Leinster SHC Preliminary round final Dublin v Laois, Nowlan Park, 7.0 Laois's pre-match confidence came badly unstuck last week when they failed to exploit a winning position and ended up lucky to survive.

TODAY Their tactics were questionable, squandering the possibilities of the one-man advantage after Keith Wilson's red card (the second sending-off was too late to make a difference), inability to vary the ball into the forwards, where Damien Culleton was underfed, and failure to counter Dublin's second-half switches.

Trailing by three points and one man with 10 minutes left, Dublin responded well both on the field and on the line. Yet the fundamental rule of replays favours whoever has more room for improvement. Whereas Dublin were elated at their survival instincts and will hope to get more from Conal Keaney, Laois will have been disappointed at their display and will feel sure that they can do better. And with David Cuddy back, they should find the necessary improvement.

LAOIS: J Lyons; L Mahon, Packie Cuddy, P Mahon; C Cuddy, Paul Cuddy, M McEvoy; J Young, D Rooney; J Phelan, D Cuddy, R Jones; T Fitzgerald, L Tynan, D Culleton.

DUBLIN: B McLoughlin; P Brennan, S Perkins, K Elliott; S Hiney, D Spain, K Ryan; S McDonnell, C Keaney; D Russell, C Meehan, T Moore; T McGrane, S Martin, K Flynn.

All-Ireland SHC Preliminary round qualifiers

Kerry v Westmeath, Nenagh, 3.30 Westmeath had encouraging moments in the defeat by Dublin and won't be inhibited going into this. But Kerry have been playing at a decent level this season and have the advantage of a championship outing against a top side.

They weren't in particularly good form in the Waterford match but the outing will have been useful and it persuaded Justin McCarthy to make changes to Waterford's defence. Kerry are likely to emerge into the qualifier series proper next month and this should take them one step closer.

WESTMEATH: B Conaty; D Curley, B Murtagh, B Williams; V Bateman, B Williams, N Gavin; C Fanning, P Dowdall; J Forbes, J Shaw, B Kennedy; D Carty, A Mitchell, F Shaw.

TOMORROW

Connacht SFC Semi-final

Leitrim v Galway, Carrick-on-Shannon, 2.30

The football on Leitrim's visit to New York proved marginally more successful than the cabaret but this is the end of the run. Declan Rowley faces the usual structural problems of knowing that no matter what he does, Leitrim can't bridge this sort of gap. It will be Michael Donnellan's first full match at centre back for Galway and he is scheduled to mark Seamus Quinn, which could be an interesting introduction to his new role. Otherwise this is the one match this weekend that can only have one outcome.

LEITRIM: G Phelan; M McGuinness, J McKeown, D Reynolds; N Gilbane, J Phelan, S Foley; C Carroll, S Canning; M Duignan, S Quinn, C Regan; D Brennan, F McBrien, P McLoughlin

GALWAY: F Donoghue; K Fitzgerald, G Fahey, R Fahey; D Meehan, M Donnellan, S Óg de Paor; K Walsh, J Bergin; P Clancy, M Clancy, J Fallon; D Savage, P Joyce, M Meehan.

Leinster SFC

First round

Dublin v Louth, Croke Park, 2.30

Last week the buzz got around that Longford would beat Kildare. Virtually everywhere (yes, yes, here as well) previewers testified that the breakthrough was imminent. It wasn't - which goes to show that an anticipated surprise isn't an oxymoron for nothing.

This week it's Louth's turn. There is a strong undercurrent that the Wee County is for the Big Time.

Confidence in Louth, nicely stoked by the free-scoring win over Wicklow, coincides with a depressive mood around Dublin. Tommy Lyons would have liked to have got more from the league, in terms of results, maybe, and new players, definitely. The element of surprise, so gloriously present last year, is gone and the goal-scoring threat of Ray Cosgrove and Alan Brogan faces a difficult second season.

But let's not get carried away. The theory that because Louth have gone so close in the last decade or so a breakthrough is inevitable is flawed. Teams that come up perennially short are likely to keep doing so. To lose to both Kildare and Meath in such agonising circumstances as last year doesn't necessarily mean that a win over Dublin is on the way. Louth have an experienced centrefield and a sharp-shooting full-forward line.

