O’Neill Leads Rangers to McGovern Cup

Rangers 1-17 St Barnabas 2-7

Rangers regained the John Joe McGovern Cup with an impressive win on Saturday over a battling St. Barnabas team.

By establishing a big lead with the wind in the first half, Rangers left the Saints with to high a hill to climb in the final 30. It was a fiercely competitive game between long rivals.

The John Joe McGovern is in remembrance of the Fermanagh native who was a fixture at Gaelic Park and at the weekly meetings before his untimely passing. A gentleman and straight shooter, he is still remembered and mentioned often around the Mecca.

It was all Rangers as the game opened. They had four points in the first seven minutes, with Sean O’Neill and Eoin Delaney splitting the total evenly.

Delaney was proving a handful for the Saints, and his pace and movement in open play was very good. Add to the mix full forward Ronan Caffrey, who was moving constantly, and it was a three headed monster.

A 70-yard movement in the 10th minute put further room between the sides when it ended with Caffrey driving a bullet to the net from twenty yards out. The goal portion of their total was quickly cancelled out, however, in one of St. Barnabas’ few decent chances in the first half.

The ball was worked to the middle of the field from the kick out. Brian Dennehy received and lofted a long ball to the square. It fell to the floor from a number of hands, and Thomas McGovern soloed soccer style and found the net off the body of the keeper.

It gave them false hope, however. The Rangers’ reply was swift. Four points from four different scorers, and when the Saints had their first point of the afternoon, a free from Brian McGovern, Rangers again replied with vigor.

The last five points of the first half to leave the score at the break 1-13 to 1-1.

St. Barnabas had a very good start to the second half as they had scores from the McGovern brothers in the first six minutes. The game took on a touch physical nature, and it lifted the Saints as Ciaran Moyles was inspiring them.

They had a wide in the mix, but slowly Rangers clawed back. Two pointed frees by O’Neill negated all of the good work, and with 20 minutes left Rangers were back in a 12 point lead.

The Woodlawn lads had the wind at their back now, and they went back into attack. Nick Moustousis was winning a lot of ball in the six slot and running out with ball in hand time and again.

They put four points back to back, with Conor Hogan’s an excellent score after the best move of the game resulted in Brian McGovern cracking a stunner off the woodwork.

Rangers did have a point from Gavin Beadie when Caffrey picked him out with a beautiful cross field ball, but then the Saints had a stunning move. The ball was again worked out by Moustousis and found Hogan on the 25; he soloed once and crashed the ball to the net.

It was 1-16 to 2-7 now with 10 minutes left bon the clock. Killian Caffrey had a point for Rangers that completed the scoring as time ran out on a gallant St Barnabas side.

So Rangers get their hands on the first junior cup of the year. Patrick O’Driscoll, Willie Walsh and Gavin Beadie were impressive at the back. The Caffrey brothers are fantastic players at this level; Sean O’Neill, Eoin Delaney and Stephen O’Shea were others to shine.

For St. Barnabas, Nick Moustousis had an excellent outing. Joe Hallinan did well against Ronan Caffrey -- no easy task. Brian Dennehy, Thomas McGovern and Conor Hogan battled to the end. 

St. Barnabas: 1 Mike Greaney, 2 Brendan Murphy, 3 Joe Hallinan, 4 Mike McKenna, 5 Tom Brady, 6 Nick Moustousis, 7 Doug Brady, 8 Brian Dennehy, 9 James Mullen, 10 Brian McGovern (0-3), 11 Kevin Hannon (0-1), 12 Thomas McGovern (1-3), 13 Conor Hogan (1-1), 14 Ciaran Moyles, 15 Shane Flanagan.

Rangers: 1 John Williams, 2 Malachy McHugh, 3 Patrick O’Driscoll, 4 Lorcan Malone, 5 Thomas Maher, 6 Willie Walsh (0-1), 7 Gavin Beadie (0-1), 8 Chris Colleran, 9 Killian Caffrey (0-1), 10 Derek Courtney, 11 Sean O’Neill (0-6), 12 Stephen O’Shea (0-2), 13 Eoin Delaney (0-4), 14 Ronan Caffrey (1-2), 15 Sean Twomey. Subs: Roy Henley.

