Derry and Monaghan on form With more than half the league fixtures now having been played we can now see the big boys jostling for position and begin to get an overall picture of the teams that are likely to be contesting honours at the end of the season. Because Tyrone and Armagh haven't reached the pinnacle in the past couple of years some reporters would suggest that Ulster football is on the decline. Looking at this year's league tables you could be forgiven for reaching a different conclusion. With the exception of Cavan, and perhaps Tyrone, all Ulster teams are well placed in their relevant divisions and seem to be improving at the right time. Derry seem to be one of the teams most likely to be battling it out at the end of the league and will certainly be looking forward to their June 1st encounter with Donegal if their present form continues. Unfortunate to lose to Kerry after a good performance in Killarney, they now are in contention for the league title. The Derry defence has conceded a moderate 2-36 at the time of writing and this stat reflects how their defence is beginning to gel and with Kevin McCloy now back to assist veterans Niall McCusker and Kevin McGuckin, it is no surprise that Kildare could only muster four points from play in the recent league game. Anyone foolish enough to have been heralding the demise of Armagh football in recent weeks had better take a back seat for a while. While a victory over a Roscommon team going through a transitional period at present was no surprise, the four goals and 20 points were not expected. Every now and again a team will hit that sweet spot where everything clicks and scores come fast and easy and against Roscommon Armagh hit that spot. More significant than the scoreline was the manner in which it was achieved and the clientele who contributed towards it. With perfect timing Stevie McDonnell steps up to silence his critics with a blistering 3-6. Oisin McConville chips in with a couple of points. Francie Bellew brings the house down with a second half introduction. The Kernan brothers once again contribute handsomely to the cause. The O'Rourkes are battling throughout. Ronan Clarke mans the edge of the square and fires over three points. And all this without Paul McGrane. It looks like the winners of Antrim and Cavan will have their hands full come June! I am not surprised at Fermanagh's winning start to the season, delayed though it was by weather conditions. As with most new management teams Malachy O'Rourke and Leo McBride were expected to bring a freshness and renewed vigour to their new charges and this they have done. Malachy's infectious passion for the game and his love for Fermanagh will surely contribute to the team's progress and should see them secure promotion though it is a very tough division to get out of. Their recent victory against Louth was very significant given the fact that they had so many first team players missing. Their cause though will certainly not be helped by the backlog of fixtures they now have to face. They certainly won't fear Monaghan come May. No one has shown more passion for his county in the past than Ross Carr and after a tough rookie year in senior management his efforts now seem to be bearing fruit. The recent slump in Down football was never going to be cured in a single year but it is evident from this year's performances that the corner has now been turned and Ross will hope to be contesting some more silverware before the year is out. With the amount of talented players that are at his disposal one would expect a major revival in Down football in the near future - depending of course on the player's attitude and application. A meeting with Tyrone on June 8th will surely keep them focused. The Antrim team continue to make good progress under Jody Gormley and are enjoying their unbeaten run in Division 4. Undoubtedly their main objective is to gain promotion and with London their next opponents, and a point already secured from their main threat Offaly, they look firmly on course to achieve that. All their 13 points in their recent clash with Carlow came from play. With Michael McCann and Patrick Cunningham playing well and CJ McGourty back from injury this Antrim team could cause problems for Cavan in their championship fixture in May. Cavan's league journey to date has not been going to plan. A quick look at the table and we see Cavan propping up their rivals with no points secured out of the four games played. First impressions though could certainly lead you to draw the wrong conclusions about this Cavan team. Two games they could have won, and probably should have, were both away to strong opposition, namely, Armagh and Meath. In a thrilling encounter in Crossmaglen they were beaten by the narrowest of margins having dominated long periods of the game, while they relinquished a seven point in Navan recently. Victories in either of these games would have given the confidence a great boost but as it is they now have a tough task ahead if they wish to avoid relegation. This is one team who may have a crow to pluck with the GAA officialdom if the points awarded to Dublin and Meath following the Cork strike contribute to their relegation. Monaghan, along with Derry, seem to be one of the teams that have found a nice groove and are progressing nicely through the early stages of the league with a morale boosting victory over Armagh along the way. Everyone appears to be thriving under Seamus McEnaney's guidance and with Martin McElkennon continuing to crack the whip at training this team could well be title contenders. To date Donegal have done what has been asked of them and while they certainly rode their luck against Kerry this was cancelled out by Mickey Conway's injury time winner in Newbridge. Brian McIver continues to demand high standards of commitment from his squad and Ryan Porter's coaching also seems to be bearing fruit. Colm McFadden continues to lead the attack and will benefit greatly from the return of Rory Kavanagh to the midfield area. Round 4 proved a good one for Tyrone supporters following their slender victory over Laois. It also proved a good weekend for all footballing supporters with the return to action of Brian McGuigan. His injuries and his subsequent battles on the road to recovery have been well documented and at last he can now see some reward for his patience and suffering. Hopefully his recuperation continues unhindered and we can look forward to his seeing his considerable skills in full summer bloom. Needless to say, both the win and Brian's return were timely boosts for Tyrone. We have seen a steady improvement in performances since the Kildare outing and should be very optimistic about the future. Hopefully the Eoin Mulligan injury is not serious as he seemed to be getting back to form and would be one of the players who would greatly benefit from a few McGuigan passes. The league to date has been quite enjoyable overall and has thrown up a few surprises here and there. No surprise though that in tandem with the Ulster teams progress we can still expect to see the continuous gallop of old campaigners Kerry, Galway, Dublin and perhaps Mayo, all there when we hit the final furlong marker. Congratulations to St Vincent's and Portumna on their recent All-Ireland successes. The Galway men had a convincing win over Birr who were in search of their fifth title. In a bid to find that extra little edge in the mental stakes the Portumna men had "110%" written on their arms. Whether this played any part in their victory or not we can never be sure but their commitment and discipline certainly weren't lacking. I really felt for Brian Whelehan who was dismissed in the closing stages of the game when frustration uncharacteristically got the better of him. Hopefully, he will still have the chance to play along with his son who had been on the bench on Sunday. The football final was an excellent game of football and displayed many of the best characteristics of our great game. Bravery, skill, fitness, team play, commitment, great scores, good free taking, good defending, great goal-keeping, discipline. A lot of the qualities we hope to instil in our youth teams were on display and I'm sure many county managers would love to emulate what was on show. The problem of course is the fact that players have that inherent bond with their club that they can never generate at county level no matter how genuinely hard they try. Great praise must go to Mickey Whelan and the rest of the St Vincent's staff. Outsiders who attended the winning celebrations speak highly of the supporters and organisers and could witness the team spirit that was an obvious part of their success. When you beat Crossmaglen and Nemo Rangers at this level of competition you must be doing something right! I must give special mention here to two Tyrone men who contributed to St Vincent's historic season. Congratulations to Michael Kennedy, who hails from Glenelly, who has been involved in team training, and Peter Quinlivan (brother-in-law), Carrickmore/Errigal??, whose expertise as Tyrone statistician was availed of much to the delight of team management. Tweet

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