But Dublin have greater energy and mobility in the middle and an adaptable defence. It's not all good news. The champions' half forwards aren't that convincing, with Shane Ryan getting another run on the 40 after hitting the wall there last year. And the inability of dead-eye free takers at club level to translate to the county stage leaves Dublin still short of a front-line place kicker. But overall the team has the athleticism to squeeze Louth's supply lines and use Croke Park's space productively at the other end.

DUBLIN: S Cluxton; B Cahill, P Christie, P Griffin; D Henry, J Magee, C Moran; C Whelan, D Magee; B Cullen, S Ryan, S Connell; A Brogan, R Cosgrove, J McNally.

LOUTH: S Reynolds; A Page, A Hoey, D Brennan; S Gerard, P McGinnity, J Neary; K Reilly, S O'Hanlon; B Clarke, M Farrelly, N McDonnell; O McDonnell, M Stanfield, JP Rooney.

Meath v Westmeath, Croke Park, 4.15

Like the Dublin-Louth match this one has been in the frame all week as a potential surprise. There is, however, a distinction to be made. Westmeath have gone closer to walking the walk than Louth and in the county's run to the All-Ireland quarter-finals in 2001, they took one significant scalp - NFL holders Mayo - as well as terrifying Meath. After a year's relapse Luke Dempsey's side have looked good this season, earning a quick return to Division One and bagging the Division Two title with a tight win over Limerick - a result that has appreciated in value since the latter's big win over Cork. It's a major hurdle for Westmeath but also for Meath, who introduce six debutants. The assumption that Seán Boylan can magic together teams to contest All-Irelands will also be tested. The 1996 side - which fires the above assumption - wasn't built in just 12 months.

Boylan's reconstruction job began after the 1992 defeat by Laois. Similarly tomorrow's team hasn't emerged from a laboratory all ready to win an All-Ireland. By last year the strain was beginning to show on the 1999-2001 team. The most pressing difficulty was in replacing John McDermott at centrefield. A year on and Meath now have to cope with the absence through injury of McDermott's successor, Nigel Crawford, and the top strike forward Ollie Murphy - without whom Westmeath would have won two years ago.

Centrefield is Westmeath's strongest suit so there are problems immediately for Meath. Add to that three rookie forwards and the injury concern about Darren Fay and, as Tipperary's hurlers found out, there are only so many cuts a team can absorb. Westmeath get the nod here and will never have a better chance of breaking their championship duck against the neighbours.

MEATH: C Sullivan; M O'Reilly, D Fay, N McKeigue; P Reynolds, H Traynor, T O'Connor; C McCarthy, N Nestor; E Kelly, T Giles, S McKeigue; D Regan, G Geraghty, D Crimmins.

WESTMEATH: A Lennon; P Rouse, D Gavin, F Murray; B Morley, AN Other, D Heavin; R O'Connell, M Flanagan; F Wilson, AN Other, J Fallon; JP Casey, G Dolan, D Dolan.

Ulster SFC

First round

Fermanagh v Donegal, Enniskillen, 3.30

On the surface the teams had such contrasting league campaigns that Fermanagh are entitled to be favourites. But a fixture like this demands less flimsy evidence. Brian McEniff was late assuming control in Donegal and did so initially with a heavy heart as injuries and indifference undermined the county's spring. By now he has more or less his first team ready to go and last year showed that it is a respectable unit. Fermanagh's reputation for brittleness didn't improve after the trimming from Tyrone in the NFL semi-final. The defence did well during the divisional phase of the league but there has to be some scepticism about the ability to handle Brendan Devenney and Adrian Sweeney. McEniff has won an Ulster title in the first year of his three previousstints as county manager. That record should still be intact by tomorrow evening.

FERMANAGH: Ronan Gallagher; N Cox, B Owens, M Lilly; R McCluskey, AN Other, S McDermott; P Brewster, M McGrath; T Brewster, Raymond Gallagher, R Johnston; R McCabe, S Maguire, R Keenan.

DONEGAL: T Blake; D Diver, E Reddin, N McCready; R Sweeney, B Monaghan, K Cassidy; J Gildea, J McGuinness; C Toye, M Hegarty, J Haran; A Sweeney, B Devenney, B Roper.