Good afternoon and welcome to Croke Park where we’re getting set for the final two football qualifiers of the summer.

Kerry, Dublin, Mayo, Monaghan, Kildare and Fermanagh have all booked their place in the All-Ireland quarter-finals — but who will join them?

First up it’s Sligo against Tyrone. Throw-in is at 4pm.

If you’re to believe the bookies, this one is a foregone conclusion before Rory Hickey even throws in the ball. Tyrone are 1/14 shots to progress; Sligo are 15/2 to cause an upset.

TEAM NEWS: Here’s the Sligo team as named earlier this week — the same 15 that started that Connacht final defeat against Mayo.

1. Aidan Devaney (Calry/St.Joseph’s)

2. Ross Donavan (Eastern Harps)
3. Kevin McDonnell (Castleconnor)
4. Daniel Maye (Tubbercurry)

5. Keelan Cawley (Coolera Standhill)
6. Brendan Egan (St.Vincent’s – Dublin)
7. Eoin Flanagan (St.John’s)

8. Cian Breheny (St.Mary’s)
9. Niall Murphy (Coolera Standhill)

10. Brian Curran (Tubbercurry)
11. Mark Breheny (St.Mary’s) – Captain
12. Neil Ewing (Drumcliffe Rosses Point)

13. David Kelly (Tubbercurry )
14. Pat Hughes (Geevagh)
15. Adrian Marren (Curry)

TEAM NEWS: Tyrone make one change from their qualifier win over Tipperary; Rory Brennan starts at corner-back in place of Cathal McCarron.

1. Niall Morgan (Edendork)

2. Aidan McCrory (Errigal Ciarán)
3. Ronan McNamee (Aghyaran)
4. Rory Brennan (Trillick)

5. Ronan McNabb (Dromore)
6. Joe McMahon (Omagh)
7. Peter Harte (Errigal Ciarán)

8. Colm Cavanagh (Moy)
9. Mattie Donnelly (Trillick)

10. Tiernan McCann (Killyclogher)
11. Mark Bradley (Killyclogher)
12. Conor Meyler (Omagh)

13. Darren McCurry (Edendork)
14. Sean Cavanagh (Capt., Moy)
15. Connor McAliskey (Clonoe)

No surprises with the results of our prediction poll. Over 3,500 of you have voted with more than 90% tipping Tyrone to progress from this one:

There’s still time to vote here >

With 20 minutes to throw-in, there’s still a very small crowd here. Here’s the view from the Hogan Stand press box:

LATE CHANGE FOR SLIGO: Stephen Gilmartin comes in to replace Kevin McDonnell.

Gilmartin is set to start in midfield so you can expect a bit of a positional reshuffle.

Just about ready to go here as both teams run through their final preparations.

It really is hard to see anything other than a Tyrone win; Sligo will need to be a lot more tactically astute than they were in the Connacht final if they are to be competitive.

THROW IN: Rory Hickey gets us underway. Sligo will attack the Hill 16 end in this first half.

1 mins – Tyrone are setting their stall out early here. They drop 14 behind the ball with Darren McCurry, on the edge of the square, the only white jersey in the Sligo half.

4 mins – Tyrone 0-1 Sligo 0-0: Sean Cavanagh is fouled and Darren McCurry kicks the free for the game’s opening score.

4 mins — Tyrone 0-1 Sligo 0-1: Quick response from Sligo. Brian Curran and Stephen Gilmartin show some quick hands in midfield and David Kelly applies the finish.

7 mins — Tyrone 0-2 Sligo 0-1: Mattie Donnelly curls over his first of the afternoon with the inside of his right boot.

8 mins – Half a chance for Tyrone as Connor McAliskey ghosts past Keelan Cawley and Mark Breheny. He fumbles possession into the path of Sean Cavanagh and Sligo keeper Aidan Devaney blocks his shot behind for a 45.

8 mins — Tyrone 0-3 Sligo 0-1: McCurry makes no mistake.

10 mins — Tyrone 0-4 Sligo 0-2: Fast and furious now as both sides trade quick scores. Pat Hughes points to cut the deficit to one before McAliskey kicks Tyrone’s response from a tight angle.

11 mins — Tyrone 0-5 Sligo 0-2: No hassle for McCurry as he lines up a free from 30 yards, slightly to the right, and points.

12 mins — Tyrone 0-6 Sligo 0-2: Tyrone are well on top in midfield and they’re starting to translate it into points on the board. Mattie Donnelly kicks his second.

14 mins — Tyrone 0-6 Sligo 0-3: Cian Breheny booms a shot high into the afternoon sky and the officials need the help of HawkEye. It’s ruled a point and Sligo are back to within three.

17 mins – Mark Bradley checks back across Daniel Maye, and the Sligo man catches Bradley across the neck. He picks up a yellow for his troubles.

It looks like a simple free from the left for Connor McAliskey, who steps up for the first time this afternoon, but he drags it left and wide.

19 mins – Tyrone 0-7 Sligo 0-4: Nice work by McAliskey in the corner and he sets up Mark Bradley to point.

Mark Breheny responds immediately at the other end for Sligo.

20 mins — Tyrone 0-8 Sligo 0-4: Rory Brennan bombs on from corner-back and slots a lovely score.

21 mins — Tyrone 0-9 Sligo 0-4: Sean Cavanagh finds himself in acres of space and he points off his right to stretch the gap to five.

22 mins — Tyrone 0-9 Sligo 0-5: Mark Breheny points a free to keep Sligo in touch.

24 mins – Sligo only have themselves to blame at times. There isn’t a Tyrone man within 20 yards of Keelan Cawley out on the left but he’s ignored completely and Sligo turn over possession with a simple handpassing error.

