This Week….
Mondays Football Results
ALLIANZ NFL DIV 1A Cork 1-11 Offaly 2-11 Roscommon 0-16 Westmeath 0-12
Cork 1-11 Offaly 2-11
Offaly finally got their first win of their NFL campaign after a surprise defeat of Cork at Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Monday. However, Offaly didn’t lead
until five minutes into the second half when Pascal Kelleghan pointed. Cork started strongly with Brendan Ger O&Mac226;Sullivan firing home a goal in the third minute, putting them ahead 1-1 to 0-1. Offaly responded with two points, but scores from Clifford, Colin Crowley, Fionan Murray and defender Paudie Kissane pushed Cork further in front and by the break they led 1-5 to 0-6.
The second half saw Offaly surge forward on a scoring spree and when Alan McNamee got a second goal in the final quarter it ended the game as a contest. Cork were relying on frees to stay in touch and couldn’t break the Offaly defence down to get the goal they needed to turn the game in their favour.
The match was not without its controversies. Both sides ended the game with 14 players. Twelve minutes from the end, Offaly midfielder James Grennan got a second yellow card, while Philip Clifford, who reacted aggressively to Grennan’s second offence, was given a straight red card for retaliation.
Roscommon 0-16 Westmeath 0-12
Roscommon completed a valuable weekend double by adding a victory over Westmeath on Monday to their draw with Galway two days earlier. The three points gathered this weekend moves Roscommon to second in the Division 1A table, and puts their inclusion in the semi-finals of the league well within their grasp.
However, Roscommon were made to earn their win and in the first half only edged ahead late on with points from Stephen Lohan, Paul Noone and Nigel Dineen. Only two points separated the sides, 0-8 to 0-6.
It was the accuracy of Dineen and Lohan that ensured the team ran out winners as Westmeath’s attacking form receded – though Vinny Gavin and David O’Shaughnessy did register some points before the full-time whistle. Westmeath are now bottom of the table, facing a relegation battle.
Mondays Hurling Results
ALLIANZ NHL DIV 1A Galway 1-17 Clare 1-16 Dublin 1-19 Waterford 1-14 Kilkenny 2-22 Meath 0-9
ALLIANZ NHL DIV 1B Wexford 3-13 Tipperary 1-10 Offaly 2-10 Limerick 1-18
ALLIANZ NHL DIV 2A Westmeath 1-14 Roscommon 1-10
ALLIANZ NHL DIV 2B Kerry 0-13 Laois 0-14
Galway 1-17 Clare 1-16
Galway held on to a slim one-point advantage for the last minutes of their NHL Div 1A clash with Clare at Ballinasloe on Monday. The home side looked to be on their way to defeat when Ollie Fahy struck for a goal with just two minutes of normal time remaining.
That score gave Galway a 1-17 to 1-16 lead and with the clock ticking Clare pushed forward for an equaliser. Their best chance came with the last puck of the game, when some staunch defending from the Galway full back line resulted in a 65. Seanie McMahon took the free shot, but the sliothar sailed just wide of the upright. Galway had started the game the stronger and it was only a Tony Carmody goal in the 16th minute that gave Clare the boost they needed and a 1-2 to 0-3 lead.
From then on Galway were chasing the Banner, but a string of scores from Eugene Cloonan (3 frees), Fahy and Richie Murray helped them back into the game after points from Ollie Baker, Jamesie O’Connor and David Forde stretched Clare’s lead. At the break, the sides were level 0-9 to 1-6. Galway re-took the lead in the second half with points from Cloonan (3), David Tierney and Rory Gantley and by the 48th minute had a 0-14 to 1-8 advantage.
Clare came back with points from O’Connor, Carmody (2) and Niall Gilligan, and with two minutes left had built a two-point lead. But Fahy’s goal snatched victory for the Tribesmen, who move to second in the Division 1A table, below Clare with a smaller scoring average.
Wexford 3-13 Tipperary 1-10
Defending NHL champions Tipperary fell to Wexford after an inspired performance from the home side at Wexford Park. The Model County’s 3-13 to 1-10 victory was thoroughly deserved, with Larry O’Gorman leading by example in the unfamiliar role of full forward. He scored 1-4 in all as his marker Phil Maher struggled.
