Easy Pickings for Jersey Boys
Hoboken 6-20  Rockland 1-7

Hoboken qualified for a junior hurling final meeting with defending champions the Bronx with a comprehensive victory against a valiant but over matched Rockland side.

While the second half was closer, the first period was so dominated by Hoboken that it was all cosmetic in the final 30 minutes. The winners will have no fears heading into the final after this brilliant win on a sun drenched Sunday. 

Hoboken opened with a 2-4 salvo before Rockland got on the board. Sean Wynne and Paul Loughnane were the goal scorers, and already the writing was on the wall.

They began with several wides before the powerful outburst of scores, such was their dominance. 

ockland remained scoreless for 12 minutes before a Kevin McKay free got them on the board.  

The Rockland half-forward line and midfielders had trouble winning puck-outs and it showed as Hoboken capitalized on the high ball.  Rockland twice had opportunities for goal, but was denied each time by strong defending from the Hoboken corner backs.

The first half ended with a score of 3-14 to 0-4 in favor of the Jersey Boys.

The second half continued with much of the same.  Rockland couldn’t find a way to battle for the high balls and Hoboken converted regularly, with scores coming in bursts.

Cosgrove and Purcell had majors and the deep bench of the winners had a huge contribution for the side.

The game did have a break in the action when a small skirmish occurred, but after yellow cards for Meehan and Petit the game went back into predictable fare.

Rockland fought valiantly and pulling together an attacking streak, but were unable to close on their opportunities. Hoboken earned their place in the final with room to spare.  

Hoboken has a deep panel that will be hard to hold in the county final. Reilly, Egan, Loughnane, Purcell and Meehan all had major roles in the victory.

McKay, Petit, Flynn and Moroney all tried valiantly to the end for Rockland.

Rockland: 1 John Nolan, 2 Luke Keogh, 4 Darren Pettit, 5 Chris Dalton, 6 Kevin McKay (1-3), 7 Logan McIntyre, 8 Keith McGeough (0-2), 9 Dean Murphy, 10 Chris Dalton, 11 Jimmy Flynn, 12 Robert Jackson (0-2), 13 Martin Flynn, 15 Stephen Maroney.

Hoboken: 1 Colm Reilly, 2 Conor Costigan, 4 Noel O’Gorman, 5 James Egan, 6 Seamus O’Grady (1-0), 7 PJ Delaney (0-2), 8 Pat Egan (0-2), 9 Darren Coffey (0-2), 10 Kaelin O’Hare, 11 Paul Loughnane (1-1), 12 Sean Wynne (2-1), 13 Adrian Purcell (0-9), 15 Fintan Meehan (0-2), 16 David Cosgrove (1-0), 17 Mike Kennelly, 18 Declan Hogan, 19 Trooler O’Connor, 20 Brian Cosgrove, 21 Danny Kane, 22 Matt Coin, 23 Brian Cosserly, 24 J. Flynn, 25 Tim Morgan, 26 Conor McInerney (2-1), 27 Seamus O’Driscoll, 28 Mike Smith, 29 Eamonn Riordan.

Man of the match: Adrian Purcell (Hoboken).

Goals the Difference for Cavan
Cavan 4-13 Armagh 1-11

FOUR goals in the second half were the crucial difference for Cavan in the first senior football contest on Sunday. Eric Bradley and Ryan O’Hare had a brace each that helped the side to pull away.

Cavan opened the game with a 0-4 to 0-1 lead courtesy of some hard work from O’Hare and full forward Graham Guilfoyle, who took Cavan to a three point lead before Seamus Toner was able to get Armagh on the board after a superb play by Kevin McGeeney, who carried through three defenders before laying off to the scorer. 

Cavan maintained their control, however, with Paddy McCullough getting on the board and James Connolly scoring a point from what seemed sure to be a goal. 

It wasn’t until the spread reached four points that Armagh woke up and came back to win the half thanks in large part to the three points Richie Morgan put over in a short span.  Kenny Cox and Colm O’Hanlon both had parts to play in the mix as they helped out with strong passing play. 

Cavan would show they weren’t down yet, however, with Eoin Carew scoring after two good moves to put two defenders on their heels to leave the half time score 0-8 to 0-7 for Armagh.

The second half opened with a trend that began before the break. The passing creating a move was excellent, but the final shot was off. 

After a brief drought, the scoring was opened in dramatic fashion as Mike Kennedy carried the ball the length of the pitch and crossed to O’Hare, who miscued his first attempt on goal but wouldn’t make the same mistake twice as he shook the net. 

Armagh would get two points, one each from Toner and Morgan, before Cavan would strike again with a goal from Bradley.  This time it was Carew who started the move, passing through four of the Cavan forwards before it reached Bradley, who deftly placed it off the inside of the post and in past the Armagh keeper. 

Armagh had one more big burst in them which resulted in a penalty off a soft free in the square, which O’Hanlon pushed through expertly, but it was soon canceled out as Cavan added another pair of goals to the count. 

