GAA Match Programmes – June 29, 2019

34

2001. They have won their last nine games in
      the qualifiers – a streak that dates back to a
      2014 loss to Armagh – and have an enviable
      overall record that reads: played 34, won 29,
      lost 4, drew 1.

Famously, the Red Hand County came

through the back door to win the 2005 and

’08 All-Ireland titles, while their run to the

2018 final also came after recalibrating

themselves in the Qualifiers. Mickey Harte

knows better than anyone how to navigate

this snake pit.

To borrow from the lexicon of another

sport, having a good record in the

All-Ireland Qualifiers is a bit like being a

boxer with a good chin.

Some of the teams involved in today’s

games are old masters at absorbing early

damage – some seemingly shipping knock-

out blows – before steadying themselves on

the canvas and scrapping their way back into

the fight.

The box office encounters – Kildare v Tyrone

and Mayo v Armagh – feature some of those

unyielding scrappers who refuse to bend

the knee and have used the Qualifiers as a

launch-pad for plotting a course back to the

main arenas.

In the context of the All-Ireland Qualifiers,

top billing today surely goes to the clash of

back door heavyweights Kildare and Tyrone.

Kildare have played more games in the

Qualifiers – 41 – than every county with the

exception of Derry. They have won 29, lost

11 and drawn one of those games.

Remarkably, the Lilywhites lost seven

of their first 10 games in the Qualifiers

before embarking on a 17-game unbeaten

streak under Kieran McGeeney, which was

eventually ended by today’s opponents in

2013.

In seven of the last 11 seasons, Kildare have

come through the Qualifiers to make the

last eight or better of the All-Ireland series.

Indeed, the Qualifiers have been very good

to the Lilywhites.

Perhaps only Tyrone have done better since

the second chance system was introduced in

By Brian Murphy

QUALIFIER MASTERS ON

COLLISION COURSE IN ROUND 3

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