Carlow and Longford will provide the closing game for the Leinster Senior Football Championship preliminary round on Sunday at 4:30 pm.
The game will be held at O’Connor Park and coverage of the game will be on GAAGO.
The two teams have had contrasting seasons so far with Carlow impressing but ultimately falling short in the National Football League Division Four while Longford did the opposite in Division Three.
Carlow impressed in Division Four after their strong displays against Waterford and Wexford, against whom they looked a level above.
However, they looked a level below Division Three-bound Louth in their semi-final tie, missing out on promotion as a result.
Their attack looked sharp in all three games.
The quality of Jamie Clarke, Paul Broderick and Darragh Foley in the final third shone throughout the season and the trio will certainly give the Longford defence problems.
The O’Farrell County had a particularly hard time in their season opener against Derry, conceding 21 points.
Cavan registered more (22) but Longford put up a fight to soften the blow.
Longford looked a class below Derry but had close games with Cavan and Fermanagh, the latter being a draw.
The former fell away from them in the second half but their second-half performance against Tipperary in the relegation showcased their potential.
The Fermanagh game was almost a win for the Slashers but a late equaliser prevented that.
Padraic Davis’ men showed some grit in defence and blew Davy Power’s Munster Champions out of the water (and Division Three).
Rian Brady has starred for them in the final third and will look to continue his good form in the Leinster SFC.
Darren Gallagher’s goalscoring exploits have proved important while the ever-reliable Robbie Smyth has also been a feature in this capable Longford attack.
Considering what they did to Division Three defences this year, it is tough to look past Longford in this tie.
Team News
Carlow
C Cunningham, L Roberts, S Redmond, J Moore, J Morrissey, J Murphy, S Bambrick, S Gannon, E Ruth, R Dunphy, C Hulton, J Clarke, C Crowley, P Broderick, D Foley
Longford
P Collum, P Fox, A Farrell, E Macken, I O’Sullivan, M Quinn, C P Smyth, K Diffley, D Gallagher, D Reynolds, D McGivney, D McElligott, R Smyth, J Hagan, R Brady
Predicted Winner: Longford by 5.
Betting
Carlow 2/1
Draw 15/2
Longford 1/2
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