Donegal 2-9 Brooklyn 1-7
This senior football clash was hotly contested with tempers frequently matching the ambient temperatures. Though Brooklyn were on the offensive straight from the throw-in, the speedy and accurate Justin Kiernan got Donegal’s first score. Still Brooklyn were dominating the possession stakes and Garvan Quigley fired over a spectacular point.
Brooklyn kept the pressure on and Mark Ellis went one and one with the keeper. His first attempt was stopped, but the deflected shot was knocked over the line for a goal. Brooklyn increased their lead when Ryan Corrigan floated over a long range free after midfielder Daire Brennan was fouled.
If Brooklyn dominated the first quarter, Donegal dominated the second. After the hydration break Donegal came out well fired up and quickly put two points on the board courtesy of Sean Conroy and their scorer-in-chief Justin Kiernan. Garvan Quigley got one back with a pointed free, but it was back to the Donegal script. Conor Daly landed a fine long range effort and Kiernan pointed another free after an infringement. Brooklyn led by 1-3 to 0-5 at the break.
Upon resumption Brooklyn looked to have regrouped as Daniel Cibotar scored from the throw-in. Two minutes later they spurned a golden goal chance to go further ahead as a well-executed turnover set the scene for a major score. However over-elaboration rather than a more direct route saw the shot richotte off the keeper, and the opportunity wasted. However when play switched to the other end,
Donegal made no mistake with their goal opportunity as Shane McGrath blasted the ball to the net, 1-5 to 1-4 for the lead. Both teams added a brace prior to the last water-break, Kiernan had two pointed frees for Donegal, while Corrigan and Cibotar replied for Brooklyn to leave the minimum between the sides. Donegal certainly put their imprimatur on the game in the last quarter as top-scorer Kiernan banged in a goal and two points. At the other end resilient defending by Toal, McNamee, McNiff and company limited Brooklyn to a solitary point from Ryan Kelly. Overall a tough hard fought game, Donegal availed of their chances, while Brooklyn spurned too many, given that it was a close affair.
Donegal: Conor Tinney, Tommy Carpenter, Darragh Toal, Eoghan Doody, Stephen O’Quigley, Ronan McNamee, Peter McEniff, Conor Daly(0-1), Matthew Gallagher, Bradley Doherty, Shane McGrath(1-0), Aaron Laverty, Shay Travers, Justin Kiernan(1-7), Sean Conroy(0-1). Subs Paddy McColgan, Sam McCabe, Tiernan McLoughlin, Rory Slane, Locklin Byrne, Declan Hughes.
Brooklyn: Ryan Corrigan(0-2), Diarmuid Bennett, Alan Campbell, Cian O’Dwyer, Ethan Lennon, Luke Flanagan, Andrew McGowan, Daire Brennan, Padraic Patton, Mark Ellis(1-0), Daniel Cibotar(0-2), Ted Regan, Garvan Quigley(0-2), Ryan Kelly(0-1), Tomas O’Connor. Subs Sean Martin, Daire O’Brien, Liam McGrath, Colm Doherty, Fintan Corbett, Robert Carr, Sean Smith, Niall Cassidy. Man of Match Justin McKiernan, Referee Enda Henry.
Mathers on target
St. Barnabas 5-9 Kerry 1-18
It’s generally a maxim in sports that goals win games and that certainly subscribed to Barnabas’ pattern of play in the sweltering heat on Sunday. Kerry may feel flummoxed to lose with a very impressive score of 1-18, well the short answer is Tiernan Mathers. He banged in three goals.
Meanwhile Mikey Brosnan and Bobby Regan got the opening scores for their respective teams. Indeed Regan would be the Kingdom’s most reliable sharp-shooter. Dara Quinn punished Kerry for an off-the-ball incident before he maneuvered his way into the goalmouth to leave Jordan Reynolds the task of palming the ball to the net for the first goal. Now it was like tit for tat as Paudie Studdart and Bobby Regan registered a brace. Kerry were now dominating the possession stakes as Barry Mahoney and Jack Murphy pointed to leave a point between the sides, 1-4 to 0-6 approaching the 20th minute mark. Then Barnabas struck for goal number two, it came from the penalty spot after Dara Quinn was upended. There was an animated debate in the press box whether a black card should have been issued. However the Kingdom were undaunted and they finished the period strongly to hit four unanswered points, courtesy of Regan(2), Niall Madine and Cillian Langan to have the match level, 2-4 to 0-10 at the break.
Barnabas had a powerful start to the second half. A Mikey Boyle shot rebounded off the post before Mikey Brosnan chipped in with points from play and a free. Paudie Studdart added another before Tiernan Mathers fielded a long delivery, rounded his man and blasted the ball to the net, giving his team a six points lead. Kerry then launched a scoring spree with three points coming from Donal Hunt, Barry Mahoney and Madine before Jack Murphy goaled to level the scores, 3-7 to 1-13.
