Cadbury U21 Championship to date...
March 29, 2011The Leinster championship has already turned a few heads this year. All-Ireland champions Dublin fell at the first hurdle after their clash with Meath went to extra time with the Royal County proving too good in the end. Meath's victory set up a quarter final clash with Longford which again went into extra time but this time it was Longford that prevailed after Meath had no answer to the perceived underdogs attack. Westmeath got over the challenge of Laois and Offaly comfortably, many thanks to the heroics of Conor Lynam to set up a semi final clash with underdog Longford. Many expected Westmeath to breeze through to the Leinster decider but Longford put in a performance full of determination, effort and resolve to claim victory and will now look to claim the U21 provincial title for the first time in their history.
On the other side of the draw, Louth travelled to Wexford for the opening round of the Leinster championship and after a rip-roaring start from the home side, Louth found no way back into the game. Wexford then faced a fancied Kildare side and after an epic encounter, Wexford won by the narrowest of margins. Carlow progressed to the semi final after victories over Wicklow and Kilkenny. Both teams saw this as a massive opportunity to reach the Leinster final but it was Wexford who proved worthy winners many thanks to a sterling performance from full back Sean Gaul.
Few would have predicted this novel Leinster final pairing of Longford and Wexford, but hats off to Hero of the Future Judge and Kildare senior star Dermot Earley who at the semi final stage predicted the correct fixture. Hard to beat the experience of the Leinster championship!
In Munster, having defeated Waterford in the quarter final, defending champions Tipperary went crashing out at the semi final stage to a strong Cork side, who boast senior stars Ciaran Sheehan and Aidan Walsh. Cork will now face arch rivals Kerry in the Munster final after the Kingdom saw off a spirited Limerick side to set up the first Kerry Cork final since 2004.
The Connacht championship kicked off with the meeting of rivals Mayo and Roscommon and for successive years, Roscommon progressed despite the efforts of Mayo star Aidan O'Shea. Galway had a comfortable victory over Sligo while Roscommon saw off a lively Leitrim side to complete the line up for the Connacht final. Galway will now look to claim the U21 crown for the first time since 2005 while Roscommon will be looking for back to back Connacht titles for the first time ever.
The talking point in this year's Ulster Championship has been the titanic clashes between Tyrone and Down. Both hotly tipped for success, nothing could separate the teams after 140 minutes of football, with round three down for decider on Wednesday night. Monaghan await the winners having overcome the challenge of Derry in the quarter final who in turn defeated a young Armagh side in the preliminary round. Defending champions Donegal overcame Antrim to set up a repeat of last year's Ulster final against Cavan who saw off Fermanagh in their quarter final. Donegal crashed out at the semi final stage thanks to a towering performance from Cavan who kept Donegal, led by senior star Dermot Molloy to just 1-04. Cavan could face Down Monaghan or Tyrone in the Ulster final where they will look to go one better than last year and claim the Ulster title for the first time since 1996.
As we approach the provincial finals and the second Ulster quarter final replay, this championship is gaining momentum and has all the signs it will continue to be a fascinating championship and one thing's for sure, the standard of competition is only going to increase.
'For more information on the Cadbury GAA Championship go to our Facebook
www.facebook.com/U21GAAFootball or follow us on Twitter twitter.com/CadburyU21.' Tweet
