park will host the game on Saturday, Juy 25 (throw-in: 5pm).
The match will be shown 'live' on Sky Sports, in what will be a first for a Westmeath team.
Fermanagh knocked Roscommon out of the All-Ireland race by virtue of a sensational comeback at Brewster Park yesterday. Sean Quigley scored the winning point as Pete McGrath’s side fought back from five points down to claim a 1-14 to 0-16 victory.
The draws for both Round 3B and Round 4A of the All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers took place on RTE Radio 1 this morning. Tipperary and Tyrone were pitted together in Round 3B of the Qualifiers, in what will be a repeat of this year’s All-Ireland U21 final.
Galway, winners of Armagh yesterday, are set to play Derry, with Tipperary and the Tribesmen having home advantage in those games.
The pairings for the All-Ireland hurling quarter-finals are also known. Following their Munster final defeat to Tipperary, Waterford will take on Ger Cunningham's Dublin. The other quarter-final sees Cork – who dumped Clare out on Saturday – go head to head with Anthony Cunningham’s Galway charges.
Confirmation of dates, times and venues for all the fixtures will be confirmed by the CCCC later today (Monday).
Round 3B Football Qualifiers (Saturday, July 18)
Tipperary v Tyrone
Galway v Derry
Round 4A Football Qualifiers (Saturday, July 25th)
Kildare v Kerry/Cork losers
Fermanagh v Westmeath
Hurling Quarter-Finals (Sunday, July 26th)
Waterford v Dublin
Galway v Cork