Now the excitement and tension were escalating as both sides swapped points, Raftery for Barnabas and Mahoney for Kerry. Then Mathers struck for goal number two while a brace from Madine left the minimum between the sides 4-8 to 1-16 at the last water break. With time ticking away Mathers finished off a great performance with a well struck point before hitting goal number three after Mike Cronin did the support work. Kerry fought valiantly to get a share of the spoils but had to settle for points from Niall Collins and Bobby Regan as Barnabas’ rearguard of the Boyles, Curran, Hogan, Rafferty, and Cronin shut down routes to the goal.
St. Barnabas: Gearoid Kennedy, Jamie Boyle, Dylan Curran, Nolan Kelly, Mikey Boyle, Kevin Rafferty, Peter Cronin, Tiarnan Mathers(3-1), Shane Brosnan, Cathal Fleming, Paudie Studdart(0-3), Mikey Brosnan(0-3), Jordan Reynolds(1-0), Dara Quinn(1-1), Shane Hogan. Subs Jack Dennis, Ian Kavanagh, Shane Rafferty(0-1), Paudie Mathers, Liam Rafferty, Adam Power, Johnny Reynolds, Caolan Mathers.
Kerry: Keith Leary, Adam Lang, Niall Collins(0-1), Tom Kerins, Pat Warren, James Walsh, Sean Horan, Liam Kearney, Eoghan McElligiot, Cillian Langan, Barry Mahoney(0-3), Donal Hunt(0-1), Bobby Regan(0-6), Niall Madine(0-4), Jack Murphy(1-1). Subs Niall McCarthy(0-1), Mike McCarthy, Mike Cronin, James Kilgariff, David Langan(0-1), Ollie McLean, Ed Myers, Sean Dwyer. Man of Match Tiernan Mathers, Referee Jeff Farrell.
Sligo edge it
Sligo 1-13 Cork 0-13
This was another senior hotly contested clash in every sense of the word. The player most responsible for the outcome was Peter Cooke. The Galway man scored a great goal as well as a bagful of points from a variety of distances and angles. Meanwhile for most of the game the exchanges were fairly even, both teams were on seven points at the intermission. Cork’s frequent flag-raisers were Fintan O’Reilly, Colin O’Connor, Donal Casey, while Niall Dolan, Peter Cooke, Brian Byrne. Brian Coughlan, Mike Argue and Daniel Cox replied for Sligo.
Upon resumption, little changed in the pattern of play, as both sides hit a trifecta to maintain parity. Donal Casey, Colin O’Connor and Fintan O’Reilly raised flags, while Cooke(2) and Matt Myles did likewise for Sligo. Then came the decisive score. A strong run through the middle was illegally impeded, resulting in a free. There were protestations, resulting in the ball being moved forward, then a quick free saw Cooke take off goal wards, and he unleashed a powerful shot to the net. Further points from Coughlan and Cooke saw Sligo’s lead increase to 5pts, 1-12 to 0-10. Fintan O’Reilly got one back but Cooke curled over another fine effort. Cork went in search of a goal but Vinny Cadden deflected a goal-bound effort. In the end Cork had to settle for a brace of points as Sligo sealed up goal-bound routes.
Sligo: Vinnie Cadden, Andrew Flynn, Noel Hatton, Eoghan Kerins, Rory Dwyer, Colin Keane, Shane Queenan, Brian Byrne, Peter Cooke(1-5), Michael Argue(0-1), Matt Myles(0-1), Niall Dolan(0-1), Dylan Rooney, Daniel Cox(0-1), Dylan Wade, Daniel Corridan. Subs Ruairi O’Caoilean, Brian Coughlan(0-3), Dan Connell, Mike Diskin Niall Feehily, Sean Murphy, Harry O’Connor.
Cork: Donal Casey, Enna Barry, Sean Wilson, Morgan Kenny, Jamie Doris, Matt Queenan, Alan O’Donoghue, Dan Keating, Dara Walsh, Colin O’Connor, Fintan O’Reilly, Pearse Lillis, Liam Grainger, Shane Fitzgerald, Lorcan Kennedy. Subs Colum Fallon, Sean Tierney, Aaron Traynor, Ryan Hillard Alan Rafferty, Ryan Scanlan, John Conefrey, Eoin Coulter, Tadgh O’Connell, Jack Sheedy, Sean Carty. Man of Match Peter Cooke, Referee Peter McCormack
Great draw
Clare 4-19 Tipperary 4-19
The patrons certainly got great value for their money as all the games, despite the sweltering heat, went right down to the wire. The clash of the ash between Munster rivals, Tipp and the Banner was fast, furious and the scores coming with great frequency from all sorts of distances and angles.
