And they will be anxious to prove that they remain one of the top forces in the country as they prepare to face the Tribesmen at GAA HQ.
Galway’s last two outings will stand them in good stead and after recovering from a dreadful start, they provided stout resistance to Kerry in last year’s quarter-final before the Kingdom pulled away in the second half.
2. How bad will this be for Sligo?
Sligo are taking a step into the unknown as they prepare to face off against Tyrone and the omens aren’t good for the Yeats County.
Niall Carew and his men are still smarting from a 26-point Connacht final thumping at the hands of Mayo and they face more high-quality opposition at Croke Park on Saturday.
Tyrone were competitive in defeat against Donegal in the Ulster championship and have got their show back on the road through the qualifiers.
The Red Hands stumbled past Meath but were most impressive in the second half against Tipperary last time out.
Sligo and Tipperary are both Division 3 outfits and Tyrone made short work of the Premier County.
Sligo boss Niall Carew has handed the 15 starters that lined out against Mayo the chance to atone for that Dr. Hyde Park massacre but Tyrone will show no mercy.
3. Are Tyrone All-Ireland contenders?
Now that Mickey Harte’s men have arrived at Croke Park, they’ll present fierce opposition to any remaining opponents.
Monaghan could be their quarter-final opponents and that would represent a massive test for the newly-crowned Ulster champions.
Tyrone clicked impressively through the gears in the second half of their victory over Tipperary, with skipper Sean Cavanagh and Peter Harte leading the charge.
Sean Cavanagh made a record breaking 76th championship appearance for Tyrone against Tipperary. Ken Sutton / INPHO
Ken Sutton / INPHO / INPHO
That victory should be taken in context, however, as Tipp were without a number of injured players while 2014 Allstar nominee Colin O’Riordan had hurled for the U21s on the previous Thursday evening, meaning that he was playing his second game in three days.
But Tyrone showed signs of improved team cohesion all over the field and if they can incrementally improve for the remainder of the season, they might yet have a tilt at Sam.
4. Will Donegal be ready for Mayo?
Rory Gallagher’s men couldn’t ask for better preparation ahead of a potential clash with Mayo than facing Galway.
The Tribesmen rattled Mayo in the Connacht championship and better decision-making at key moments could have seen them run the provincial kingpins much closer.
Galway won’t mind taking on Donegal and will feel that the majority of the pressure is on last year’s beaten All-Ireland finalists.
Kevin Walsh and Galway are quietly confident ahead of their meeting with Donegal. Cathal Noonan / INPHO
Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO
That leaves Kevin Walsh and his men in a lovely position heading to Croke Park but Donegal won’t be fazed by the prospect either.
A handsome victory would boost any lost confidence levels but Donegal will have to battle for the result against a Galway side capable of taking a big scalp.
5. The Croke Park factor
Let’s hope that the two remaining qualifiers aren’t played out in a Croke Park vacuum.
In truth, we’re not expecting a massive crowd to descend on GAA HQ and perhaps playing these games separately at neutral venues closer to the four counties involved was the better option?
Enniskillen’s Brewster Park would have been the ideal halfway house between Tyrone and Sligo and similarly, Carrick-on-Shannon wouldn’t have discommoded the supporters of Galway and Donegal.
Croke Park could be sorely lacking in atmosphere on Saturday. Donall Farmer / INPHO
Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO
Surely packed provincial venues are far better hosts for knockout qualifier clashes than Croke Park and many supporters from Tyrone and Sligo won’t stick around for the second game, particularly if their team has bitten the dust and exited the championship.
The respective winners, however, will be glad of the chance to run out at Croke Park ahead of the quarter-finals and perhaps they may have agitated for this behind the scenes.
5 talking points as Sligo, Tyrone, Donegal and Galway target All-Ireland quarter-finals
1. Can Galway upset Ulster opposition again?
Galway have already managed it twice, with victories over Armagh and Derry in their previous qualifiers.
But they face a marked step-up in class against a Donegal side who are still realistic All-Ireland contenders.
Rory Gallagher’s men could, and arguably should, have won the Ulster final but for some wayward shooting against Monaghan.
And they will be anxious to prove that they remain one of the top forces in the country as they prepare to face the Tribesmen at GAA HQ.
Galway’s last two outings will stand them in good stead and after recovering from a dreadful start, they provided stout resistance to Kerry in last year’s quarter-final before the Kingdom pulled away in the second half.
2. How bad will this be for Sligo?
Sligo are taking a step into the unknown as they prepare to face off against Tyrone and the omens aren’t good for the Yeats County.
Niall Carew and his men are still smarting from a 26-point Connacht final thumping at the hands of Mayo and they face more high-quality opposition at Croke Park on Saturday.
Tyrone were competitive in defeat against Donegal in the Ulster championship and have got their show back on the road through the qualifiers.
The Red Hands stumbled past Meath but were most impressive in the second half against Tipperary last time out.
Sligo and Tipperary are both Division 3 outfits and Tyrone made short work of the Premier County.
Sligo boss Niall Carew has handed the 15 starters that lined out against Mayo the chance to atone for that Dr. Hyde Park massacre but Tyrone will show no mercy.
3. Are Tyrone All-Ireland contenders?
Now that Mickey Harte’s men have arrived at Croke Park, they’ll present fierce opposition to any remaining opponents.
Monaghan could be their quarter-final opponents and that would represent a massive test for the newly-crowned Ulster champions.
Tyrone clicked impressively through the gears in the second half of their victory over Tipperary, with skipper Sean Cavanagh and Peter Harte leading the charge.
That victory should be taken in context, however, as Tipp were without a number of injured players while 2014 Allstar nominee Colin O’Riordan had hurled for the U21s on the previous Thursday evening, meaning that he was playing his second game in three days.
But Tyrone showed signs of improved team cohesion all over the field and if they can incrementally improve for the remainder of the season, they might yet have a tilt at Sam.
4. Will Donegal be ready for Mayo?
Rory Gallagher’s men couldn’t ask for better preparation ahead of a potential clash with Mayo than facing Galway.
The Tribesmen rattled Mayo in the Connacht championship and better decision-making at key moments could have seen them run the provincial kingpins much closer.
Galway won’t mind taking on Donegal and will feel that the majority of the pressure is on last year’s beaten All-Ireland finalists.
That leaves Kevin Walsh and his men in a lovely position heading to Croke Park but Donegal won’t be fazed by the prospect either.
A handsome victory would boost any lost confidence levels but Donegal will have to battle for the result against a Galway side capable of taking a big scalp.
5. The Croke Park factor
Let’s hope that the two remaining qualifiers aren’t played out in a Croke Park vacuum.
In truth, we’re not expecting a massive crowd to descend on GAA HQ and perhaps playing these games separately at neutral venues closer to the four counties involved was the better option?
Enniskillen’s Brewster Park would have been the ideal halfway house between Tyrone and Sligo and similarly, Carrick-on-Shannon wouldn’t have discommoded the supporters of Galway and Donegal.
Surely packed provincial venues are far better hosts for knockout qualifier clashes than Croke Park and many supporters from Tyrone and Sligo won’t stick around for the second game, particularly if their team has bitten the dust and exited the championship.
The respective winners, however, will be glad of the chance to run out at Croke Park ahead of the quarter-finals and perhaps they may have agitated for this behind the scenes.
Leading contender for Cork senior football job is chasing All-Ireland glory on Monday
Here’s the Kildare team aiming to shock Kerry at Croke Park on Sunday
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