Super Sunday showdown for Leitrim & Tipperary in Mullingar

Next Sunday may just be the Tailteann Cup's equivalent of a Super Sunday with five games down for decision as teams seek to book their place in the preliminary quarter-finals. For Leitrim, the clash with Tipperary in TEG Cusack Park in Mullingar represents something of an 'all or nothing' event where only a victory will make a difference.

With all the games throwing-in at 1.45 next Sunday, make sure that your mobile phone is charged because, as important as the right result against Tipperary  is, it is also vitally important that other results go Leitrim's way as Steven Poacher's team count the cost of the heavy defeat against Kildare in Newbridge the first day out.

That 25 point loss in Cedral St Conleth's Park has left Leitrim in a precarious position - they have the worst scoring difference of all the teams in the four groups so that means not only must they win next Sunday, they must win big and also hope that the other teams destined to finish third lose big to affect their scoring difference.

With New York coming in as one of the third placed teams, one of the third placed teams will  miss out - Laois in Group 2 and Fermanagh in Group 4 both currently occupy third place in their groups but both have a win and a positive scoring difference to their name as it stands. Laois, level on points with Wicklow, face a difficult derby against Offaly on Saturday while Wicklow, with a minus three scoring difference, are up against Waterford so hard to see any possibilities for Leitrim there.

Fermanagh take on Wexford, who are top of the group on three points, but a win for the Ernemen would guarantee them at least a home preliminary quarter-final. Longford, with a scoring difference of minus 27,  take on Carlow so a win for Leitrim's Leinster neighbours might open the door if Leitrim were to win by a big margin.

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The most obvious group for Leitrim to pay attention to is Group 3 where London and Antrim both face into the same situation as Leitrim and Tipperary - they are looking for their first win and a big enough win would be enough to secure third place in the Group.

London sit above Antrim on scoring difference, minus 20 to the Saffrons' minus 24. The Ulster team were relegated along with Leitrim from Division 3 and their only win came against the Green & Gold, a 4-16 to 1-11 victory in February. London have the edge in form, running Limerick to seven points while the Treaty county had eight points to spare over Antrim.

Both teams suffered big losses at the hands of a Westmeath team reckoned to be one of the favourites for the title - they beat the Exiles by 23 points in Ruislip while they hammered Antrim 4-24 to 1-17 in Mullingar, although the Saffrons' tally was 1-17 was impressive.

Yet for all the understandable interest in the permutations of the other groups, Steven Poacher's side cannot escape the fact that they must first defeat Tipperary and that won't be easy because Tipp are in the exact same position where a good win could see them into the knockout stages.

Tipperary lost to Sligo on a 2-15 to 2-10 scoreline and similar to Leitrim's performance against the Yeatsmen, they were right in contention up until the closing stages. Their result against Kildare would suggest a much better performance than what Leitrim produced, losing 3-19 to 1-11 with the Lilywhites only pulling away in the second half.  Yet  reports suggest that  Kildare should have blown the Munster side away in the opening quarter only for some atrocious shooting to afflict them.

Tipp manager Philly Ryan has spoken of a rebuilding programme as only four players remain for the Premier County side that won the Munster Senior  title in 2020 but their U20 side were desperately unlucky not to qualify for this year's Munster Final, losing out on scoring difference to Cork thanks to a last minute goal.

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What Tipperary do have is a physically powerful unit and that has caused Leitrim problems in games this year while Sean O'Connor and Steven O'Brien, one of the survivors from 2020, are worth a few scores in every game while  Ryan has integrated quite a few U20 players into their squad. 

Quite what we can tell from that is hard to know but the growing belief in the Leitrim ranks should give cause for confidence. What is different  is that there is expectation and a pressure to get a result after the strong displays against Mayo and Sligo. 

That can cause problems but both Tipperary and Leitrim know one big result can rescue their season. I expect Leitrim to get the victory but after that, it is the lap of the Gods with results elsewhere!