A brace of goals from both Emma Clarke and Nicola King in the second half left Cavan cruising very comfortably to the finish line. Meanwhile the opening quarter was a very lackluster affair played at a rather pedestrian rate. After a bout of sustained pressure Catriona Brady opened the scoring with a point for Kerry/Donegal while keeper Kilkenny denied Denise Dunnion with a fine save. Cavan were slow to hit form or the target as a quarter had elapsed before Emma Clarke had their first score and she soon tagged on another.
Treasa Marren and Niamh Cunningham exchanged points before Caitlin Hynes struck a goal on 20 minutes climaxing good support play by Clarke and Rosie O'Reilly. Clarke had the next score courtesy of a well threaded ball from Marren. Una Burke then interrupted the Breffni momentum with a timely interception and set up Brady for a point. Dunnion quickly added another after linking up with Kelly Roche. However Cavan finished the period strongly as Karen Feeney cut through for a fine score and Marren had a brace to leave the Breffni ladies ahead by 1-7 to 0-5 at the break.
Kerry/Donegal had a tonic start to the second half as Cunningham cut through for a well-executed goal with good support play from Brady. However that was as close as they would get as King and Clarke struck for two goals in the next two minutes. Cavan were now very much in the driving seat as scores just flowed freely while Kerry/Donegal could do little to curtail them. Cavan would add another 2-7 while Dunnion,Roche and Cunningham raised infrequent flags for their team as the game drifted to the inevitable conclusion.
Cavan Nora Kilkenny, Paula Lacey, Ashley Callery, Katie Kilkenny, Aoife O' Rourke, Aimee Gomez, Linda McKeon, Alisha Jordan, Karen Feeney(0-1), Theresa Marren(0-7), Caitlin Hynes(1-1), Rosie O Reilly, Emma Clarke(2-5), Nicola King(2-0) Subs Sharon Brady, Bridget Mulligan Justin. Clifford, Shauna Kyne, Cathriona Rafferty, Ashleen Callaghan, Tina Lenihan, Mairead Hynes Kerry/Donegal Deirdre Maher, Niamh Britton, Louise Lilly, Aoife Gibson, Michelle McVann, Deirdre Foley, Una Burke, Kelly Roche(0-1), Catriona Brady(0-2), Anita McKenna, Eilise Ward, Amanda McGovern, Denise Dunnion(0-4), Niamh Cunningham(1-2), Noelle Brophy Subs Kathleen Enright, Maebh McDaid, Geraldine Doheny Referee Jimmy Naughton Player of game Treasa Marren
Offaly have it too easy vs. Tribesmen
There was never any doubt where the spoils were going in this match as Offaly led by 2-4 to zero after ten minutes. Shane Sweeney had the goals while Shane McNaughton, Pat Hartley, Dermot Lyng and Shane Kelly had the minors. Galway did eventually get some momentum going as Kevin Reilly(2) and Adrian Purcell got them on the score board. However such was the superiority of the Faithful County that they had a commanding lead of 2-10 to 0-6 at the break.
Offaly opened the second with a brace from McNaughton and Lyng while Tadgh O'Callaghan sent over a superb long range point for Galway. By the ten minute mark Offaly had struck for a further two goals putting them into an unassailable position. A slew of points would follow with great regularity to accentuate their skill and class. In this contest Galway were never in the hunt and even though Adrian Purcell and Kevin Reilly had goals they just added a veneer of respectability to the score line.
Offaly Brian McNaughton, Sean O'Sullivan, Matt Cashman, Ciaran O'Keffee, Brendan McGourty(0-1), Dermot Lyng(0-3), Shane Kelly(1-3), Owen Drumgoole(0-1), Donie Broderick, Derek Molloy(0-2), Pat Hartley (0-2), Shane Sweeney(2-2), Shane McNaughton(1-7) Subs Richie Hartnett, Tom Cashman, Sean O'Keefe, Calem O'Hare, Enda Condron Galway Alan White, David Lynch, Liam Butler, Paul Cahill, Aaron Farrell, David Fahey, Kieran Geary, Aidan Moylan, Adrian Purcell(1-2), Bob McCarthy, Tadgh O'Callaghan(0-1), David Ellis(0-2), Kevin Reilly(1-2) Subs Roy Hanley, Adrian Mullins, Paul Kelly, Brian Moore, Conor O'Brien, Danny Breen. Referee John Madden Man of Match Shane McNaughton.
Kelly propels Cork to victory over Rebels
This senior football clash was the most competitive game of the day as a superb first half performance by Jason Kelly was the platform for Cork's victory. Kelly opened the scoring with the first play of the game but Cork were soon trailing as defensive bungling by the Rebels gifted James Moynagh a goal.
Two minutes later Ian Rowland pointed a free while Kelly landed from long range despite the inconvenience of a late hit. On seven minutes Cork were back in front as Jonathon O'Sullivan returned the kick out for a score. Armagh came right back with a Kevin Roger's point to level up and a good save by keeper O'Mahoney from Moynagh kept Armagh from going ahead. However at the halfway stage Cork went ahead when Vinny Lehane blasted a penalty to the net. Though Steve Sheridan immediately got a point back for Armagh, Cork were very much in command for the rest of the period as they would hit five points while limiting their opponents to one. This was basically the Kelly show as he hit from a variety of distances and angles to send Cork in leading by 1-9 to 1-3 at the break.
