As Donegal get ready to welcome Kildare to Fr Tierney Park, Ballyshannon on Sunday (2pm), the Division 2 table is finely poised going into the last round of fixtures.
Donegal are one of the four sides vying for promotion back to Division 1 while Kildare are also in the mix.
Here are the various permutations and combinations, via Donegal GAA PRO John McEniff.
“The last round of fixtures for Roinn 2 could hardly have been scripted better. The top four teams in the table play each other and all have a chance of promotion to Roinn 1.
“At the other end of the table any two of Cork, Tipperary and Clare will drop to Roinn 3 – in this last round of fixtures Armagh are the only side with no skin in the game.
“Meath on 10 league points are in pole position with a 21 point score difference and two league-point advantage over Fermanagh and Donegal – Kildare are in fourth with seven points.
“A win against Fermanagh guarantees Meath top spot but even a loss, as long as it by less than 10 points, guarantees them promotion.
“Victory for Donegal over Kildare will in all likelihood result in promotion and a date in Croke Park in the Division 2 final on March 31st.
“Only a win of 7 points or more absolutely guarantees promotion regardless of any other combination of results – a lower winning margin and score difference comes into play if Fermanagh also win.
“By virtue of their seven point victory in Cork, Donegal have moved ahead of the Erne-siders on points difference – the league table shows them behind Fermanagh, in third place, because of Fermanagh’s better head to head record.
“However, in a three-way tie head-to-head results are ditched and places are decided on score difference. Thus, with Donegal having a +5 points difference compared to Fermanagh’s +2, they simply need to beat Kildare by as much (or even two points less) than Fermanagh beat Meath.
“If Kildare win, however, Donegal are out of the promotion places, while a draw will suffice in the case of a Meath victory.”
