LEINSTER SHC ROUND TWO
Dublin 2-23 Westmeath 1-14
Dublin followed up their draw in Belfast with a win over Westmeath at Parnell Park on Saturday.
After Niall Mitchell’s goal for Westmeath in the second minute, it t took over half an hour for Dublin to get on level terms and it wasn’t until Donal Burke’s major on 34 minutes that they hit the front, leading by 1-11 to 1-7 at the break.
Conor Donohoe and Burke helped Dublin to stretch their lead early in the second half and when Cian Boland grabbed their second goal with 20 minutes remaining, the game was over as a contest.
Kilkenny 0-28 Galway 1-25
A LATE point from Championship debutant Declan McLoughlin ensured that Galway got out of Nowlan Park with a point yesterday afternoon.
Brian Concannon had grabbed an early goal for the visitors and the sides were level at half-time, 0-16 to 1-13.
The Cats came into their own after the break, building a five-point lead. Billy Ryan, Martin Keogan and TJ Reid all got themselves on the scoreboard as the home side looked set for a stroll to the two points.
But Galway refused to throw in the towel and points from Evan Niland, Daithí Burke and Jason Flynn got them back in it before Portumna man McLoughlin popped up with an impressive equaliser.
MUNSTER SHC ROUND TWO
Cork 0-27 Waterford 0-18
WATERFORD remain without a win in Munster as Cork comfortably put them to the sword in Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday.
All of Cork’s front eight got themselves on the scoresheet, with Séamus Harnedy, Conor Lehane and Patrick Horgan registering 0-16 between them.
The Déise managed just the one point inside the opening 20 minutes and, by the 26th minute, Cork were 0-12 to 0-2 in front.
Although Stephen Bennett battled manfully for Waterford, they trailed by 0-15 to 0-6 at half-time, a gap that was to prove insurmountable.
The returning Robbie O’Flynn made a substitute appearance for the Rebels in the second half, claiming two points from either sideline.
Limerick 2-20 Clare 1-24
CLARE inflicted a first Championship defeat on Limerick since 2019 with a fine performance in the Gaelic Grounds.
Limerick led at half-time, 1-10 to 0-12, thanks to a Séamus Flanagan goal and a couple of brilliant saves from Nickie Quaid.
However, Clare levelled shortly after the restart and hit the front five minutes later through a Peter Duggan goal.
The All-Ireland champions hit back with four unanswered points and the pendulum swung back and forward before points from Shane O’Donnell, Tony Kelly and substitute Aron Shanagher saw the Banner take control in the closing stages.
A late Flanagan goal wasn’t enough for Limerick to get anything from the game.
CHRISTY RING CUP ROUND THREE
Derry 1-19 Meath 1-21
DERRY fell to their first defeat in this year’s Christy Ring campaign at Owenbeg on Saturday afternoon.
Playing with the breeze behind them in the first half, the visiting Royals went in at the break 0-14 to 0-10 in front. However, the sending-off of Meath’s James Toher just before the break gave Derry plenty of hope for the second half.
A Cormac O’Doherty penalty helped the Oak Leafs into a 1-14 to 0-15 lead, but a Nicky Potterton major gave the Royal county the platform they needed to secure their second win of the campaign.
Derry will hope to bounce back in London in a fortnight’s time, while Meath will host Tyrone.
Mayo 0-21 London 2-22
Tyrone 1-16 Sligo 0-20
TYRONE suffered agony deep into stoppage-time as Andrew Kilcullen’s eighth point gave Sligo a slender victory in a Pairc Colmcille thriller writes Francis Mooney.
The Red Hands had fought back from seven behind to go level with a 70th-minute Chris Kearns goal, but there was still time for the Connacht men to carve out the win and condemn Tyrone to a first defeat of the campaign.
The Red Hands had struggled to get to the pace of the game, falling behind by 0-10 to 0-3 as Thomas Cawley shot his second score, but they finished the first half strongly, with three Sean Duffin points and a Lorcan Devlin effort cutting the deficit to three at the break.
The Yeatsmen started the second half strongly, though, and pushed the lead out to seven, only for a string of frees from Duffin reducing the deficit to three before Kearns’ goal levelled.
However, it was Sligo who found the extra score for their second win of the campaign.
NICKEY RACKARD CUP ROUND THREE
Armagh 3-8 Wicklow 3-28
ARMAGH endured a miserable Saturday at the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds, losing by 20 points to a visiting Wicklow outfit.
The Orchard county began brightly, with Tomás Galvin and Fionntán Donnelly both grabbing goals inside the first 15 minutes, but once Wicklow got a grip on the game, they didn’t let go.
The Garden county were 2-11 to 3-5 in front by half-time and underlined their dominance after the break.
Armagh managed just three points in what was a dismal second-half display and they will now have to wait two weeks before they can attempt to recover against Fermanagh.
Louth 3-17 Fermanagh 3-17
Winless Fermanagh and Louth played out a draw in Darver yesterday.
A late Mark Gahan point looked to have given Louth victory until Luca McCusker rescued a draw for Fermanagh with a pointed free four minutes into injury-time.
Roscommon 2-16 Donegal 2-25
DONEGAL continued their impressive Nickey Rackard form with a nine-point victory over Roscommon in Athleague.
Captain Ronan McDermott grabbed a crucial goal for Donegal in the 23rd minute and he added another six points from tight angles as he led by example throughout. Donegal had 11 separate scorers on the day, with Liam McKinney chipping in with 0-6.
With three wins from three, Donegal next host Louth in Letterkenny.
LORY MEAGHER CUP ROUND THREE
Cavan 3-29 Lancashire 5-9
A FREE-scoring Cavan drew level with Lancashire at the top of the Lory Meagher group thanks to their victory over the Exiles in Breffni Park.
Cavan were unstoppable in the first half, registering 2-20, with Nicholas Kenny and Sean Keating grabbing the goals, Kenny and Canice Maher also pointed at will.
Although Lancashire showed plenty of fight after the break, scoring three goals, Cavan were comfortable and can now prepare for a tricky trip to neighbours Longford.
Monaghan 2-27 Warwickshire 1-4
MONAGHAN got their first win of the campaign in comfortable fashion at Cloghan yesterday. Ethan Flynn, Niall Arthurs, Declan Hughes and Niall Garland were all on form for the Farney.
Leitrim 0-8 Longford 0-12
