Clann Eireann (Armagh) 0-14;
Newbridge (Derry) 0-12
Everything Armagh related teams do lately turns to gold. Following the All Ireland senior football win, it seems the club scene too has taken an enormous lift in confidence as Clann proved when going into the Lion's Den and bearding the local opponent at Celtic Park on Sunday.
While Newbridge surprised the reigning county, provincial and All Ireland champions Glen to capture the Derry title, they were just a shade behind their opponents when it came to using the ball to good effect in this Ulster quarter-final clash which drew a huge crowd.
It was in the melting pot all through until a brace of points by Ryan Owens and Jack Conlon gave the Orchard boys enough daylight to see the tie through.
Before those scores it looked as if Oisin Doherty’s fine score which leveled matters would also give the home side the momentum to kick on seeing as we were entering the last three minutes of the game.
However Owens was the game changer when he slotted over his score a minute before the hour and then as the Derry boys went hammer and tongs in search of an equalizer they were caught on the hop by their wily opponents who produced a series of sharp passes out of that turnover to allow Conlon to send over the insurance point with his ciotóg.
Both teams produced excellent, hard running football but it was Clann who survived to test their mettle against the Tyrone kingpins Errigal Ciaran at the semi-final stage next week.
Before half time when it was even-steven, the same two who supplied the winning scores, Owens and Conlan landed white flags to give their side an 0-8 to 0-6 slender advantage at the short whistle.
Conor Doherty led from the front as Newbridge got back into the game. His point and a foul on him which saw his brother Oisin convert the free drew the teams level before the latter put his teammates ahead with another free.
It was obvious then that neither side would give any quarter and by game’s end they had been level no less than half a dozen times.
Conor McGrogan nudged Newbridge ahead at 0-10 to 0-9 before Conlon shot his third of the day to level.
The trading of scores went on as McConville and another free converted by Oisin Doherty had the scores tied on 0-11 apiece.
Tiernan Kelly’s point with eight minutes to go gave Clann a lift as they hit the front but Oisin again was dead on from a free.
It was then they found their last two scores and for once the Derry boys had nothing to come back with as Clann advanced to the semi-final against Errigal Ciaran - a game that will not want for rivalry between these neighboring counties.
Errigal Ciaran (Tyrone) 0-17; Cargin (Antrim) 0-9
In the same way that water finds its own level, it was only a question of time before the higher class of Tyrone champions Errigal Ciaran got too much for a game but inferior Cargin outfit on Sunday at Corrigan Park,
They reached their first provincial semi-final thanks to rolling their sleeves up, working hard and mixing class with a huge desire to win every breaking ball.
Errigal led from the gun and as you’d expect the Canavan boys, Ruairi and Darragh, led from the front as 10 of the visitors got on the scoreboard.
The hostess depended on the accuracy of Tomas McCann to keep them ticking over but they were never in with a shout really.
Six points ahead at the break, Errigal knew that Cargin would use their wind advantage on the changeover to test their inner line but both Ben McDonnell and Odhran Robinson were magnificent in dealing with the aerial bombardment.
A Tomas McCann free was all the losers had to show for their efforts in the vital third quarter, while Peter Harte orchestrated the winners attack which continued to find the range and advance without too much trouble as points from subs Mark Kavanagh and Ronan McRory as well as Ciaran McGinley and Ruairi Canavan saw them win their second match in successive weeks
Pádraig Pearses (Roscommon) 2-10 Corofin (Galway) 0-10
Any team that has six points to spare over Galway kingpins Corofin has to be a force to be reckoned with - and Pádraig Pearses showed on Sunday they will take some beating in this year’s club series.
It was the second successive year Corofin went out to Roscommon opposition, as in ‘23 St Brigid’s went on to win the Connacht championship.
On Sunday’s evidence, there may be even more about Pearses who bossed this game from first minute to last and were more comprehensive in their game plan.
They hit the losers with a brand of football that was both fast and furious - and left them floundering in their wake.
MVP on the day was Paul Carey who followed up his early goal for the Rossies with an even better goalmouth clearance on the line when he appeared from nowhere to clear with the goalkeeper beaten.
That sort of appliance from a No 15 shows what this team is about and who is to say that they are not now favorites to not just win Connacht but gho all the way.
Corofin put aside all those reverses to make a fight of it in the second half when four unanswered points cut the lead to three points. Just when it seemed like they might make a nailbiter out of the finish, they were caught and turned over with Bernard Power out of goal, allowing Declan Kenny to pass expertly to Jack Nevin who just had to shepherd the ball into an empty net to kill off the game as a contest.
Ref: J Gilmartin (Sligo).
Cuala (Dublin) 2-15; Naas (Kildare) 1-15
If anything, Naas might have had the better footballers across the field but when it came to doing the right thing in front of goal, it was the O’Callaghan brothers - Con and Niall - who were the difference between these two sides in the Leinster SF championship clash at St Conleth’s Park, Newbridge on Saturday night.