Armagh started the second half very impressively with Moynagh, Rogers and Ciaran Conlon hitting points in the opening five minutes while they also spurned some viable chances. However Cork responded with a Brian Kelliher point finishing off a typical John Fitzpatrick run while Kelly pointed a free after Kelliher was fouled. Armagh continued to win plenty of possession but they failed to register scores as the Cork defense was well marshaled by the Hanleys, McLoughlin and Fitzpatrick. Eventually points from Kevin McGeeney and Conlon got them within three of Cork at midway of the period. However that was as close as the Orchard County would get as keeper O'Mahoney once again came up with a fine save to deny Conlon. The Rebels finished strongly with Kelliher hitting the target with good support play from the busy Farncie Cleary and the unusually quiet Mike Travers. Kelly and Rowland completed the scoring with pointed frees to solidify a well-deserved victory for the Rebels.
Armagh Alan Hearty, Karl McAvery, Patsy Martin, Stuart Stokes, Caolan Short, Brian Rogers, Brian Murphy, Steven Sheridan(0-1), James Donnelly, Kevin McGeeney(0-1), Kevin Rogers(0-2), Conor King(0-1), Ciaran Conlon(0-1), James Moynagh(0-1), Kyle Carragher Subs Donal Hearty, Allen McFearon, Richie Morgan, Garreth Kelly, Eddie Greenan, Collie Fearon Cork Darren 0'Mahoney, Paddy Harrington, John McLoughlin, Liam Hanley, John Fitzpatrick, Derek Courtney, Gary Hanley, Jason Kelly(0-8), Gary Lowney, Ian Rowland(0-2), Brian Kelliher(0-3), Francie Cleary, Vinny Lehane(1-0), Jonathon O'Sullivan(0-1, Mike Travers Subs Pat Mahoney, Sean Purcell, Tadgh Foley. Referee Tommy Fahey Man of Match Jason Kelly
Fit Tyrone look ambitious
In this senior football clash these Ulster teams seem to be heading in opposite directions. Tyrone have been progressively climbing the performance charts while the Breffni Boys are sliding downward. This Tyrone squad is fit and hungry and obviously the input of manager Colm Donnelly have led to a much more disciplined and focused approach to the game. In the first half they almost completely obliterated Cavan as the O'Neill County led by 1-10 to 0-2 at the break. Strangely enough Cavan were first to score as a Kevin Smith free put them on the board. Then the strong running and very supportive Tyrone squad took over as Adam Fitzgerald and Shane Ryan had a brace before a long ball from Conor Skeffington was corralled by Pat McGuire and dished to Fitzgerald for the third point. McGuire was having a stellar day on the edge of the square by winning plenty of ball, setting up his team mates and popping over scores with ease. On ten minutes he pointed for a foul on Niall Farrell before the Cavan defense was stretched to the limit as keeper Power made a great save from Fitzgerald. At the half way stage Tyrone produced a major strike as Skeffington and McGuire combined to set up Farrell for a goal. For the rest of the period Tyrone's Shane Ryan(3), Farrell(2) and McGuire rained over points while the only tangible response from Cavan was a solitary point from Paddy McCullough.
In the second half Cavan stepped up their performance but it was never going to be enough to upset the Tyrone momentum. Still keeper Corrigan's reflexes were tested as he stopped a good shot from Steven Harold. Mike Sloan had the opening score before Cavan enjoyed a mild purple patch as they hit three points courtesy of McCullough, Kevin Smith and Brendan Reilly. At the half way mark McGuire and Smith exchanged points as Tyrone led by 1-12 to 0-6. Tyrone would add two more courtesy of McGuire and Sloan. Indeed Sloan , the former play maker with the Mourne squad is blending in very well with his new team mates.
Cavan did finish with a bit of a flourish as Sean McGivney, Ronan McGinley and veteran Justin O'Halloran added late points. Indeed the latter players could not be faulted for their efforts but for most of the game Cavan played a poor second fiddle to a Tyrone team that has grown in stature, maturity and confidence with each outing and evidently with serious aspirations for silverware.
Tyrone Damien Corrigan, Joe Bell, Aidan Power, Paul Mulhern, Ryan Canavan, Steve Keating, Seamus Skeffington, Brendan McGourty, Declan Garvey, Mike Sloan(0-2), Shane Ryan(0-3), Conor Skeffington, Adam Fitzgerald(0-2), Pat McGuire(0-5), Niall Farrell(1-2). Subs. Donal Hartnett, Daren Doherty, Michael Gallagher, Paul Cahill, Jason Killeen Cavan Maurice Power, Denis McCarthy, Alan Carolan, Ciaran Martin, Barry McGinn, Kevin Cardin, Ronan McGinley(0-1), Paddy McCullough(0-2), Steve Harold, Justin O'Halloran(0-1), Paddy Smith, Brendan O'Reilly(0-1), Brian McCarthy, Kevin Smith(0-3), Joe McKeon Subs Ronan Fitzsimons, Sean McGivney(0-1). Referee John Fitzpatrick Man of Match Pat McGuire
