Cavan 1-14 Kerry 1-10

Cavan are still in the playoff hunt after a hard fought win over Kerry on Sunday in the senior football championship. The game was played in a steady drizzle but that did little to quench the fight in either team as both fought to stay alive in the race for the title.
 
A dominant second half showing from the Breffni Boys was the reason for the win as they outscored their opponents 0-9 to 1-2 in the final 30 minutes.

The opening 10 minutes of the first half saw Kerry take a 0-3 to 0-1 lead. After Ian Davis pointed for Cavan with three minutes gone, Kerry replied with three straight points.

Paul Greaney cancelled out Cavan’s point straight from the next kickout.  Dermie Foley drew a free a minute later when he was hauled down from behind after he beat his man to the ball. Barry John Walsh stepped up and slotted the free over. Kevin Walsh put his name on the score sheet when he had their third on 10 minutes.
 
Cavan replied in the best way possible with a brilliant move for an excellent goal.  Kerry was on the attack, but a Cavan interception led to a counter attack as they had a two on one.

Davis soloed forward to draw the defender closer before fisting over his head and into the hands of Michael Boyle. The Galway senior didn’t miss as he easily slid the ball past Shane Clifford.

The goal had the much needed effect for Cavan as they soon doubled their lead to 1-3 to 0-3. Stephen Harold followed the goal with a brace as he sent over two excellent points. The full forward rode a number of heavy tackles on both occasions as he stayed on his feet to split the uprights on back to back moves.

Kerry had their best period of the game as the half wound down to the break. Vinnie Gavin and Kevin Walsh pointed just before the 20 minute mark, with McCarthy replying when he sent over a 20 yard free for Cavan, but the Kerry pressure continued as they rattled off another three scores.

Foley pointed from close range, while Barry Walsh had a long range 45 yard free. CJ Molloy’s point three minutes from time put the Kingdom back in front 0-8 to 1-4, but Cavan were able to respond just before the half as another McCarthy free to again tie up the contest with 30 minutes left on the clock.

It was Cavan who came out hot to open the second half. Two quick points arrived from back to back kick outs as McCarthy and brother Brian pointed inside of a minute. The lead was increased to three six minutes in when Gearoid sent over another short free.

Ten minutes into the half went down to 14 a side when both sides lost players after a small get together in the middle of the park. Cavan came out of it strongest with four of the next five points as they put a strangle hold on the game.

Gavin’s score for the Kingdom was met with a two from Brian McCarthy, both on the run and points from Boyle and Justin O’Halloran.

Cavan lost a selector with seven minutes on the clock when Eugene Kyne was adjudged to have interfered with the linesman. The long walk for the Manchester United Rooney jersey resulted. Lose a bet, pay the price. 

Cavan were on the way to victory but had a late scare as Kerry mounted one final barrage. With five minutes to go, a quick Kerry free caught Cavan off guard as Gavin thumped the ball home after he was picked out by Paul Greaney.

Joe McKeown also had to make two very good stops after his introduction, Kerry continued to press, but they could only create one more point as the Breffni rearguard held firm.

Cavan will be delighted that their season is still in their hands. Joe McKeown was a revelation when he went to the nets for the injured Maurice Power. Kevin Cardin continues to excel at full back, while Paul Lamb and Ronan McGinley also had prominent roles.

Alan Carolan broke a lot of ball in the middle, with Paddy McCullough also excellent. Brian McCarthy, Gearoid McCarthy, Ian Davies and Michael Boyle were potent, with Brian having his best game in the Cavan shirt.

Kerry battled to the end with Kieran Quirke, Kevin Walsh, Dermie Foley and Vinnie Gavin in the second half their best performers.

