PREVIEWS: Kildare, Louth, Westmeath and Wexford aim for TG4 Leinster Final slots

Leinster LGFA information supplied by Leinster LGFA PRO, Aisling Clery 

THE 2023 TG4 Leinster Intermediate Finalists will be confirmed on Sunday, with holders Kildare, Louth, Westmeath and Wexford all in the race for coveted Final slots.

At Manguard Plus Centre of Excellence, Hawkfield, Kildare are the hosts against Louth, as Westmeath welcome Wexford to Kinnegad.

Both games get underway at 2pm and both are available to view via the LGFA’s live-streaming portal https://bit.ly/3WndE28.

The winning semi-finalists will progress to the Final at Laois Hire O’Moore Park, Portlaoise, on Sunday May 28.

All three Leinster Finals in the Senior, Intermediate and Junior grades will be played as a triple-header on Sunday week, and all three games will be live-streamed.

This evening (FRI), Kerry welcome Limerick to Cordal in the Munster Senior B Championship.

Friday May 19 

Munster

Senior B

Kerry v Limerick; Cordal, 8pm 

Limerick and Clare are already assured of progress to the Munster Senior B Final.

That clash will act as a curtain raiser to the Senior A Final between Cork and Kerry in Mallow on Sunday May 28.

Limerick will look to get some more competitive action under their belts in preparation for the Final, as they make the trip to the Kingdom to take on Kerry’s second string outfit.

Kerry: D Clemner; M Sheehy, K Sugrue (capt.), A Sheehy; E O’Connor, F O’Donoghue, B O’Connor; D Kearney, K O’Mahony; A Buckley, K O’Connor, N O’Mahony; C Hudson, M Quirke, D Dunlea.

Limerick: A Corbett; A Quaid, Y Lee, S Dillon; A Curtin, L Walsh, E Woulfe; R Ambrose (capt.), K Heelan; K Kennedy, L Browne, C Brosnahan; R Hyland, A O’Dea, L Coughlan.

Sunday May 21

Leinster

TG4 Intermediate Championship semi-finals 

Kildare v Louth; Manguard Plus Centre of Excellence, Hawkfield, 2pm 

It has already been a season to remember for the Lilies ,as their recent Lidl National League Division 3 triumph has propelled them on a winning Leinster Championship run.

Kildare accounted for Carlow, Longford and Wexford on the path to Sunday’s semi-final and playing in front of home support may well drive them further forward.

Manager Diane O’Hora makes one change, with Lauren Burke coming in for Ciara Price, while there are a range of positional changes that include Trina Duggan moving to the number 14 jersey.

Kildare have found a rich scoring form, hitting 11-34 in their three round games, and this is something Louth will have to be on guard against.

Louth qualified for the semi-finals by virtue of a better scoring difference than Offaly or Wicklow, although they remain the only side to defeat Kildare in the 2023 season.

That came in Round 4 of the Lidl NFL, as the Wee County recorded a 1-05 to 0-7 win in Hawkfield. Returning to the same venue will not faze Kit Henry’s charges, who will undoubtedly bring support of their own.

Louth remain unchanged from last Sunday’s defeat to Westmeath, as both sides aim for a provincial decider on the following weekend.

KILDARE: M Hulgraine; L Burke, L Lenehan, A Clifford; L Gilbert, R Sargeant, S Munnelly; G Clifford (C), A Rattigan; C Sullivan, N Dooley, R Forde; E Dowling, T Duggan, L Curran.

LOUTH: R. Lambe Fagan; E Murray, D O’Connor, E Hand; S Matthews, S McLaughlin, M Duffy; Á Breen (C), A Halligan; L Collins, N Rice, L Boyle; A Russell, K Flood, C Nolan.

Westmeath v Wexford; Kinnegad, 2pm 

Westmeath have been building throughout this Leinster Championship. While they only defeated Offaly by two points and Wicklow by four, they had a comfortable win against Louth last weekend in the final round and that would suggest they are hitting form at the right stage of the competition.

They racked up 3-17 in that win against Louth, a scoreline that far eclipses either of the previous two rounds.

Michael Finneran makes one change to the side that defeated Louth last weekend, with Melek Fagan making way for Katie Dunne. They will relish the challenge of Sunday’s semi-final and a meeting with last year’s TG4 All-Ireland Finalists. 

Wexford were eight points in arrears at the full-time whistle last weekend against the Lilies and they will want to be a lot closer to Westmeath on Sunday if they are to reach the Leinster IFC Final and make amends for last year’s Leinster final defeat to Kildare.

Lizzy Kent and John Nolan make two changes to the side that lost out to Kildare last weekend, with Karen Tomkins and Caoilfhionn Ní Nualláin coming in for Bernie Breen and Áine Lacey.

WESTMEATH: L McCormack; K Dunne, L Power, A Roche; K Boyce Jordan, T Dillon, C Kelly; V Carr, J Quinn; A Ruane, C Blundell (C), R Dillon; C Clarke McMahon, A Jones, A Connolly.

WEXFORD: L Moore; A Halligan, S Murphy, K English; K Tomkins, R Murphy (C), S Harding Kenny; A Walsh, C Banville; B McDonald, C Murray, C Donnelly; C Fox, A Murphy, C Ní Nualláin.