Man of the match: Sean O’Neill (Rangers).

Referee: Jimmy Naughton (Roscommon).

 

Second Half Surge for Roscommon

Roscommon 3-14 Brooklyn/Long Island 1-6

Roscommon used a dominant second half when they outscored their opponents 2-8 to 0-2 to easily take the points in this intermediate football tie to open the proceedings on Sunday.

A numbers advantage due to two sendings off for B/LI made it all the easier as Roscommon easily quelled any advances by their rivals and allowed them to build at will from the back.

The losers had the first point of the contest when Niall McElroy chipped over after a short sideline, but Roscommon replied with 1-4 to take a commanding lead.

Liam O’Sullivan had two points from frees, while Kieran Keaveney and Adrian Tate fired over excellent individual scores.

The goal arrived 12 minutes in when Shane Russell was fouled in the act of scoring and Steve Doherty slotted the ball low to the net.

Tate was impressive to this point with his fielding and distribution, while Keaveney was showing continuously for the defenders as an option coming out from the back.

With a commanding lead Roscommon let their guard down in the next 10 minutes as Brooklyn made a comeback. John Ganley and Bobby McGee had back to back points before David Rooney grabbed a ball that pinballed around the square and sidestepped a defender before driving low to the net.

Resurgent they were using the strengths of McElroy and Ganley as sources for their comeback. They were, however, to receive a blow to their numbers when after 28 minutes Gary Moore received a red for continues fouling and O’Sullivan fired the last free over.

It had followed a second point of the boot of Keaveney and pushed Roscommon out into a three point lead as the half wound down, 1-6 to 1-3. B/LI had the last score before the break with a free from Damien O’Boyle that greeted the half time whistle.

Roscommon added to their lead with three points on the resumption, but they were making very hard work of the contest. After scores for BKL by Ganley and McElroy they lost their second man to a red card. This time it was Tony Boyle’s turn to receive a second yellow, and he took the long walk.

It left his side with a huge hill to climb. Roscommon had four points as the numerical advantage began to pay huge dividends.

The best of them a running fisted score by Michael Travers. They then added 2-1 before the end of the game with sub Peter Conroy and midfielder Tate the scorers. 

B/LI was able to work the ball out from the defensive end, but they constantly were thwarted when they approached the Roscommon 21 yard line.

Donnacha Dunne, Colin Nester and the midfield of Shane Russell and Tate were to the fore, and the waves in the other direction constantly gave Roscommon scoring opportunities.

B/LI will rue the player losses. John Williams had one slip but otherwise did as well as could be expected. Enda Lally, Niall Byrne and Tony Boyle before he departed were the best of the defenders. Niall McElroy and John Ganley are quality forwards.

Roscommon will have alerted all with this win on top of the Brady Cup of a couple of weeks back. Liam Sheehan is a confident keeper. Dunne, O’Reilly and Nester are a solid half back line. Russell and Tate controlled in the second half, while Kieran Keaveney had his best game of the year. The Dohertys and Liam O’Sullivan all were dangerous in open play.

Roscommon: 1 Liam Sheehan, 2 Michael O’Neill, 3 Martin Slowey, 4 Michael Curley, 5 Donnacha Dunne, 6 Michael O’Reilly, 7 Colin Nester, 8 Adrian Tate (1-1), 9 Nick Mangan, 10 Steve Doherty (1-0), 11 Kieran Keaveney (0-3), 12 Gearoid Doherty (0-1), 13 Adrian Doherty (0-1), 14 Shane Russell (0-1), 15 Liam O’Sullivan (0-5). Subs: Peter Conroy (1-1), Michael Travers (0-1), Henry Mitchell.

