Mayo’s win in Killarney might not be a sign of a corner being turned, in terms of where we may be in September, but the defeat of the last two All-Ireland winners in the opening round of League fixtures certainly plants the seed of hope that the gap between the Haves and the Have Nots could be closed up slightly this year.
The Westerners’ defeat of Kerry sees them leapfrog Dublin and Donegal into second place, while Monaghan’s win over Tyrone means they slide up to 6th place.
Elsewhere, Down’s late win away in Kildare in Division 2 also sees them jump up two – largely at the expense of Meath who fell to defeat in Galway. Further down the table, Sligo’s two-point defeat in Limerick sees them slide two spots to 23rd.
Kerry’s loss narrows the points gap between the top teams (which could have been bridged even further had Mayo won by more) is significantly narrowed; next week’s clash between Dublin and Donegal could have a material impact towards the top of the table.
| 1 | Kerry | 1914 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | (+2) | Mayo | 1883 |
| 3 | (-1) | Dublin | 1859 |
| 4 | (-1) | Donegal | 1838 |
| 5 | Cork | 1711 | |
| 6 | (+1) | Monaghan | 1638 |
| 7 | (-1) | Tyrone | 1583 |
| 8 | Kildare | 1485 | |
| 9 | (+1) | Armagh | 1475 |
| 10 | (-1) | Derry | 1468 |
| 11 | (+2) | Down | 1412 |
| 12 | Galway | 1400 | |
| 13 | (-2) | Meath | 1398 |
| 14 | (+1) | Roscommon | 1335 |
| 15 | (-1) | Laois | 1302 |
| 16 | (+1) | Cavan | 1255 |
| 17 | (-1) | Tipperary | 1241 |
| 18 | Louth | 1171 | |
| 19 | (+1) | Westmeath | 1158 |
| 20 | (-1) | Wexford | 1106 |
| 21 | (+1) | Clare | 1099 |
| 22 | (+1) | Fermanagh | 1099 |
| 23 | (-2) | Sligo | 1040 |
| 24 | Longford | 1036 | |
| 25 | Limerick | 1030 | |
| 26 | Wicklow | 889 | |
| 27 | Antrim | 880 | |
| 28 | (+1) | Offaly | 871 |
| 29 | (-1) | Leitrim | 869 |
| 30 | Waterford | 755 | |
| 31 | Carlow | 651 | |
| 32 | London | 578 | |
| 33 | New York | 364 | |
| 34 | Kilkenny | 147 |
We’ll be back before next weekend with a preview of each game in Round 2 of the football leagues.