Round-up: Sunday's Allianz Hurling League D2 and D3 action
A Marty Kavanagh penalty helped Carlow to victory over Down in Division 2A of the Allianz Hurling League.
Allianz Hurling League Division Two/Three roundup
Allianz League Division 2A
CARLOW 3-20 DOWN 2-18
Carlow will return to Division 1 hurling in 2025 after they locked down their league final place with an assured display against Down at Netwatch Cullen Park this afternoon.
Marty Kavanagh’s penalty after seven minutes got the home side out to a dream start, and they moved nine points ahead late in the first half when James Doyle fired in their second goal.
Down hung in there well however, with Tim Prenter and Liam Savage on the scoresheet as they cut the lead to six points by half-time, 2-10 to 0-10.
That was still the margin when Daithi Sands blew the game wide open with two goals in the space of 30 seconds around the 50 minute mark, but Carlow’s response was superb. Jon and Chris Nolan got some excellent points, eventually shooting 0-8 from play between them, and a goal on the hour mark from Jake Doyle was enough to wrap up the win.
LAOIS 4-26 MEATH 1-12
Laois will have a home semi-final and are just 70 minutes away from joining Carlow in next year’s Division 1B, after they made light work of Meath at Páirc Tailteann today. First half goals Jer Quinlan, Tomás Keyes, Aaron Dunphy and Martin Phelan had Laois completely in control by the half-time break, as they racked up the scores in benign conditions at the Navan venue.
The O’Moore County had 11 scorers in all, with the full forward line of Dunphy, Phelan and Keyes scoring 3-14 in all.
Pádraig O’Hanrahan scored 0-5 from place balls for Meath as well as adding a goal early in the second half, but it was still a demoralizing defeat for the Royals, though they remain in the hunt for that slot alongside Laois if results go their way next weekend.
KILDARE 1-21 KERRY 1-14
The green shoots of recovery that Kerry showed in their win over Meath last time out didn’t survive through to this afternoon’s clash with Kildare at Hawkfield, where a strong second half showing from the home side ensured a comfortable win for the Lily Whites, their first of the season so far.
Kildare were fractionally the better side in the opening half too, but Cian Boran’s goal chance in the opening minute was saved by Louis Dee, while Maurice O’Connor didn’t waste his opportunity in the 35th minute, finding the target to level the game briefly.
Goalkeeper Paddy McKenna wasn’t long waiting to strike back, as he marched up field to convert a penalty to make it 1-10 to 1-7 at half-time.
Kildare always had a little bit to spare in the second half and then finished strongly with three points on the spin from David Qualter (two) and Declan Flaherty.
Allianz League Division 2B
LONDON 0-18 TYRONE 0-11
London have their destiny in their own hands in advance of their trip to Letterkenny next weekend, as they will make that journey knowing that a win will assure them of knockout hurling, and a Division Two slot for 2025.
This was a tough defeat to take for Tyrone, who started well and were handed a further boost in the form of a red card for London corner-back Matt Barlow after a half hour.
Instead the Exiles stepped up spectacularly well to score the next two points to level the game at half-time (0-7 each) and add five more in a row after the break. Jack Goulding (0-11, 0-7f, 0-1 s/l) and Seán Glynn (0-3) were the main threats for Neil Rogers’ side, while Tyrone chased the goals they needed but twice were denied by fine saves from Tommy Wallace.
DONEGAL 0-24 ROSCOMMON 1-14
A strong start and a strong finish was enough to compensate for a mid-game wobble for Donegal this afternoon, as they travelled to Dr. Hyde Park and came away with a victory that leaves them very well-poised in the hunt for one of the semi-final slots in this league campaign.
Gerard Gilmore, Ruairi Campbell, Oisín Grant, Brian McIntyre and Liam McKinney all pointed as Donegal moved 0-7 to 0-0 ahead, before Brendan Mulry’s size and scoring ability gave Roscommon a foothold in the game. The big Four Roads man hit three points in the first half as the Rossies reduced the lead to two at the interval, then flicked a goal two minutes into the second half, with Conor Mulry and Paddy Fallon pointing to extend the lead to three points.
Donegal took over once again in the final 25 minutes however, with Gerry Gilmore and Liam McKinney their leading scorers as they outscored Roscommon by 0-11 to 0-1 in that period.
