Weekend Allianz Hurling League Division 2/Division 3 Results

ROINN 2A

Kildare               0-15      Meath 0-18

Westmeath       3-15      Kerry    1-15

Down                 2-10      Carlow 1-12

Westmeath are the early pacesetters in Division 2A of the Allianz hurling league, as their bid to bounce right back up into the top tier got off to a perfect start against Kerry at TEG Cusack Park in Mullingar this afternoon.

Despite operating without their substantial Kilmoyley contingent, Kerry started well while hurling into the breeze and would have been the happier side when Westmeath led by just two points midway through the first half.

The contest changed when Niall Mitchell fired in a goal from close range and then was pulled down inside the large parallelogram, with Jack Gill firing home the resultant penalty. 2-6 to 0-6 at half time suggested a tight game was in store but instead Westmeath opened with 1-2 at the start of the second half, Gillen poaching another goal, and while Kerry rallied, with Mikey Boyle rattling in a goal to cut the gap to four points at one stage, they never got as close as they needed.

Jack Regan racked up 0-12 for Meath at St. Conleth’s park as they edged out Kildare by 0-18 to 0-15, with the Lily Whites similarly hampered by the unavailability of their Naas players.

Eight points up at half time, David Qualter, Johnny Byrne and Jack Travers all pointed as Kildare set about reducing the deficit, but the goal they needed to really put Meath on the back foot never came, and the Royals held out for a crucial away win.

Perhaps the most dramatic scenes anywhere in the country today were at McKenna Park in Ballycran, where John Michael Nolan’s goal after 70 minutes seemed to snatch victory for Carlow against Down, only for Marc Fisher to fire one in at the opposite end four minutes later to give Down a 2-10 to 1-12 victory.

A goal from Oisín McManus meant that Down led by the narrowest of margins, 1-4 to 0-6 at the interval, and throughout the second half there was never more than a couple of points in it before things really exploded into life in the closing stages.

ROINN 2B

Donegal              3-16      London 0-8

Mayo                  2-15      Wicklow 2-15

Derry                   2-14      Sligo     1-14

Donegal were the big winners in round one of Division 2B, putting London to the sword at O’Donnell Park in Letterkenny with a very strong overall performance. The return of key players Danny Cullen and Declan Coulter represented a huge boost to manager Mickey McCann and they certainly delivered as a key midfield partnership.

London needed to use the wind better than they did in the first half and racked up a lot of wides, while Ritchie Ryan, Davin Flynn and Josh Cronolly McGee were far more accurate at the other end, Cronolly McGee adding the side’s goal after 32 minutes to make it 1-8 to 0-4 at half-time.

Flynn brought his tally to 0-6 while Ritchie Ryan’s two late goals meant that he finished up with 2-8 for the day for the home side.

Wicklow produced a big comeback at James Stephens Park in Ballina to salvage a 2-15 each draw against Mayo, having trailed by six points with 15 minutes to play. It looked like Kieran McDermott’s goal late in the third quarter would be the decisive score for Mayo, but John Toomey found the net for Wicklow, to set up a dramatic finish, and deep in stoppage time the Garden County found an equaliser.

Sligo travelled to Celtic Park in Derry in high spirits after putting in good performances in the Connacht senior league against Mayo and Roscommon, and Gerard O’Kelly Lynch did all he could for Pádraig Mannion’s men, scoring 12 frees and a goal from a penalty. First half goals against the wind from Gerald Bradley and Tiernan McHugh, both taking advantage of defensive uncertainty, gave Derry a vital platform on which to build however and with Cormac O’Doherty in strong form from placed balls also, scoring nine in total, Derry held on to record a 2-14 to 1-14 win.

ROINN 3A

Warwickshire    2-8        Monaghan        1-12

Roscommon     0-20      Tyrone 1-17

Armagh              2-16      Louth   3-12

Pádraig Kelly, who was named as Roscommon joint-captain during the week after his return to the senior county panel, rewarded the faith shown in him when he came up with an injury-time equaliser to salvage a draw for the Rossies in their home game against Tyrone at Dr. Hyde Park this afternoon.

Cathal Dolan, Eoin Fitzgerald and Mickey Joe Egan were to the fore as Roscommon hit the opening eight points of the game inside the first 12 minutes, taking full advantage of the wind at their back. Their momentum stalled however, and by half-time the lead was just nine points, far more retrievable from the Red Hand county’s point of view.

CJ McGourty’s goal turbo-charged the Ulster side and a string of points from Damien Casey pushed them in front, before Kelly secured a share of the spoils.

Louth did all the hurling in the first half of their local derby against Armagh on Saturday in the Athletic Grounds, Conor Deane catching the eye in particular with a goal and a stunning point from a sideline, and when Paul Matthews fired in a goal for the Wee County at the start of the second half, they led by seven points and looked to be set fair for victory.

However Eoin McGuinness raised the green flag for the home side three minutes later, Dean Gaffney started piling on the scores from a frees, and a second goal from McGuinness with six minutes to play gave Armagh just enough leeway to be able to concede another goal to Mark Gahan and still fire the winner, from a Gaffney free, in injury time. It finished 2-16 to 3-12 at the Armagh city venue.  

Warwickshire made the faster start of the two sides at Páirc na hÉireann in Birmingham, but Colin Merrick delivered a crucial goal for Monaghan as they edged in front at half time, 1-7 to 2-3, and the sides traded scores in the second half, registering five each, thus ensuring a crucial away win for the Farney County.

ROINN 3B

Lancashire         2-8        Leitrim 4-16

Fermanagh        1-20      Cavan  0-12

It wasn’t just the Leitrim footballers who caught the eye at the weekend as Olcan Conway’s side picked up a 4-16 to 2-8 win over Lancashire at Abbotstown, while at Brewster Park, Fermanagh were in complete control against Cavan, racking up a 1-16 to 0-4 half-time lead with Francis McBrien their goalscorer. McBrien was shown a red card in the second half while Fermanagh didn’t score in the last 15 minutes, instead conceding points in a row, five of them to James Smith, but still cruised to a 1-20 to 0-13 victory.