ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE
DIVISION ONE GROUP A
Cork 2-21 Westmeath 0-21
GOALS proved the difference at Páirc Uí Chaoimh as Cork registered their third win on the bounce to remain top of Group A.
Pat Ryan’s charges made the perfect start as Shane Kingston lashed the sliotar to the Westmeath net for the first score of the game and, while the visitors remained in touch for much of the first half, Shane Barrett’s goal sent Cork in at the break with a comfortable 2-11 to 0-10 lead.
Killian Doyle did much of the damage up front for Westmeath, racking up 0-12 before being forced off through injury with eight minutes remaining.
Galway 0-19 Limerick 0-24
LIMERICK claimed their second win of the campaign thanks to a dominant display at Pearse Stadium yesterday.
Tom Morrissey scored 0-8 for the All-Ireland champions, while returning lynchpins Cian Lynch and Kyle Hayes chipped in with three points each.
Mícheál Houlihan, Peter Casey and Morrissey were all to the fore as the Treaty established a 0-14 to 0-7 half-time advantage, which they were to stretch after the turnaround.
Henry Shefflin’s men produced a strong closing quarter that saw them land seven unanswered points, five of them from Conor Cooney, but Morrissey steadied the ship for Limerick with a free.
Wexford 1-18 Clare 6-25
WEXFORD were humiliated on home turf by Clare as the rampant Banner outfit had the game put to bed by half-time.
Brian Lohan’s men hit the ground running with an early goal from Peter Duggan and more majors from David Reidy, Aidan McCarthy and talisman Tony Kelly saw them go in at the break with a massive 4-17 to 1-6 lead.
McCarthy raised his second green flag with five minutes of the game to go, while Mark Rodgers got Clare’s sixth goal in the first of four minutes of injury-time as the Slaneysiders were left with a sour taste in their mouths.
DIVISION ONE GROUP B
Dublin 0-24 Tipperary 2-23
TIPPERARY remain top of their group after they consigned Dublin to their first defeat at Croke Park on Saturday.
Tipp led by 0-14 to 0-13 at the break thanks to the accuracy of free-taker Jason Forde.
A neat finish to the net early in the second half by Conor Bowe stretched Tipperary’s lead and, when Forde grabbed another major 10 minutes later, the visitors were six in front.
The concession of the goals left Dublin with a mountain to climb and, despite points from Donal Burke, Sean Currie, Joe Flanagan and Paul Crummey, they were to fall five short in the end.
Laois 1-18 Kilkenny 0-34
KILKENNY were comfortable throughout in O’Moore Park as Derek Lyng’s men shook off the recent defeat to Tipperary to dismiss Laois.
It was a big boost to the Cats to have Eoin Cody back in their pack and they hit the ground running to take in a commanding 0-21 to 0-7 lead at the half-time mark.
Martin Phelan lashed in a sorely needed Laois goal shortly after the restart but they never seriously troubled the reigning Leinster champions, and Billy Drennan (0-11), Martin Keoghan and Cody added more points to the board to ease them to victory.
DIVISION 2A
Carlow 5-24 Down 1-19
DOWN slumped to a third successive defeat at Netwatch Cullen Park yesterday, the Ardsmen being outclassed to the tune of 17 points by a Carlow side recording their first league points writes Charlie Keegan.
Down centre-forward Paul Sheehan did give his side a second minute lead from a 40-metre free but that was as good as it got.
Two minutes later, Carlow full-forward Paddy Boland brought a blinding save from the Down goalkeeper and captain, Stephen Keith, but the loose ball fell back kindly into Boland’s possession and he unleashed a fierce drive which gave Keith no earthly chance.
Showing a number of changes from the match programme, Down struggled to contain the Carlow forward threat, with Marty Kavanagh and Jon Nolan presenting the greatest scoring threat – the Carlow forward duo contributed 4-13 to their tally.
A second Paddy Boland goal before half-time had Ronan Sheehan’s side looking down the barrel as they trailed 2-12 to 0-8.
The second half provided little for the loyal band of Down supporters at the Carlow venue. The scores kept flowing for Carlow, Boland scoring goals in the 56th and 58th minutes to put the final nails in the Down coffin.