Brooklyn/Long Island: 1 John Williams, 2 Gary Moore, 3 Enda Lally, 4 Niall Byrne, 5 Kieran O’Kane, 6 Tony Boyle, 7 Paul McDaid, 8 Pat Lonergan, 9 Damien O’Boyle (0-1), 10 Jamie Lally, 11 Niall McElroy (0-2), 12 Bobby McGee (0-1), 13 Declan McAleer, 14 John Ganley (0-2), 15 David Rooney (1-0).

Man of the match: Adrian Tate (Roscommon).

Referee: Paddy Gormley (Rockland).

 

Tyrone Makes a Statement

Tyrone 1-9 Cork 1-6

Tyrone won this encounter of undefeated sides with a brilliant defensive performance that limited Cork to seven scores, with just three coming in the second half.

While John Murtagh gets the awards for his displays up front, it is the no name defense that suffocates by its pressure and tenacity. With five of the six defenders home-based in New York, they are bucking the trend of summer sanctions being vital in that area.

Even more impressive was their ability to limit the amount of frees they gave up in scoring position which is crucial at this level.

The game of the day burst into action from the get go. Francie Cleary had a point fisted over after two minutes, but immediately Tyrone moved the ball quickly in the other direction.

A long ball from Eamonn Lyons was received by Murtagh inside the full back. The flying forward had the tightest of angles but found the left side of the net with a brilliant finish. He followed it with a tremendous point, with Eamon Lyons then grabbing their third.

Cork was at sixes and sevens, but they regrouped and steadied the ship. It began when the ball was worked out from the defense by Denis McCarthy to Colin Daly. The Skerries man ran at the Tyrone defense before slipping the ball to Joe O’Neill in front of goal. The wee man found the net with a perfect low shot.

After a Pakie McMullan score for Tyrone, Cork attacked again. Frees from J.P. Boyle tied up the contest with 25 minutes gone, but both sides will rue wides that finished of moves.

Indeed, a host of ball was dropped around the 45 at both ends when runs were being made. It kept the scoring low after the opening flourish.

Murtagh had a free in the first minute of the second half, but it was the only score for either side in the first 10 minutes. Both sides were battling, with McCarthy, Sean Lordon and Paddy Harrington impressive at the back for Cork, while Joe Bell, Seamus Skeffington and Gerard McCullough were doing a lot of cleaning up at the Tyrone end. All were negating forward advances with timely interceptions and dogged defending.

Murtagh had a second free after 14 minutes when McMullan was fouled, and had his third with 16 on the clock when he was fouled himself.

Cork was having no luck going into the final third of the field and they had to make changes. They put Lordon into the center and moved Alan Rafferty back to six, and it had immediate repercussions.

Lordon’s fiery style lifted his side, and he had a point that cancelled out a Kevin McSorley score for Cork’s first point of the second half after 20 minutes. It could have been much more, however, as his bullet shot should have been under the bar not over.

Tyrone were able to reply to it with a gem of a score from McSorley from the left wing, and while Cork had two of the last three points of the afternoon, their chances of winning disappeared when Daly received a red card for his wild swing at Eamon Lyons.

McSorley connected in the first half with a punch and received a yellow. Daly seemed to miss for the most part and was being dragged by the waist and received a red.

Regardless, his loss ended Cork’s hopes, and Tyrone ran out winners.

A brilliant defensive performance then, and possibly a mistake to single anyone out of the unit. The performances of Gerard McCullough and Seamus Skeffington were excellent; Skeff was man of the match. The midfield of Gary Reilly and Eamon Lyons won the sector and completely nullified the Raff and Staff effect.

Pakie McMullan is a great ball carrier, while Kevin McSorley had two excellent and valuable scores. John Murtagh continues his tear-up of New York, while Darren Petit was showing well before he went off injured.

Cork will know what happened and need to turn it around quickly as they have Leitrim this weekend. Paddy Harrington, Denis McCarthy and Sean Lordon were the best of the defenders; Harry had a very good day.

