Ulster football has been screaming out for five years now for one of the three Ds to become a third consistent force. Down looked the most likely but imploded in Ballybofey. Now the path is opening up for the other two Ds, Derry and Donegal. And from this vantage point, Derry's appears to be that bit wider.

When Stephen O'Neill was ruled out of playing in Omagh last month, so were Tyrone's chances.

Owen Mulligan was their only recognised scorer but, bar for a brief period in the summer of 2004, he's always been a number two scorer. Who's Donegal's number one scorer (from play)?

Whoever your answer is, he's no Mulligan, let alone an O'Neill.

Truth is, Donegal have the most unproven of full-forward lines while Derry have probably the best full-back line in the country.

For Donegal to win, they need two things. The first is firm officiating. The most important man on the field today is Michael Monahan. If Derry tackle as poorly and/or cynically as they did against Tyrone, they should finish this game with only 11 or 12 men. The other key factor is the Donegal half-forward line. In Michael Hegarty they have possibly the best number 11 in football, and with Christy Toye alongside him and Rory Cavanagh certain to come out to the wing, they have one of the best half-forward lines in the game. If all three of them click, Donegal have a right chance. But what are the chances? Last day out Liam Hinphey contained Sean Cavanagh; he'll expect to do the same today with Rory Cavanagh while Donegal will hardly win as much breaking ball as they did the last day.

Verdict Derry by three

DERRY B Gillis; K McGuckin, K McCloy, F McEldowney; L Hinphey, P McFlynn, J O'Kane; J McBride, J Diver; M Lynch, B McGolderick, F Doherty; E Muldoon, P Bradley, E Bradley DONEGAL P Durcan; N McGee, P Campbell, K Lacey; E McGee, B Monaghan, B Dunnion; N Gallagher, B Boyle; C Toye, M Hegarty, C Bonner; R Kavanagh, C Dunne, M Doherty

CONNACHT SFC SEMI-FINAL ROSCOMMON v GALWAY Dr. Hyde Park, 2.00 Referee M Deegan (Laois) Live, RTE One, 1.55 Have a look across the page.

John Maughan may have been playing down his new team when saying Galway would win it by five, but, well, he may not be that far off. There is no doubt that Roscommon have come a long way in a short space of time and the decision to drop some the supposed stars will pay off in the medium term. They may have missed out on promotion, pipped by Donegal and Limerick in Division 2A, but they aren't the rollovers Galway and just about everybody else could have taken for granted in the recent past.

Thing is, they haven't beaten, or looked like beating Galway since the Connacht semi-final of 2001 and without the likes of Shane Curran, Frankie Dolan and Francie Grehan, they lack the experience and more importantly physical presence in many positions. Captain Stephen Lohan has also failed to make the side, throwing oodles of pressure onto the likes of Karol Mannion at full-forward . . . Roscommon will need goals if they're to cause a shock . . . and Seamus O'Neill.

Galway have their own problems, namely at centre-field where an injury to Joe Bergin has left them scratching heads gently. Even so, Galway's forward line makes it impossible to look beyond them. They kicked 0-19 in their opening-round win over Sligo and it's hard to see them going another 70 minutes without netting at least once.

Any weaknesses Peter Ford's side have won't be emphasised until a probable meeting with Mayo in the Connacht decider.

But for now, who are we to disagree with Maughan, whether he meant it or not? Therefore. . .Verdict Galway by five

ROSCOMMON G Claffey; S McDermott, D Casey, P O'Connor; S Daly, J Nolan, R Dooner; S O'Neill, B Mullin; M Finneran, G Heneghan, D Hoey; J Tiernan, K Mannion, G Lohan GALWAY A Keane; K Fitzgerald, F Hanley, D Meehan; A Burke, D Blake, D Burke; N Coleman, P Geraghty; M Clancy, M Donnellan, D Savage; M Meehan, P Joyce, S Armstrong

ALL IRELAND SFC QUALIFIERS, ROUND ONE CARLOW vMEATH Dr Cullen Park, 4.00 Referee A Mangan (Kerry) Liam Hayes's last day out? We're not so sure and given the scenario you can expect Carlow to have a real go at Meath. They'll need a better start than they had against Laois but the return of Mark Brennan from suspension at full-back will greatly aid their cause.

They've top-loaded their side with a full-forward line consisting of Simon Rea who kicked 1-4 against Laois, Mark Carpenter and Brian Kelly. No doubt the aim is to pressurise Meath's full-back line, a group that gave Matty Forde the freedom of Croke Park in their Leinster elimination.

They'll have to keep close to Daithi Regan who remains Meath's main scoring threat but others around him haven't set the world alight recently. Should the Walsh brothers get to grips around the middle, the home side have a real chance. Problem is Carlow have let themselves down on such occasions in the past . . .

Limerick last year, Laois last day out. For that reason, we reckon Hayes and his best mate Eamonn Barry will be seeing each other again in the very near future.

CARLOW G McGill; B Farrell, M Brennan, J Ryan; J Hayden, J Byrne, B Hannon; P Walsh, T Walsh; B Carberry; A Kelly, P Hickey; B Kelly, M Carpenter, S Rea MEATH B Murphy; S McGowan, K Reilly, C King; N McLoughlin, A Moyles, S Kenny; N Crawford, M Ward; P Curran, J Sheridan, G Geraghty; D Regan, M Doran, B Farrell

WESTMEATH v LONDON Cusack Park, Mullingar, 2.00 Referee M Higgins (Fermanagh) Had Westmeath drawn anyone else in these qualifiers . . . except Waterford . . . we're pretty sure their demise would have been completed. They went out against Offaly, having talked, acted and played like losers for 35 minutes. The thing is, they're at home. They're playing London.

And even more significantly, Noel Dunning may still feel a little aggrieved over questions of expenses that caused his resignation as London manager before recently returning.

Verdict Westmeath by nine

WESTMEATH G Connaughton; D O'Donoghue, B Nannery, J Keane; D Heavin, M Ennis, G Glennon; D Duffy, D O'Shaughnessy; PJ Ward, D Healy, G Duffy; Denis Glennon, G Dolan, J Smyth LONDON TBA