Football

Weekend GAA review: Antrim hurlers give All-Ireland champions Galway one almighty scare

Antrim hurlers bond together in the dressing room to steel themselves for the fray against reigning All-Ireland champions Galway: Picture: Antrim GAA Twitter (<span class="username u-dir" dir="ltr" style="background: rgb(230, 236, 240); color: rgb(101, 119, 134); font-family: &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; unicode-bidi: embed; direction: ltr !important;"><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/AontroimGAA" style="background: rgb(230, 236, 240); color: rgb(101, 119, 134); font-family: &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 700;">@<span class="u-linkComplex-target" style="font-weight: normal;">AontroimGAA</span></a>)</span>
Antrim hurlers bond together in the dressing room to steel themselves for the fray against reigning All-Ireland champions Galway: Picture: Antrim GAA Twitter (Antrim hurlers bond together in the dressing room to steel themselves for the fray against reigning All-Ireland champions Galway: Picture: Antrim GAA Twitter (@AontroimGAA)

Ahead at half-time .. and still in front well into the second half ...  Antrim almost pulled off a sensational victory over All-Ireland hurling champions Galway in this Allianz Hurling League Division One B league opener at Pearse Park in Salthill.

It wasn't to be in the end with Galway, three behind with 14 minutes left on the clock, hit seven of the last eight scores to deny the Saffrons 1-19 to 1-16.

Still, Antrim can take huge positives from their performance in a game billed as mission impossible for the travelling Saffrons.

Antrim’s management team had handed out five debuts for the daunting trip to the west – David Kearney (Cushendall), Joe Maskey (St Enda’s), Gerard Walsh (‘Rossa), Maol Connolly and Donal McKinley (both Loughgiel).

Despite facing the League, Leinster and All-Ireland champions, Antrim star Neil McManus was upbeat and said he liked the attitude of the new players coming through at senior level.

“I don’t think our players will be afraid of it,” he told Irish News sports reporter Brendan Crossan prior to the game against the Tribesmen.

How right he was… and he didn’t let the size of the task affect him either, hitting 10 points for the Saffrons today.

Elsewhere today, on day one of the Allianz Football League, there were wins for four Ulster sides, Armagh, Antrim, Fermanagh and Down.

But all the Division One sides from Ulster, namely Tyrone, Monaghan and Donegal, lost out as did Derry in Division Three.

Monaghan have tended to win their recent league openers, Mayo to lose theirs, but Monaghan boss Malachy O’Rourke was especially unhappy to finish yesterday's tense tussle empty-handed.

Yesterday, Cavan battled back from seven points down to draw their Division Two Football League clash against Clare at Cusack Park in Ennis.

The Antrim hurling squad and officials who almost pulled off a major shock win against Galway in Ennis. Picture: Antrim GAA Twitter (<span class="username u-dir" dir="ltr" style="background: rgb(230, 236, 240); color: rgb(101, 119, 134); font-family: &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; unicode-bidi: embed; direction: ltr !important;"><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/AontroimGAA" style="background: rgb(230, 236, 240); color: rgb(101, 119, 134);">@<span class="u-linkComplex-target" style="font-weight: normal;">AontroimGAA</span></a>)</span>
The Antrim hurling squad and officials who almost pulled off a major shock win against Galway in Ennis. Picture: Antrim GAA Twitter (The Antrim hurling squad and officials who almost pulled off a major shock win against Galway in Ennis. Picture: Antrim GAA Twitter (@AontroimGAA)
Antrim's Nigel Elliott comes under pressure from&nbsp; Galway's Sean Loftus and Matthew Donoghue in the Allianz Hurling League game in Pearse Stadium. Salthill. Picture by Seamus Loughran.
Antrim's Nigel Elliott comes under pressure from  Galway's Sean Loftus and Matthew Donoghue in the Allianz Hurling League game in Pearse Stadium. Salthill. Picture by Seamus Loughran. Antrim's Nigel Elliott comes under pressure from  Galway's Sean Loftus and Matthew Donoghue in the Allianz Hurling League game in Pearse Stadium. Salthill. Picture by Seamus Loughran.

Meanwhile on the club front, The Moy struck a devastating late blow to stun Kerry champions An Ghaeltacht at Semple Stadium and claim a place in next weekend’s All-Ireland Club IFC decider.

A trip to Croke Park looked beyond the Tyrone champions when they trailed by double scores going into stoppage time.
 
But goal king Harry Loughran popped up with his eighth strike of the campaign to turn a crazy game on its head.