Cavan: 1 Maurice Power, 2 Paul Lambe, 3 Kevin Cardin, 4 Kieran Martin, 5 Brendan Reilly, 6 Ronan McGinley, 7 Keith Cardin, 8 Paddy McCullough, 9 Alan Carolan, 10 Michael Boyle (1-1), 11 Brian McCarthy (0-3), 12 Tommy Warburton, 13 Ian Davis (0-1), 14 Stephen Harold (0-2), 15 Gearoid McCarthy (0-6). Subs: Justin O’Halloran (0-1) Joe McKeown.

Kerry: 1 Shane Clifford, 2 Niall Corbett, 3 Eoghan O’Mahoney, 4 James Huvane, 5 Ross Donovan, 6 Kieran Quirke, 7 Jonathon Lyng, 8 MJ Fitzgerald, 9 Darren Courtney, 10 Kevin Walsh (0-2) 11 BJ Walsh (0-3), 12 Vinnie Gavin (1-2), 13 Dermie Foley (0-1), 14 CJ Molloy (0-1), 15 Paul Geaney (0-1). Subs: Darren Moore.
Man of the match: Brian McCarthy (Cavan).
Referee: Sean Jones. 



Saints take 21 crown

St. Barnabas 2-10 Rangers 0-6


The New York under-21 championship title heads back to Woodlawn for the fifth time in a row as St. Barnabas used a brilliant second half display to win.

After trailing at the break by a point, they held Rangers to one point in the second half and outscored them by 2-5. Shane Flanagan was the scorer in chief, but it was the all around strength of the side that gave them the victory.

The first half was a close fought affair. Barnabas had the first score when Conor Hogan shot over, but Rangers responded with an extended period of dominance.
Shane Carty had a shot that came back off the post, then shot low soccer-style just wide left.

Keegan Talty had their first point on seven minutes, then Carty followed with a brace from frees.  They also had a clear cut goal chance on 13 minutes, but again the ball went wide to the left. They were being helped at this time by winning the St. Barnabas kick outs and creating chances up front.

The Saints got back into the game in the middle third of the first half when they outscored Rangers three points to one. After a full field move on 18 minutes Flanagan crashed a thunderbolt off the crossbar that the defense was happy to clear before Paud McDaid had a sublime sideline kick that went all the way over from the stand side.

After a Carty free when he burst in on goal, James Mullen was booked for his foul. Barnabas had the next two points -- Flanagan a free and Liam Deane from a drive that was certainly thinking goal. This had their side on level terms with five minutes left in the first half.

Brian McGovern had another goal chance for the Saints, but Rangers finished the half strong. Kevin Daly had an excellent point and Carty had a chance, but he was put off his shot at the last second. At the break Rangers were sitting on a one point lead, 0-5 to 0-4.

Barnabas took the game over in the opening 15 minutes of the second half. While they added 1-2 to their total they shut down Rangers at the other end.

The goal was from a penalty when Deane was fouled in the box away from the ball. The call was a clear cut one, and Niall Croke slotted the ball to the net.

The Saints added their second goal when the Rangers kickout was won by Adrian Wynne and Flanagan, who slotted the bouncing ball to the back of the net expertly.
 
Rangers were only able to get one point in the second half, a Carty score from play. Barnabas was able to add three further points however and ran out in complete control.

For the winners, Matt Schumacher was very confident. Paul McDaid and Shane Hogan, who had an excellent game, led the defense.

Shane Flanagan, who led all scorers and was very dangerous in open play, was man of the match, while Brian McGovern, Conor Hogan (second half) and Liam Deane also had very strong outings.

Rangers had strong performances from Donnacha O’Dwyer, in particular the first half, Danny Lenane, Shane Carty and Brian Twomey. 

St. Barnabas: 1 Matt Schumacher, 2 Pat Hallinan, 3 James Mullen, 4 Nick Schmidt, 5 Frank McDermott, 6 Shane Hogan, 7 Paul McDaid (0-1), 8 Niall Croke (1-0), 9 Tom Vaughan, 10 Shane Flanagan (1-5), 11 Dan McEneaney, 12 Brian McGovern (0-2), 13 Liam Deane (0-1), 14 Jack Hannon, 15 Conor Hogan (0-1). Subs: Kevin Hallinan, James Hannon, Aiden Wynne.