Lordon actually was even better when he went to the center and played with fire. Perhaps if the swap of Lordon and Rafferty had come earlier it might have had a better effect.

Francie Cleary had a great first half, Colin Daly also battled throughout without getting into a smooth gear. He was guilty of the swing but very unlucky to see the line. The rest of the forward line was far too subdued.

Cork: 1 Evan Byrne, 2 Denis McCarthy, 3 David Crimmins, 4 Paddy Harrington, 5 Liam Hanley, 6 Sean Lordon (0-1), 7 Derek Courtney, 8 Alan Rafferty, 9 Rory Stafford (0-1), 10 Francie Cleary (0-2), 11 J.P. Boyle (0-2), 12 Conor Hunter, 13 Joe O’Neill (1-0), 14 Colin Daly, 15 Nicky Dineen. Subs: Donal Broderick, Stephen O’Shea, Steve Gomez. 

Tyrone: 1 John McGinley, 2 Joe Bell, 3 Gerard McCullough, 4 Paul Mulherne, 5 Seamus Skeffington, 6 Steve Keating, 7 Aiden Power, 8 Gary Reilly, 9 Eamonn Lyons (0-1), 10 Pat Maguire, 11 Pakie McMullan (0-1), 12 Kevin McSorley (0-2), 13 Conor Downey, 14 John Murtagh (1-5), 15 Darrin Petit. Subs: Conor Skeffington.

Man of the match: Seamus Skeffington (Tyrone).

Referee: Jimmy Naughton (Roscommon).

Dermie Leads Kingdom Home

Kerry 2-17 Sligo 2-5

After an early scare when Sligo had a goal chance that went narrowly wide, it was all Kerry in this senior football encounter. Nine different players got on the scoresheet, with Alan O’Sullivan very impressive in the middle of the park.

Dermie Foley snagged two goals while Stephen Kavanagh slotted over six points to return to his scoring ways. The only Sligo highlight was a super finish for a goal by Paul Doyle in the second half.

In a calm fist half Kerry was in complete control throughout with a solid workmanlike performance. They had an 1-4 to 0-1 lead after 10 minutes and had the luxury of gifting Sligo a goal when Shane Clifford inadvertently helped the ball to the net and still being able to point at will.

A remarkable fact was that eight different players got on the scoresheet by the 20th minute when Foley took advantage of a defensive mix-up to find the net for Kerry.

Sligo had two points from Niall Moran in the same period, but they were mere tokens of resistance.

In the second half the avalanche continued, 1-7 to 1-2, with O’Sullivan very impressive in the middle of the park. Damien Reilly also had some very good moments as he cut of several threats easily.

Kavanagh had his shooting boots on and he punished any indiscretions. An easy Kingdom win.  

Kerry: 1 Shane Clifford, 2 Niall Corbett (0-1), 3 Eoghan O’Mahoney, 4 Enda Lally, 5 Collie Fearon, 6 Colin O’Mahoney (0-1), 7 Damien O’Reilly, 8 James Walsh (0-1), 9 Alan O’Sullivan (0-3), 10 Kieran Bergin (0-1), 11 Vinnie Gavin (0-1), 12 Bingo Driscoll (0-2), 13 Padraig Doyle, 14 Steven Kavanagh (0-6), 15 Dermie Foley (2-1). Subs: Tommy Quaid, Sean Twomey.

Sligo: 1 Brian Quinlan, 2 Peter Kelly, 3 Sean Pender, 4 Denis Kilkenny, 5 Roy Henley, 6 Paddy Brennan, 7 Colm Byrne, 8 Niall Higgins, 9 Tony Woods, 10 Niall Moran (0-2), 11 Conor Brady (1-0), 12 Eamon Duffy, 13 Nester Allen (0-1), 14 Gearoid O’Flynn, 15 Paul Doyle (1-1). Sub: James Walsh (0-1).

Man of the match: Alan O’Sullivan (Kerry).

Referee: Tommy Fahey (Waterford).