In fairness Tim Prenter, Pearse Óg McCrickard, Ruairi McCrickland and Paul Sheehan continued to take the game to the Barrowsiders but the scale of the deficit meant it really became a matter of damage limitation exercise.
There was the late consolation of a goal for half-time substitute Stuart Martin, who also scored a point from play.
With two league rounds remaining the meeting of Down and Derry in two weeks’ time is likely to determine who stays up and who is relegated from Division 2A.
Derry 0-19 Kildare 2-23
DERRY also slipped to a third League defeat of the season against Kildare at Owenbeg yesterday writes Michael Wilson.
Johnny McGarvey men’s, who lost Richie Mullan to illness before throw-in, paid the price for a poor opening quarter which saw them trail the Lilywhites by seven points only eight minutes in, an advantage the home side never quite managed to close despite bossing much of the remainder of the game.
Derry went into the match still searching for their first points of the season and the early omens weren’t good, Kildare almost exclusively bossing the opening exchanges.
At that stage Derry were struggling, too tepid in the tackle and second best at both their own and the Kildare puck-out. But gradually as the half wore on McGarvey’s men got to grips with the game with Cormac O’Doherty superb as he finished with 0-14, all from frees.
It wasn’t long, though, before the Lilywhites had taken a stranglehold, Brian Byrne’s ninth-minute goal coming after he accepted a James Burke pass to waltz through the centre of an eerily vacant Derry rearguard and smash past Eoin Mulholland.
At that stage the outcome looked a foregone conclusion but as the tide turned Derry held Kildare to one point over the next 16 minutes as Cormac O’Doherty began to find his range from frees on his way to a first-half tally of 0-8 as Derry trailed by 1-14 to 0-11 at the short whistle.
The second half saw Derry get the Kildare advantage back to four at one stage and they can feel aggrieved at a couple of decent penalty shouts which were waved away by Westmeath referee, Caymon Flynn.
Indeed, the second saw Kildare break and build to eventually score their second goal in injury-time through substitute Killian Aherne, a possible six-point swing which only exasperated Derry frustrations as Kildare eased to a flattering win.
Kerry 1-18 Offaly 0-22
OFFALY’S promotion push remains on course after a last-gasp win in Killarney.
Shane Conway’s goal midway through the first half put Kerry in front but they trailed at half-time, 0-13 to 1-5, thanks to the points of Eoghan Cahill, Cillian Kiely and Oisín Kelly.
Kerry reeled Offaly back in after the break and it remained nip and tuck until a sideline puck from David Nally in the third minute of injury-time gave the Faithful county victory.
DIVISION 2B
Sligo 0-11 Tyrone 2-15
TYRONE were far too strong for Sligo at Markievicz Park as they picked up their second win of the campaign.
Lorcan Devlin and Bryan McGurk got the goals for the Red Hands either side of half-time.
Wicklow 0-23 London 0-14
WICKLOW were comfortable throughout as they saw off London in Aughrim.
DIVISION 3A
Armagh 2-16 Mayo 0-21
ARMAGH are also in a strong position to challenge for promotion after they shaded Mayo by the narrowest of margins at the Athletic Grounds. Both Orchard goals came midway through the second half, the first from Danny Magee, while Fionntán Donnelly got the second from the spot.
Fermanagh 1-14 Roscommon 1-14
FERMANAGH and Roscommon played out a draw in Derrylin yesterday afternoon. The Rossies looked like they were going to nick the win until Luca McCusker pointed from a free four minutes into injury-time.
Monaghan 1-19 Louth 1-15
MONAGHAN remain top after overcoming Louth by four points in Castleblayney. Fergal Rafter was again the main man for the Farney, converting a string of frees before netting from the penalty spot in the second half.
DIVISION 3B
Lancashire 3-11 Cavan 0-14
OLLIE Bellew’s Cavan side suffered their first defeat of the campaign at Abbottstown on Saturday as they were punished by Lancashire’s ruthlessness in front of goal. Conor Kennedy (two) and Robin Spencer got the majors for the Exiles.
Warwickshire 1-6 Longford 2-10
RONAN Sheahan and Dan Crossan grabbed the goals for Longford as they got their first win of the campaign in Birmingham.