Rangers: 1 Aiden Tansey, 2 Emmitt Clarke, 3 Donnacha O’Dwyer, 4 Phil Kennedy, 5 Gary Moore, 6 Danny Lenane, 7 Dan Wagner, 8 Kevin Daly (0-1), 9 Tom O’Brian, 10 Kieran Talty (0-1), 11 Brendan Hynes, 12 Jimmy Murphy, 13 Pat Gormally, 14 Shane Carty (0-4), 15 Brian Twomey.

Man of the match: Shane Flanagan (St. Barnabas).
Referee: Martin O‘Connor.

   
 
Lovely Leitrim coast along
 
Leitrim 0-13 Armagh 0-6

Leitrim used a clinical first half showing when they held their opponents to 0-2 and fired over eight to easily take the win in this senior football championship encounter. Tommy Freeman continued his torrid pace in New York with a further 0-7 in his tally bag.

The first half was all Leitrim as they went into a 0-8 to 0-2 interval lead. They had the first two points of the game and also forced a brilliant save from Alan Hearty when he went full length to deny Paul Greville.

Kevin McGeeney did have an Armagh score with 11 minutes gone, but that was quickly cancelled out by scores from John Goldrick (a towering kick) and Freeman when he was quick to react to a ball from Pat Madden.

After the second Armagh point, a Kevin Rodgers free, Leitrim rattled off the last four points of the half. Freeman again was the main marksman with a brace and an assist on one of the two Adrian O’Connor scores.
 
They were able stay well in front thanks to an outstanding save from Pa Ryan when he denied Alan McFerran with a brilliant diving save with three minutes left in the half.

The theme of the second half was more of the same for Leitrim. They had the first four points of the second half, with Freeman grabbing two while O’Connor an Greville had the others.

The conditions did not help the game as both sides had outlet passes that went directly to the other side. It was more because of a greasy, slippy football than any great defense.

Armagh’s only real chance in the first 20 minutes was a Rory Kirk shot that went harmlessly wide from a very good position on the left. They did have two Caolan Short points in the 23rd and 24th minutes but they were cancelled out a little by another Freeman free.

Leitrim also made Hearty work for his pay when the New York keeper did well to stop a Greville pile driver. Short added a further two points before the final whistle as he added to his already glowing attacking reputation.

Leitrim are now poised in second in the senior football division table one point behind Tyrone. Pa Ryan made a critical save when the game might still have been there for Armagh. The backline was excellent, with Alan O’Sullivan, John Goldrick and Lonan Maguire in particular very prominent.

Dermot Keane is really enjoying his time in the middle, and he complements the big men. Adrian O’Connor had three very good scores, while Paul Greville and Ciaran Tavey started brightly. Tommy Freeman is proving to be the straw that stirs the drink for Leitrim.

Armagh’s Alan Hearty could not be faulted. He was tremendous.  Caolan Short was a close second. Kevin McGeeney and Kyle Carragher were others who fought hard on a tough, wet day.

Armagh: 1 Alan Hearty, 2 Stewart Stokes, 3 Collie Fearan, 4 Brian Rodgers, 5 Caolan Short (0-4), 6 Patsy Martin, 7 Karl McVerry, 8 Kevin Rodgers (0-1), 9 Brian Murphy, 10 Rory Kirk, 11 Kevin McGeeney (0-1), 12 Alan McAvery, 13 Ciaran Conlon, 14 Raymond Keane, 15 Kyle Carragher (0-1).  Subs: Aiden Morton, Eoghan McPartland.