26 mins — Tyrone 0-10 Sligo 0-5: Darren McCurry drops his effort right in on top of the Sligo bar, and despite Aidan Devaney’s best efforts, he can only help it over.

28 mins — Tyrone 0-11 Sligo 0-5: Mark Bradley pops it to Darren McCurry on his left shoulder and the Edendork man kicks his fifth of this first half.

29 mins – Bad miss by Adrian Marren who drags a 45 wide. Sligo can’t afford to be leaving simple points like that out there.

Sean Cavanagh battles past Neil Ewing. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

32 mins — Tyrone 0-11 Sligo 0-6: Sligo, despite being clear second best in this half, aren’t out of this one yet. Pat Hughes points to bring them back within five.

If they could get into the break just four down, you’d imagine Niall Carew would take that.

34 mins — Tyrone 0-12 Sligo 0-6: Sean Cavanagh comes in off the right and pops a fisted point over the bar.

34 mins — SLIGO SUB: Cian Breheny rolled his ankle there a few minutes ago and it looks to have ended his afternoon. He’s replaced by Kevin McDonnell.

HALF TIME: Tyrone 0-12 Sligo 0-6

Sligo drop another free short and that’s it for the first half.

Tyrone lead by double scores at the break and they’re well on track for a place in the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

Back in five.

Cian Breheny watches a point attempt with Colm Cavanagh and Mattie Donnelly. Cathal Noonan / INPHO Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO

Here are the stats and scorers from that first half:

SECOND HALF: We’re back

36 mins – Conor Meyler is left in a heap following a collision with Ross Donavan and Niall Murphy. He’ll be ok to continue though.

38 mins – Tyrone hit the Hill 16 upright twice in the space of about 15 seconds! Darren McCurry’s effort is the second one and it drops off the post and wide for Tyrone’s seventh wide.

40 mins – Tyrone 0-12 Sligo 0-7: Adrian Marren sizes up a free from the Cusack Stand touchline. He takes it out of his hands and kisses it off the right post before dropping it over.

43 mins – Sligo are growing into this but they haven’t been able to make further inroads on the scoreboard. David Kelly tries an ambitious effort but it drops into Niall Morgan’s hands.

Tyrone come down the other end but Sean Cavanagh’s kick pass is overcooked and drifts harmlessly wide.

44 mins – Mark Breheny kicks a free to cut the gap to four points. The first 10 minutes of this second half have been pretty average but Sligo are cutting the gap.

46 mins – Adrian Marren misses two very scoreable shots in quick succession. What might have been for Sligo…

46 mins — Tyrone 0-13 Sligo 0-8: And there’s the rub. Tyrone come down the other end and Mark Bradley kicks the point. They might have had the men in hand to go for goal there but they took the safe option.

That’s their first score since the 34th minute.

48 mins — Tyrone 0-14 Sligo 0-8: Great score by Darren McCurry. Joe McMahon bombs a long pass into the full-forward line, McCurry catches the ball above Ross Donovan and points on the turn.

How Sligo might rue those chances.

49 mins — Tyrone 0-14 Sligo 0-9: Mark Breheny works his way into a central position and scores.

51 mins — Tyrone 0-15 Sligo 0-9: Brendan Egan is penalised for a high tackle on Colm Cavanagh. It’s about 55 yards from goal but it’s well within Niall Morgan’s range and the Tyrone keeper points.

53 mins — Tyrone 0-15 Sligo 0-10: Sligo take a quick free, Mark Breheny sells Colm Cavanagh with a quick dummy, and points.

They’re still in this.

54 mins — Tyrone 0-16 Sligo 0-10: Sean Cavanagh has the Sligo goal at his mercy but doesn’t even try to trouble Aidan Devaney. He pops the ball over the bar with his fist and scores.

Surely a goal would have killed off Sligo there?

56 mins — Tyrone 0-18 Sligo 0-10: That should be that. Colm Cavanagh points, Devaney kicks his kick-out straight to Tyrone, and McCurry points. Two points in the space of about 30 seconds and it’s hard to see Sligo bridging an eight-point gap.

57 mins — Tyrone 0-19 Sligo 0-10: … or a nine-point gap for that matter. Peter Harte fires over the bar from close range.

Sean Cavanagh gets his shot off with Brian Curran in close attention. Cathal Noonan / INPHO Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO

60 mins — Tyrone 0-20 Sligo 0-10: Darren McCurry makes it double scores again with a free. We’re just counting down the last few minutes of this one…

62 mins — Tyrone 0-20 Sligo 0-11: Mark Breheny adds another free.

64 mins — Tyrone 0-20 Sligo 0-12: Two on the bounce for Sligo as Pat Hughes points.

67 mins — Tyrone 0-21 Sligo 0-13: Niall Murphy points to make it three on the bounce for Sligo but Mattie Donnelly responds with his third of the afternoon.

68 mins – Goal chance for Tyrone as Conall McCann drills a shot but Ross Donovan makes a diving save to block it.

69 mins — Tyrone 0-21 Sligo 0-14: Adrian Marren points a free.

70+1 mins – Sean Cavanagh is named Man of the Match on Sky Sports. No disrespect to Sean but he certainly wasn’t man of the match I was watching…

FULL TIME: Tyrone 0-21 Sligo 0-14

So that’s it from Croke Park — Tyrone are safely through to the last eight, although they still don’t know who they will play.

Because of the need to avoid repeat fixtures in the QFs where possible:

Join my colleague Fintan O’Toole here for live coverage of that second game between Donegal and Galway >

But that’s it from me for now. Thanks for reading.