ALLIANZ FOOTBALL AND HURLING LEAGUES

Sunday January 28

Allianz FL Division 1

Kerry 2-18 Donegal 3-14; Monaghan 0-12 Mayo 0-13; Galway 1-9 Tyrone 0-8

Allianz FL Division 2

Louth 0-11 Down 1-14; Roscommon 2-12 Meath 2-12

Allianz FL Division 3

Fermanagh 3-7 Wexford 2-5; Offaly 1-13 Longford 3-18; Armagh 2-17 Sligo 0-9; Derry 2-14 Westmeath 2-17

Allianz FL Division 4

Antrim 0-15 Leitrim 0-5; Wicklow 0-12 Waterford 0-12

Allianz HL Division 1A

Clare 1-21 Tipperary 0-19; Waterford 0-19 Wexford 2-20

Allianz HL Division 1B

Galway 1-19 Antrim 1-16; Limerick 1-25 Laois 0-18

Allianz HL Division 2A

London 1-13 Kerry 2-30; Kildare 0-16 Meath 1-16; Carlow 0-15 Westmeath 0-19

Allianz HL Division 2B

Derry 1-14 Down 2-17; Wicklow 4-20 Armagh 1-12; Mayo 2-16 Donegal 1-9

Allianz HL Division 3A

Roscommon 3-18 Louth 1-6; Tyrone 2-14 Warwickshire 3-16; Longford 0-12 Monaghan 0-16

Allianz HL Division 3B

Lancashire 2-25 Fermanagh 1-11; Sligo 0-8 Leitrim 1-9

Fermanagh's Seamus Quigley fires home his first goal as he beats defender Barry O'Gorman and keeper Pa Doyle. Picture by Jason Moncrieff.
Fermanagh's Seamus Quigley fires home his first goal as he beats defender Barry O'Gorman and keeper Pa Doyle. Picture by Jason Moncrieff. Fermanagh's Seamus Quigley fires home his first goal as he beats defender Barry O'Gorman and keeper Pa Doyle. Picture by Jason Moncrieff.

Saturday January 27

Allianz Football League Div 1

Dublin 2-17 Kildare 2-10

Allianz Football League Div 2

Clare 1-12 Cavan 2-9; Cork 1-16 Tipperary 3-16

Allianz Football League Div 4

London 2-9 Carlow 2-14; Laois 2-12 Limerick 0-9

Allianz Hurling League Div 1A

Cork 1-24 Kilkenny 0-24

Allianz Hurling League Div 1B

Dublin 1-15 Offaly 2-25

Niamh Hegarty of Donegal in action against Muireann Ni Scaniall of Dublin during the Lidl Ladies Football National League Division 1 Round 1 match at Letterkenny in Donegal. Picture by Oliver McVeigh/Sportsfile&nbsp;
Niamh Hegarty of Donegal in action against Muireann Ni Scaniall of Dublin during the Lidl Ladies Football National League Division 1 Round 1 match at Letterkenny in Donegal. Picture by Oliver McVeigh/Sportsfile  Niamh Hegarty of Donegal in action against Muireann Ni Scaniall of Dublin during the Lidl Ladies Football National League Division 1 Round 1 match at Letterkenny in Donegal. Picture by Oliver McVeigh/Sportsfile 

LADIES FOOTBALL

Sunday January 28

Lidl National Football League (NFL) Division 1 (Round 1)

Kerry 0-9 Cork 2-17l Donegal 0-7 Dublin 2-5; Mayo 0-11 Westmeath 0-7

NFL: Division 2 (Round 1)

Clare 0-13 Sligo 2-6; Armagh 2-10 Tipperary 2-12

NFL Division 3 (Round 1)

Roscommon 5-14 Offaly 0-8; Kildare won Leitrim conceded

NFL Division 4 (Round 1)

Carlow 1-4 Limerick 1-14; Wicklow 2-20 Derry 0-5

Saturday January 27

Lidl All-Ireland Inter-provincial Tournament (Cup Final)

Munster 0-4 Ulster 2-1

All-Ireland Inter-provincial Tournament (Round 1)

Connacht 1-2 Munster 3-1; Ulster2-8 Leinster 1-5

All-Ireland Inter-provincial Tournament (Round 2)

Connacht 2-4 Leinster 3-7; Munster 1-8 Ulster 0-3

All-Ireland Inter-provincial Tournament (Round 3)

Connacht 1-2 Ulster 2-9; Munster 3-5 Leinster 3-4

All-Ireland Inter-provincial Tournament (Shield Final)

Connacht 3-5 Leinster 1-5

CAMOGIE

Sunday January 28

AIB All-Ireland Senior Club Championship semi-finals

Sarsfields (Galway) 0-10 Burgess-Duharra (Tipperary) 0-9; Slaughtneil (Derry) 0-14 Thomastown (Kilkenny) 0-11 after extra-time

AIB All-Ireland Intermediate Club Championship semi-finals

Athenry (Galway) 0-8 Lis (Waterford) 0-2; Johnstownbridge (Kildare) 2-5 Eglish (Tyrone) 0-9

Saturday January 27

Lidl National League: Division 1 Group 1

Tipperary 0-16 Offaly 0-7

Wexford 1-10 Cork 0-15

National League: Division 1 Group 2

Meath 0-2 Limerick 2-10