Seamus Cronin and Conor Cooney were first to get Clare on the scoreboard but a Daragh Hynes goal put Tipp in front. By the first water break there was just a point between the sides 1-6 to 1-7, with Clare’s goal coming from Oisin Flannery and majority of points from Conor Cooney, who would end up being the most prolific scorer, while Daragh Hynes was giving Tipp the edge.
Little changed for the second quarter as Tipp led by 1-10 to 1-8 at the intermission. Upon resumption Tipperary were very much in the driver’s seat and soon they led by 2-15 to 1-11, John Tierney had the goal, while Ger Ryan, Mark Kehoe and Conor Hammersley contributed to the minor total.
At the other end sharp-shooter Cooney was keeping Clare in the hunt. Tipperary continued to dominate as Ger Ryan, who had a major impact coming off the bench muscled his way in for a goal. Approaching the three quarter mark, it looked to be nearly curtains for Clare as now they trailed by 3-15 to 1-12. However a goal and a point from Oisin Flannery before the last hydration break seemed to infuse new life into Clare. They hit top gear for the last quarter, nailing 2-2 without reply, the goals coming from Flannery and Cronin, and Clare were ahead for the first time since the early minutes.
Ruadhan Mulrooney’s disputatious goal put Tipp back in front as time tipped away. Both sides would land points to have the sides level as Tipp were awarded a free midway in front of the stand along the sideline. The buzzer had sounded so a score had to come directly from the shot. The free was assisted to the net, but alas no good. Anyway a draw was a fair result to a great game of hurling, despite the high temperatures and the tempestuous nature of the exchanges at times.
Clare: Ronan Callinan Tadgh O’Connell, Eoin Coulter, Sean Collins, Pierce Ellis, Enna Barry(0-1), Tadgh Connellan, Evan Duggan, Cian O’Dea, Shane Harrision(0-3), Conor Cooney(0-12), Morgan Garry, Seamus Cronin(1-2), Oisin Flannery(3-1), Donal Hunt. Subs Daryl Gaughan(0-1), Ryan Mulligan, Paudie Brady, Sean Dilger, Colin O’Connor, Cian O’Connor, Paudie Kyne, Aidan Kennedy,
Tipperary: Keith Robinson, Colin O’Brien, Henry Keyes, Campbell Boyd, Rory Carty, Mark Ellis, John Burns(0-1), Tom O’Meara, Conor Hammersley(0-2), John Tierney(1-0), Darragh Hynes(1-4), Brian Seymour(0-1), Tomas O’Connor(0-3), AJ Willis, Mark Kehoe(0-3). Subs. Mike Cronin, Tommy Kavanagh, Gerard Ryan(1-3), Joe Grace(0-1), Ross Butler, Padraig Gill, Caoilainn Conroy. Ruadhan Mulrooney(1-1), John O’Neill. Referee Chris Dalton
Westmeath in control
Westmeath 2-19 Rangers 1-6
This senior game went as generally predicted as Westmeath, the defending champions, had too much fire power for the American-born young Rangers squad. Incidentally Rangers stayed with their vaunted opponents in the early stages, and were just a point adrift at the first quarter, 0-4 to 0-3. Then two first half turnovers ended the game as a competitive affair. Frank O’Reilly capitalized on the first with a goal, while Adam Loughlin-Stones netted from the second just at the first half buzzer, to leave the score at 2-8 to 0-5. Killian Butler, Jordan Ajani, Gavin O’Brien and company popped over points after the break while Kevin Loane and Chris Mulvihill had Rangers’ scores.
Westmeath: Pat Guerin, Stevie Nolan, Rob Wharton, Shane Fagan, Dan O’Sullivan, Eric Lourdes(0-1), Sean Moore, Shane Carthy(0-1), Kieran Murphy(0-1), Jordan Ajani(0-4), Brian Travers(0-1), Frank O’Reilly(1-1), Gavin O’Brien(0-3), Adam Loughlin-Stones(1-0), Killian Butler(0-6). Subs Peter McKinney, Jack Robinson, Stephen Gargan, Alan Curran
Rangers: Joe Grace(0-2), Shane Doheny, Conor Crosby, Willie Brazil, Emmett Loughnane, Danny Burke, Daire Murphy, Niall McStay, James Breen, Kevin Loane(1-1), Chris Mulvihill(0-2), PJ King, Tommy Hanaway(0-1), Brian Twomey, Dan Lehane. Man of Match Killian Butler, Referee Peter McCormack
