TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship
IT was a weekend of mixed fortunes for Ulster’s two intermediate sides, Tyrone and Down, in the latest round of the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship.
Provincial champions Tyrone, after just one game, booked their place in the quarter-finals after a 4-12 to 1-12 win over Sligo at Killyclogher on Sunday.
Sligo had already lost to Laois the previous weekend meaning another defeat in the three-team group would end their hopes of making the knockout stages and see Tyrone and Laois qualify even with the final round game still to be played.
Cookstown joint-manager Jason Quinn doesn’t underestimate the challenge of Four Masters in the Ulster semi-final
“It was tough on my mum and dad. I knew I was self-destructing. And I also knew the next phase of that, if I had carried on, it was not being here. I was in a very dark place...” - the life and times of Caolan Mooney
That game between the two will take place this weekend and will determine who finishes top and who finishes runner-up to help establish the quarter-final pairings.
The sides were level at half-time 2-4 to 1-7 but a strong start to the second half with Chloe McCaffrey and Niamh Hughes among the goalscorers saw Tyrone build up a 4-7 to 1-7 lead that Sligo were unable to claw back.
Down suffered a second successive defeat, this time losing to Louth 1-11 to 0-9 in Dundalk, meaning they must now battle to avoid relegation from the intermediate tier.
After losing to Clare last week, the Mourne county needed to beat Louth if they were to remain in contention for a place in the knockout stages. However, they now face Sligo at the end of the month in a relegation play-off. The winner will ensure they remain in the intermediate championship, but the loser will be relegated to junior football for 2023.
It was a nip-and-tuck first half which saw the sides go in level at the break, 0-6 each. Down trailed 0-3 to no score early but got back on level terms before Louth took the lead twice more with the visitors coming back both times.
Louth got the first two points of the second half to move two clear and with Down only managing one, Louth pulled further ahead, 0-11 to 0-4 by the 51st minute. Down kept fighting and reduced the gap back to two but that was as close as they would get with a late Louth goal ensuring victory.
TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship
FERMANAGH were left to rue a slow start as they lost 1-9 to 1-5 to Carlow in the first group game of the TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship at Lannleire on Sunday.
The home side had 1-5 on the board before Fermanagh finally got up and running with a goal from Blaithin Bogue. James Daly’s side had been creating chances but registered seven wides before Bogue’s major; Rachel Sawyer with Carlow’s goal.
Carlow led 1-6 to 1-2 at half-time, a better final 10 minutes of the first half helping Fermanagh to reduce the deficit to four at the break.
Carlow pushed their lead out to three but points from Elaine McGuire either side of an Eimear Smyth free saw Fermanagh get to within two points, but that was as close as they could as Sara Doyle, who finished with five points, all from frees, ensured a Carlow win.