And not forgetting a sub like Conor Groarke, an U-20 Dublin hurler who came on with about 15 playing minutes to go - took three shots and scored three points.
Had the Kildare champions anyone like him or the aforementioned brothers in their ranks, then the likelihood is they would be facing a Leinster semi-final joust next week against Offaly champions Tullamore instead of contemplating on a fourth dismissal in a row by a Dublin team - Kilmacud Crokes having beaten them on three previous occasions.
Cuala are a remarkable club in that having dominated Leinster hurling and won two All Ireland club titles, they find a football team lurking in the background to come into the limelight.
They have three county players in Con, nine time All Ireland winner Mick Fitzsimons and squad member Peader Ó Cofaigh Byrne. These three play in different areas of the pitch with Fitzsimons a defender, Ó Cofaigh Byrne a midfielder and Con the orchestrator of their attack.
The way they play the game is suited to all three with Mick a calming influence at the back, Peadar a high fielding midfielder who gives the out for long kickouts and O’Callaghan in tandem with his younger brother always providing options for the long or quick and long ball in from out the field.
The brothers in tandem with Luke Keating provided a scoring inside line as they accounted for 2-9 of the 2-15 the south Dublin side accumulated over the hour.
This time around Niall was on fire, hardly putting a foot or a shot wrong as he collected a personal haul of 1-5, with Luke chipping in 1-1 and Con striking for three points as well as creating many of the other scores, including the killer second goal which he put on a plate for Niall after turning his man and advancing on goal.
Naas had plenty of experience having contested unsuccessfully the ‘21 and ‘23 finals but have only themselves to blame for losing by three points when they shot 10 bad wides - twice what their more economical opponents posted.
Managed by former Mayo and Wicklow half-forward Austin O'Malley,they have developed a style which puts a premium on stout defense and equally on break-neck attacking forays once the ball is won back from their opposition.
Darragh Kirwan was the best player on view in the first half with four points from play, he got another in the second half, but the fact that he kept drifting out the field must have been a happy sight for the winners who found it hard to contain him when operating closer to goal.
Naas seemed stuck to the game plan of running the ball into the forward line and had they adapted to long balls, then Kirwan and Alex Beirne were well capable of winning those kicks, making it easier either to call a mark or head for goal.
Beirne got them back in the game with a great individual goal which reduced the arrears to three points but the men in Red never allowed their hosts to get any closer.
Dr Crokes (Kerry) 1-15; Castlehaven (Cork) 1-8
Tony Brosnan growth as the next most important Kerry forward behind the Clifford brothers and Sean O’Shea has kept on the upward spiral from the local championship right into the provincial series with a personal tally of 1-7 totted up against Cork champions Castlehaven in Killarney on Sunday.
Crokes won by seven points in the end but it was a titanic struggle as the Castlehaven squad had serious intent in their veins from the throw in as they arrived as provincial champions from last year.
It was close all through the first half and it was only when the Kerry boys outwrestled them in the second half by outsourcing them by 1-9 to 1-3 that they finally waved the white flag.
Brosnan was influential in that final surrender as he scored three points in the first half and when he scored a penalty three minutes into the second half to extend his side’s lead to four, it was the break the home side needed.
The spot kick was awarded when Cian McMahon was fouled by Mark Collins and Brosnan was coolness personified as he registered his team's only goal of the game.
Castlehaven failed to score for 12 minutes of this moiety to signal hope that they could mount a grandstand finish - but star player Brian Hurley’s red card put paid to that notion.
And when they converted a penalty of their own by substitute Damien Cahalane, it was a case of too little much too late to have Crokes worried about the outcome.
Crokes will travel to Waterford to take on Rathgormack in the Munster semi-final the weekend after next.
GAA RESULTS
Connacht SFC quarter-final
Padraig Pearses (Roscommon) 2-10; Corofin (Galway) 0-10
Leinster SFC quarter-finals
Ardee St Mary’s (Louth) 2-9; Rathvilly (Carlow) 0-8
Tullamore (Offaly) 2-10; Tinahely (Wicklow) 1-7
Cuala (Dublin) 2-15; Naas (Kildare) 1-15
Munster SFC quarter-finals
Éire Óg (Clare) 2-8; Adare (Limerick) 0-9
Dr Crokes (Kerry) 1-15; Castlehaven (Cork) 1-8
Ulster SFC quarter-finals
Errigal Ciarán (Tyrone) 0-17; Cargin (Antrim) 0-9
Clann Eireann (Armagh) 0-14; Newbridge (Derry) 0-12
Kilcoo (Down) 0-15; Crosserlough (Cavan) 1-10
Galway SHC final
Loughrea 1-15; Cappataggle 0-16
