Poor start
Tyrone were perhaps the big losers of the weekend as they got their Division One campaign off to a nightmare start, losing to Roscommon by five points. That’s six goals that the 2021 All-Ireland champions have now conceded in their last two outings (including the McKenna Cup final against Derry), a worrying stat for Brian Dooher and Fergal Logan. Antrim also lost out in their first game, losing to Offaly 0-12 to 2-12.
No walk in the park
ANY notion that Dublin were going to stroll through Division Two wasn’t disproven on Saturday night but can certainly be questioned. They did enough to sneak past Kildare, unimpressively, while Derry shot the lights out against Limerick, breezing to a 0-16 to 0-4 victory. From the outset, those two were tipped as the pair that would gain promotion to the top tier, but who will be going up with the title?
The men for the big occasion
WHEN their teams needed them most, Stefan Campbell (Armagh) and Patrick McBrearty (Donegal) stood up to be counted. ‘Soupy’ didn’t have his best evening for the Orchard county, but nailed two late scores to see his side over the line against Monaghan. Similarly, newly appointed Donegal captain McBrearty didn’t score until the dying seconds and stepped up to slot over the winner against Kerry.
Sweeper keeper
IT wasn’t a great weekend for Ulster netminders. Rory Beggan, Niall Morgan and Shaun Patton all had horrible experiences. Beggan gifted Tiernan Kelly and Armagh a goal when Monaghan were on top. Patton disappeared off his line to collect a pass that never came, allowing Dara Moynihan to hit an open net and Morgan conceded three second-half goals to Roscommon as Tyrone lost out by five.
Table-toppers
Following the opening weekend of action, Ulster are well represented at the top of the tables in Division One, Two and Three. Armagh and Donegal just trail Roscommon via scoring difference in the top flight, while Derry lead the way in Division Two. In Division Three, three of the top four teams hail from the northern province. Fermanagh are on top, followed by Offaly, Down and Cavan.