O’Gorman and David O’Brien helped Wexford into an early 0-2 to no score lead, before Eoin Kelly pointed a free to open Tipperary’s account in the fifth minute. Wexford’s first goal came when O’Brien’s sideline cut deceived Tipp ‘keeper Darragh Rabbitte and went into the corner of the net. On 18 minutes, O’Gorman scored Wexford’s second goal and the home side led 2-3 to 0-1. At the break, they led 2-7 to 0-4, with Tipp having already hit 14 wides.
David O’Connor, Daragh Ryan and newcomer Malachy Travers comprised Wexford’s inspired full back line as Tipperary’s efforts to find the net and close the gap were frustrated again and again. They did find it though, in the 45th minute, through John O’Brien, but Wexford finished strongly with Mitch Jordan accounting for the third goal in injury time.
Dublin 1-19 Waterford 1-14
Dublin surprised the pundits by disposing of Waterford with an impressive display at Parnell Park on Monday. Their five-point victory was their first win of the campaign after they were beaten by the same margin by Clare last time out.
Kevin Fennelly’s boys accomplished the result with style. In the 29th minute, Kevin Ryan diverted Paul Flynn’s penalty onto the post and away, lifting the home side. Shane Ryan was in top form, scoring three points from play in the opening half while David Curtin and Conal Keaney scored two more points each to leave Dublin 0-7 to 0-5 in front at the break. Waterford struggled to find the target, hitting 10 wides in the first half and adding seven more by the final whistle.
In the meantime, Dublin took their chances with Shane Martin scoring five more points from play. Ger Ennis killed off Waterford’s chances with 1-1 in a two-minute period in the second half. Waterford’s Ken McGrath registered a personal tally of 1-5, with the goal only coming in full-time.
Saturday Hurling Results
ALLIANZ NHL Div 1B Derry 1-12 Cork 1-24
ALLIANZ NHL Div 2A Kildare 1-15 Down 2-13
ALLIANZ NHL Div 2B London 2-3 Carlow 3-11
ALLIANZ NHL Div 3 Armagh 2-10 Sligo 2-4 Longford 1-12 Donegal 0-10 Louth 3-14 Fermanagh 0-8
ALLIANZ NHL Div 4 Mayo 1-16 Leitrim 0-3 Cavan 1-7 Monaghan 2-10
As expected, Cork accounted for Derry with relative ease in Saturday’s Allianz NHL clash against the Oakleafers in Swatragh. Their 1-24 to 1-12 victory, however, is slightly flattering as the home side were still in touch of the Munster giants until Joe Deane took advantage of a rare error from his marker, Emmett McKeever, to rifle a shot into the net in the 47th minute.
That score gave Cork a 1-16 to 1-9 lead and proved to be enough to beat off Derry’s challenge, despite the arrival of Geoffrey McGonigle. Derry had offered a stern test until then, with Dermot Doherty’s 34th minute goal and Ollie Collins’ five points ensuring they were just three points behind the Munster side at half time, 1-7 to 0-13. The victory strengthens Cork’s position at the top of the Div 1B table.
Saturday Football Results
ALLIANZ NFL Div 1A Roscommon 3-11 Galway 3-11
LEINSTER U21 FC Dublin 0-13 Longford 0-6 Meath 0-6 Kildare 0-12 Westmeath 1-5 Wicklow 1-8
MUNSTER MFC Tipperary 0-13 Cork 0-13 Waterford 1-6 Clare 0-9 Kerry 2-13 Limerick 1-14
Roscommon came from behind in the dying minutes of their Allianz NFL match with Galway to earn a share of the spoils, but it could easily have been a victory. The Connacht champions provided the All-Ireland champions with their sternest test since the provincial final last year and it wasn’t until midway through the second half have the Tribesmen managed to build any real lead.
Sean Hanley rattled the Galway net in the first half to thrust Roscommon into a 1-5 to 0-5 lead, but a goal soon afterwards from Derek Savage levelled the sides at the break. Not long after the restart, Jonathan Dunning scored a second goal to give the home side a five-point lead, only to see Savage once again respond within a few minutes to close the gap to two points, 2-9 to 2-7.
Padraig Joyce arrived as a sub to help Galway into a 2-10 to 2-9 lead within 10 minutes of the final whistle, while his goal thrust them into a four-point lead. But Dunning found the Galway net once more and at the game’s death Gary Cox scored an equalising point.
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