Championship roundup
TYRONE powered past Kildare on Saturday to take their place in tomorrow’s draw for round four of the All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers, while Wexford captured their first Leinster hurling title in 15 years at Croke Park earlier today.
On a busy weekend of Championship action, Tyrone weren’t out of this world, but they found far too much space too often for the hosts’ liking, easing to a 10-point win with goals from Michael Cassidy and Darren McCurry. Their cause was helped by the somewhat harsh dismissal of Kildare full-back Mick O’Grady for a second yellow card with a third of the game to go. However, even before that moment Mickey Harte’s men never trailed for a second, were never less than three points clear after they first bagged a goal in the sixth minute and ended up with 2-17 from play.
Also on Saturday, Armagh bowed out of the Championship after a narrow defeat to Mayo in Castlebar. The Orchard men started and finished the game superbly, but in the middle section it was their experienced opponents who wrestled away control – aided, it must be said, by referee Maurice Deegan’s awarding of some particularly soft-looking frees.
Defensively, Armagh’s discipline in the tackle has been a weakness in games gone by, but they were brilliant at the back on Saturday night, forcing turnover after turnover. This was not reflected by the free count awarded against them. And once more, near misses on the field led to a near miss on the final scoreboard. Jamie Clarke and Rory Grugan, who both had good games, passed up gilt-edged goalscoring chances late in the second-half.
In the Leinster hurling final, a penalty dispatched by goalkeeper Mark Fanning in the 63rd minute proved the difference between Wexford and Kilkenny as the Model county beat the Cats with a superb display of grit and skill. Davy Fitzgerald’s charges shot only three wides in the entire game and Lee Chin was flawless from dead balls as were Conor McDonald (0-4) and Rory O’Connor (0-3) up front. TJ Reid was instrumental in keeping Kilkenny fighting until the dying seconds of the game, but Wexford weren’t to be denied a rare day in the sun.
In Munster, a powerful second-half display swept All-Ireland champions Limerick past Tipperary to the provincial title. Peter Casey and Kyle Hayes grabbed the goals as Limerick's intensity, touch and speed of movement ripped open the opposition in stark contrast to their laboured performance when losing to their neighbours a fortnight ago.
WEEKEND RESULTS
All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers round three
Laois 0-20 Offaly 0-15, Mayo 2-13 Armagh 1-15, Westmeath 0-15 Clare 1-13, Kildare 1-15 Tyrone 2-22
Leinster SHC final
Wexford 1-23 Kilkenny 0-23
Munster SHC final
Limerick 2-26 Tipperary 2-14
Joe McDonagh Cup final
Laois 3-26 Westmeath 1-21
