Round-up: Allianz HL D4 action

Allianz Hurling League Division Four

Cavan 3-13 Warwickshire 0-13

Longford 2-17 Leitrim 0-20

Sligo 2-20 Monaghan 0-8

Longford’s strong start in their Allianz League Division Four opener away to Leitrim was just about enough to carry them through the final three quarters of a game where Leitrim registered 18 scores to their visitors’ 12, but couldn’t find the goal they needed to eat away significant chunks of the Leinster county’s lead.

Seán Tiernan and Seán O’Riordan traded the first two scores, but Longford moved through the gears for the remainder of the opening quarter, Martin Farrell hitting 1-1 while Tiernan, Reuben Murray and David Buckley each split the uprights to make it 1-6 to 0-2.

O’Riordan was prolific for Mike Wall’s Leitrim, posting 0-11 overall and they were right back into the game approaching the hour mark, only to be undone when a well-taken Ronan Courtney goal, another Tiernan point and a red card left them with too much to do in the latter stages.

At Kingspan Breffni, two goals in four minutes from Mark Moffett and Seán Keating proved to make all the difference in a game where Cavan held off Warwickshire to cement their status as leading contenders to bounce back up to Division Three.

It was a contest that took a while to get going, with ten scoreless minutes in the first quarter eventually ended by a Jack Grealish ‘65 that levelled the game at two points apiece.

Eamon McAllister finding the net for the men in blue seemed to light a fire under the game however, with Warwickshire hitting 1-2 on the spin before the interval to lead by two, Darragh McGuinness their goalscorer.

Points from Dylan McKeever, Jack McGuiness and Seán Keating shifted the momentum back Cavan’s way after the turnaround however and when Moffett netted just four minutes after coming off the bench, the Breffni men were set fair for victory.

Sligo remain the side most teams will perceive as the competition front runners however as they made short work of Monaghan in Inniskeen, running out 18 point winners on the back of a slick performance.

Robert O’Kelly Lynch got them out to a solid start with four consecutive scores, all from dead balls, and by half-time they were 0-13 to 0-3 ahead after hurling with the aid of a slight breeze.

Gerard O’Kelly Lynch got the first of his two goals, Thomas Cawley tacked on two of his six points from play as Sligo picked up where they left off to lead by 2-17 to 0-4 after 50 minutes, only to ease off a little in the closing stages with their points safely secured.