Christy Ring Cup

Kildare and Wicklow have qualified for the Christy Ring Cup semi-finals after they both earned second wins in Group 1 on Saturday, when all three games in that competition went in favour of the away teams.

Kildare overcame a slow start to edge out Mayo in Ballina (2-14 to 1-15). With the wind at their backs and dual star Keith Higgins back to support the likes of Kenny Feeney and Shane Boland in attack, Mayo raced into an early six-point lead. Kildare had the gap down to two (0-10 to 0-8) by half-time and they hit the front when Shane Ryan grabbed the opening goal. Jack Sheridan followed suit to move Joe Quaid’s side four points clear late on, but there was still time for a Mayo rally that fell just short.

Kildare are through with a game to spare, as are Wicklow, who got the better of Roscommon in Athleague.
Roscommon put in a much-improved performance from their opening-round loss to Kildare, with Daniel Glynn and Naos Connaughton helping them make an assured start to this game.

Wicklow gradually got going, with Andy O’Brien netting a penalty to help them lead by 1-8 to 0-10 at the interval, but the free-scoring forward was soon shown a second yellow card. Wicklow put this setback behind them, with Mikey Lee finding his range and Danny Staunton adding a crucial second goal late on to push his side on for a 2-16 to 0-16 win.

**Derry **survived a scare from Armagh at the Athletic Grounds to earn their first win in Group 2.

An early goal from Stephen Renaghan in Group 2 helped Armagh race into a six-point lead, but Mehaul McGrath netted to get Derry going. Armagh were still ahead by 1-12 to 1-8 at half-time, thanks to five points from play by David McCreesh.

The second half was a completely different story, as Derry amassed a huge 1-22 to run out convincing winners. The visitors were without dual stars Chrissy McKaigue and Brendan Rogers, but returning free-taker Alan Grant hit seven points to lead ten Derry scorers.

Derry also had 1-11 from their full-forward line of Sé McGuigan, Brian Cassidy and goal-scorer Naoise Waldron as they took complete control to defeat their fellow Ulster side for the second time in three 2018 meetings.

Nicky Rackard Cup

Warwickshire top Group 1 of the Nicky Rackard Cup after they held on in an exciting finish against Monaghan at Páirc na hÉireann, Birmingham.

A strong start propelled Warwickshire into an eight-point lead by the time Garry Lennon bagged his second goal in as many games. Monaghan rallied, however, with goals from Mark Treanor and Tadhg Campbell bringing them within two points (1-10 to 2-5) by half-time.

With Fergal Rafter and third goal-scorer Éamonn Collins to the fore, Monaghan got on level terms and they trailed by just a point late on, only for three late scores to secure a second win for Allianz Hurling League Division IIIA winners Warwickshire. Two of those came from fine finishes by substitute Breen Fallon, before Niall McKenna sent over his ninth of the game to secure the result for the Exiles by 1-21 to 3-11.

Longford got off the mark with a 0-19 to 0-12 win at home to Louth.

Longford laid the foundations for this result by dominating the first half, where eight points from top scorer Joe O’Brien led them to a 0-13 to 0-4 lead.

Louth’s chances of a comeback were hit when they had David Kettle sent off after the restart and despite scores from the likes of Paddy Lynch and Mark Molloy, they never reduced the gap to less than six points. O’Brien added just one point to his tally in the second half, but with Patrick Walsh ending on five from play, Longford had more than enough.

Donegal are in command of Group 2 after they put Leitrim to the sword in Letterkenny.

Davin Flynn continued his impressive form with 1-13 for Donegal, with his 1-9 in the opening half leading the hosts to a 1-16 to 0-5 cushion. Goals from Ben Murray and veteran Clement Cunniffe (who hit 1-5) saw Leitrim finish with 2-8 to their name, but that was nowhere near enough to threaten a rampant Donegal, who amassed 2-28 to pass the 60-point mark in the space of just two games and secure their progress. Gerard Gilmore notched 1-4 for the winners, who had ten scorers, with Lee Henderson and Kevin Campbell among the substitutes to get in on the act.

Lory Meagher Cup

Sligo made a winning start to the Lory Meagher Cup when they turned over Allianz Hurling League Division IIIB winners Lancashire at the Old Bedians Sports Grounds, Manchester. Lancashire led by 2-9 to 2-8 at the end of an entertaining first half, with Ronan Crowley and JJ Dunphy getting their goals, while Larry Cadden grabbed a brace for Sligo, who found a third after the restart through Gerard O’Kelly-Lynch.

Crowley and Edmond Kenny kept Lancashire in touch as the momentum continued to switch, but it was ultimately a late goal from Kevin Banks that settled the game in Sligo’s favour by the narrowest of margins: 4-14 to 2-19.

The other opening-round game saw Fermanagh and Cavan play out a draw in Enniskillen. A long-range free from John Sheanon dropped into the net to give Cavan a boost on 10 minutes and they went on to find the net again through Seán Keating, although the accuracy of Shea Curran and John Duffy kept Fermanagh within touching distance at 2-8 to 0-10 at the half-way stage.

Fermanagh hit the first three points of the second half and they eventually moved ahead going into the last ten minutes via a Ciarán Rafferty goal. Curran (0-8) and Duffy (0-9) continued to rack up the scores for Fermanagh, with Keating and Sheanon responding for the visitors. A Curran free had Fermanagh ahead well into added time, only for Sheanon equaliser to give Cavan a share of the spoils.

RESULTS:

Christy Ring Cup Group 1 Round 1

Mayo 1-15 Kildare 2-14

Roscommon 0-16 Wicklow 2-16

Christy Ring Cup Group 2 Round 1

Armagh 1-14 Derry 2-30

Nicky Rackard Cup Group 1 Round 1

Warwickshire 1-21 Monaghan 3-11

Longford 0-19 Louth 0-12

Nicky Rackard Cup Group 2 Round 1

Donegal 2-28 Leitrim 2-8

Lory Meagher Cup Round 1

Fermanagh 1-19 Cavan 2-16

Lancashire 2-19 Sligo 4-14