WICKLOW 0-18 DERRY 0-18
Wicklow still don’t have a win in this year’s league but the Garden County, who were beset by chaos and disorder at the start of the year, will feel greatly encouraged by their draw with Derry this afternoon in Aughrim.
The Oak Leaf County have been utterly dominant in this Division so far and looked like cruising to five wins on the bounce, but they were afflicted by inaccuracy today, in no small part because of excellent defensive work from Bosco O’Neill’s home side.
22 wides will no doubt be a topic for discussion in the Derry video sessions this week, but with Christy McNaughton bucking that trend, raising six green flags, they still held a one-point lead going into the last few minutes, when Gary Hughes ensured a share of the spoils for Wicklow.
Allianz League Division 3A
SLIGO 2-23 MONAGHAN 1-20
Connacht rivals Sligo and Mayo remain in control of Division 3A of the Allianz hurling league, with both sides securing good home wins today.
Eddie O’Donoghue’s 13th minute goal for Sligo was the difference between the sides after 15 minutes at Markievicz Park, though Leo Maloney (two), Pauric Malone and Conor Gernon were all on target for a lively Monaghan side.
That goal was still the only difference between the teams at the interval, when it was 1-10 to 0-10, before Thomas Cawley’s goal saw Sligo move seven points clear in the 49th minute. Monaghan’s Leo Moloney replied with a goal 60 seconds later, but Sligo had that bit more scoring threat and they kept the Farney men at arm’s length.
MAYO 0-28 LOUTH 0-13
It was another day of plain sailing for Mayo at the Connacht Centre of Excellence, where the home side had ten scorers from play, led by 0-6 from Liam Lavin, in a comprehensive win over Louth.
The Wee County led by 0-5 to 0-4 after the first quarter, with their sweeper system causing problems for Mayo, but by the end they were overwhelmed by the league leaders’ ability to score from all over the field.
CAVAN 2-13 ARMAGH 0-16
An impressive season for the Cavan hurlers continued this afternoon at their home field of Kingspan Breffni Park, where they came back from 0-10 to 0-3 behind at the interval to edge out Armagh by 2-13 to 0-16. The win means that they are in pole position in the race to finish in the top four and secure a place in next year’s remade Division Three, potentially alongside teams like Wicklow and London, sides that have historically operated at a very different level to the Breffni men.
As he has done all season, Alex O’Boyle led the way for the Orchard County in the first half and while the third quarter was a lot more competitive, Armagh still looked like the dominant side going the last 15 minutes, 0-13 to 0-7 to the good.
Brian Fitzgerald missed one goal chance but after Jack Barry found the net, Fitzgerald was on target with his second, and after snatching a narrow lead, they held on well.
Allianz League Division 3B
FERMANAGH 1-13 LANCASHIRE 1-8
Aidan McKinley’s 50 metre run and finish in the first half opened the door to the prospect of a shock result at Brewster Park today, as Fermanagh’s dreadful first half shooting enabled Lancashire to lead by 1-5 to 0-5 against the league leaders at half-time.
The records will show that Danann McKeogh, Luca McCusker, John Duffy and Brian Teehan all pointed to re-establish control for the Ulster county at the start of the second half, but Lancashire will rue two missed goal chances of their own in that spell, when they could have really tested the mental strength of the Erne County.
Instead Brian Teehan was on hand to finish after Seán Corrigan had a shot blocked after 58 minutes, and while Peter Boylan replied for the Exiles, they weren’t able to find the scores to get back within striking distance for the remainder of the game.
LONGFORD 2-15 LEITRIM 1-7
After the Longford footballers secured a big home win over Leitrim in last week’s crucial Allianz League football clash between these two Shannonside neighbours last week, the hurlers repeated the trick this afternoon at the same venue, building on Cathal Mullane’s early goal to lead from start to finish.
Despite losing Martin Feeney to a straight red card in first half stoppage time, Joe Murray gave Leitrim a glimmer of hope midway through the second half with a goal to reduce the lead to four points. However Mullane duly responded in kind, and Longford eased to victory with Reuben Murray scoring five of his six pointed frees in the final 15 minutes.