O’Hare and Carew were prominent on the scoreboard and in open play to help Cavan move into a strong lead. Cavan were now in complete control and ran out 11 point winners.

Best for Cavan were Gavin Joyce in goal, and though the full back line was not overworked, Lamb, Kennedy and Munnelly were excellent in front of them while also supporting the attack.   Ryan O’Hare, Eric Bradley and Eoin Carew were the most dangerous upfront.

Armagh had strong performances from Raymie Kane, Seamus McDaid, Richie Morgan and Colm O’Hanlon.

Cavan: 1 Gavin Joyce, 2 Ciaran Martin, 3 Michael Higgins, 4 Ronan McGinley, 5 Paul Lamb, 6 Mike Kennedy (0-1), 7 Sean Kelly, 8 Paddy McCullough (0-1), 9 Rory O’Connor, 10 Frankie Berry, 11 Eric Bradley (2-1), 12 Eoin Carew (0-2), 13 JC Connelly (0-1), 14 Graham Guilfoyle (0-3), 15 Ryan O’Hare (2-4). Subs: Sean Munnelly, Alan Carolan, Barry McGinn, Eoin Ward.

Armagh: 1 Alan Hearty, 2 Collie Fearon, 3 Patsy Martin, 4 Raymie Kane, 5 Ryan Stokes, 6 Aidan Morton, 7 Seamus McDaid, 8 Kevin McGeeney, 9 Brian Patton (0-1), 10 Kenny Cox (0-1), 11 Caolan Short, 12 Ronan Crilly, 13 Colm O’Hanlon (1-1), 14 Seamus Toner (0-2), 15 Richie Morgan (0-6). Subs: Gary Nugent, Liam Collins, Matthew Cartmill, Nick Reael, Shane Quinn, Chris Morton.

Man of the match: Eoghan Carew (Cavan).

Clifford the Man for Kingdom
Dublin 2-8  Kerry 1-14

SHANE Clifford was in inspired form for Kerry with a series of brilliant saves to keep his side in contention and then in front to get the victory on a busy day. He was given a lot to do by a rejuvenated Dublin side but was outstanding for the Kingdom.

Both sides decided to warm up on the same end of the Gaelic Park field which was reminiscent of Armagh and Tyrone in Ireland some years ago. Thankfully it was far quieter on this occasion.

Both teams gifted each other a free to start it a point a piece, with Dublin’s Andy Gray and Kerry’s Alan Fitzgerald splitting the honors. 

The match grew as Kerry managed a soft goal when a shot by Thomas Lee dropped just shy of the bar and over the keeper’s head to put them in front, but the position was not secure as Dublin kept closing on goal.

If it weren’t for Clifford in the net it would have been a runaway for Dublin. He was called upon three times before finally halfway through the half.

The sides traded a pair before Kerry took to the races and scored six before the half to go in with a healthy 1-10 to 1-5. Fitzgerald had two while four different scorers had the others.

The second half was a much quieter affair, with a combination of strong defense and mistimed passes cutting back on the scoring. 

Alan Fitzgerald tallied another, with help from Dermie Foley, Kevin Walsh and Eoin Hogan all putting points over. 

Dublin countered with another onslaught on net, which only succeeded once when Declan Reilly was denied but quickly recovered his own rebound and finished on the second shot. 

Dublin continued to attack with points from Marc Connolly and Nick McKeown, but it was not to be as the last three attacks were all broken up by a defiant Kerry fullback line and strong defensive work by the Kerry half forwards who found them winning loose balls in their own half. 
Kerry was just about able to stay ahead and finished in front.

Best for Dublin were Andy Gray, Ciaran McHugh, Declan Reilly and Mark Connolly, while Kerry must hand it to their keeper Shane Clifford who was outstanding. John Curran, Padraig King, Thomas Lee and corner forward Alan Fitzgerald also had excellent outings.

Dublin: 1 Eoin Loughnane, 2 Colin Larkin, 3 Adam Keaney, 4 Aidan Roche, 5 Ger Grehan, 6 Philip Kennedy, 7 Ciaran McHugh (1-0), 8 Niall Coughlin, 9 Andy Gray (0-3), 10 Marc Connolly (0-1), 11 Peter Keaney, 12 Philip Kelly, 13 Mark McAllister (0-1), 14 Declan Reilly (1-1), 15 Nick McKeown (0-2).

Kerry: 1 Shane Clifford, 2 Paul Kelly, 3 Darren Courtney, 4 James Huvane, 5 Kieran Scannell, 6 Mike Nestor, 7 John Curran (0-2), 8 Robbie Moran (0-1), 9 Padraig King, 10 Eoin Hogan, 11 Tom Lee (1-0), 12 Ross Donovan (0-1), 13 Dermie Foley (0-3), 14 Kevin Walsh (0-2), 15 Alan Fitzgerald (0-5). Subs: CJ Molloy, Sean Purcell, Daniel Kennedy, Paul McGill.

Man of the match: Shane Clifford (Kerry).