Leitrim: 1 Pa Ryan, 2 John Goldrick, 3 Paudge O’Connor, 4 Kevin O’Brien, 5 Ciaran Scannell, 6 Alan O’Sullivan, 7 Lonan Maguire, 8 Pat Madden, 9 Dermot Keane, 10 Adrian O’Connor (0-3), 11 Rory Woods, 12 Ciaran Tavey (0-1), 13 Tommy Freeman (0-7), 14 Kenny O’Connor, 15 Paul Greville (0-1). Subs: Ryan O’Sullivan, Mike Creegan, Jeff Farrell.

Man of the match: Tommy Freeman (Leitrim).
Referee: Martin O’Connor.
 
Harte stars in Galway win
 
Galway 1-17  Tipperary 0-7

Galway are back in the New York senior hurling final for the first time in close to 20 years after a dominating win over Tipperary on Sunday in the semifinals.
 
Aiden Harte was a huge part of the win as he helped himself to 0-9 points from frees and play. Shane Kavenagh was huge at center back and he dominated throughout.
The rainy conditions didn’t allow free flowing hurling. but the Tribesmen were first to the ball throughout. They will be looking forward to the challenge of Offaly next Sunday as they hope to thwart the five in a row attempt. 

The game opened in a steady downpour which didn’t help scoring opportunities. Galway had the first three points from Harte’s two and Robbie Jackson. Harte, if he was used more, could have done a lot of damage but the ball was not being driven his way.

Galway was doing very well at the defensive end where Kavanagh was in dominant mood.

Tipperary finally got on the board on 15 minutes when Shane Dooley pointed a free, but they had a clear cut goal chance stopped a minute earlier when Paul Greville stopped a pass from Paul Loughnane reaching its destination. This was critical.
Dooley had a second point from another free minutes later, but Galway then put a further five points on the board as they again got on a run.

Harte was proving to be a handful as he had two of the minors, while substitute Kevin Reilly had three in a row from a variety of angles. It pushed the lead out to 0-8 to 0-2

Tipperary did have two of the final three scores of the half but it still left them with an uphill battle.

Harte had the first three points of the second half as he personally increased the lead to eight points. John McLoughlin had their fourth before Tipperary had their final three points of the game.

Galway were able to negate each score, however, after it happened, and with eight minutes left they were still holding a nine point advantage. The fire was gone from the game now and Galway closed out the contest with a further 1-1, with the goal coming from super sub Kevin Reilly.

Galway had a host of stars over the hour. Paul Greville and David Lynch were brilliant in the first line of defense. Shane Kavanagh was outstanding, particularly in the opening half when the game was still at stake.

Paul Cahill and Kieran Geary also contributed. John McLoughlin showed that he is just at home with the sliothar as he is with the laoithroid. Aiden Harte was tremendous.

Tipperary had good displays from Paddy Touhy, Ray Maloney, Shane Dooley and Paul Loughnane but little else.

Galway: 1 Aiden Mullins, 2 David Lynch, 4 Paul Greville, 5 Paul Cahill, 6 Shame Kavanagh, 7 Kieran Geary, 8 John McLoughlin (0-1), 9 Liam Butler, 10 Robbie Jackson (0-1), 11 Aaron Farrell, 12 Aiden Harte (0-9), 13 Aiden Purcell (0-2), 15 Aiden Moylan. Subs: Kevin Reilly (1-4), Dermot Kenny, Alan Sherlock.

Tipperary: 1 Ray Murray, 2 Paddy Touhy, 4 Dan Guidea, 5 Conor Hayes, 6 Brian Burke, 7 Ray Maloney (0-1), 8 Cathal Parlor (0-1), 9 John Madden (0-1), 10 Enda O’Loughlin, 11 Brian Brooks (0-1), 12 Shane Dooley (0-2), 13 Fintan Meehan, 15 Paul Loughnane. Subs: Niall Garry (0-1), Enna McInerney, Tom Kavanagh.

Man of the match: Aiden Harte (Galway).
Referee: Dermot Flynn.