Archive for category: County Football

Brief report from Connacht game last night in Limerick where John McKeon, James Glancy (GM) and Declan Maxwell were Leitrims representation on the panel.

A superbly takenÓgoal by Limericks Pa Ranahan, a minute before half-time, was crucial as Munster beat Connacht in atrocious conditions before an attendance of 350 at the Gaelic Grounds tonight.

Donnacha OConnor had a fine outing for Munster and scored six points – one free and one sideline – as he steered his province to a deserved M Donnelly Interprovincial SFC semi-final win.

Munster made a bright start and had three points from Paddy Kelly, OConnor and Colm ONeill inside the opening five minutes and Paul Kerrigan was inches wide with a goal attempt.

Mark Breheny notched Connachts opening point and after six minutes, and just moments later Paul Conroy struck a powerful shot which beat goalkeeper Paul Fitzgerald but came back off the butt of the post.

Then Joe Bergin was fouled as he bore down onÓgoal and referee Cormac Reilly awarded a penalty from which David Kelly scored – the Sligo attacker followed up after Fitzgerald had saved his initial effort.

Kelly tagged on a point and OConnor had two more Munster points followed by another brace from Waterford dual player Gary Hurney.

David Kelly pulled a point back for Connacht but two more by OConnor had Munster three in front.

Just on half-time, a splendid Munster move involving four players ended with Ranahan blasting past David Clarke to leave it 1-9 to 1-3 in favour of Munster at the interval.

Peadar Gardiner had the first point for Connacht on the resumption but a pointed free from ONeill and a Liam OLionnain effort from had Munster seven points clear and they had a relatively untroubled path through to the final.

scorers – Munster: D OConnor 0-6 (0-1f, 0-1sl), C ONeill 0-3 (0-1f), P Ranahan 1-0, G Hurney 0-2, L OLionnain, P Kelly 0-1 each
Connacht: D Kelly 1-4 (0-3f), M Clancy 0-3, M Breheny, J Glancy, D Meehan 0-1 each

MUNSTER: P Fitzgerald (Tipperary); T OGorman (Waterford), J McCarthy (Limerick), P Reidy (Kerry); M OGorman (Waterford), M Shields (Cork), P Ranahan (Limerick); A OConnor (Cork), R Costigan (Tipperary); P Kelly (Cork), D OConnor (Cork), P Kerrigan (Cork); G Hurney (Waterford), C ONeill (Cork), L OLionnain (Waterford).

Subs used: A Walsh (Cork) for Kerrigan (52 mins).

CONNACHT: D Clarke (Mayo); C Harrison (Sligo), N McGuire (Sligo), J McKeon (Leitrim); P Gardiner (Mayo), D Blake (Galway), G Bradshaw (Galway); J Bergin (Galway), N Coleman (Galway); M Breheny (Sligo), B Moran (Mayo), P Conroy (Galway); S Kilbride (Roscommon), A OShea (Mayo), D Kelly (Sligo).

Subs used: J Glancy (Leitrim) for Kilbride (35 mins), M Clancy (Galway) for Breheny (40), D Meehan (Galway) for Bradshaw (47), S Davey (Sligo) for Conroy (57).

Referee, C Reilly (Meath)

25-Oct-09 by BreakingNews.ie

Leitrim got a bye to the Connacht semi final in 2010 and will probably play their game in Hyde park in Roscommon as the winners of London v Roscommon are the opponents.  While London will be a force to be reckoned with this year the Rossies will be determined to cut a path to the semis and take on Leitrim on their home patch.  Leitrim have a score to settle so its going to be a lively championship season in 2010 even though RTEs pundit Kevin McStay has Leitrim written off already.

Galway will also travel this year and they head to New York for their opening game so this left Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo as the teams to fill the remaining positions.  Out of the 3 teams Mayo are drawn against Sligo in the prelim game and the winners will take on the winners of Galway/NY. The big guns of Mayo, Sligo and Galway are all on the other side of the draw and this should make for a very entertaining year.

Prelims:

A. New York v Galway

B. London v Roscommon

C. Mayo v Sligo

D. Leitrim Bye.

Semis:

A v C   – New York/Galway v Mayo/Sligo

B v D   – London/Roscommon v Leitrim

22-Oct-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO

The 2010 Allianz National Football League Division 4 fixtures have been confirmed and are unchanged from the provisional list circulated to counties in recent weeks.   Leitrim will have 4 home games  to Waterford, Kilkenny, London and Longford and 4 away to Wicklow, Clare, Carlow and Limerick with a break in round 5 as Leitrim have a bye on March 13th-14th.

National Football League Division 4 – Confirmed:

Sunday, February 7: Leitrim v Waterford, London v Limerick, Carlow v Longford, Clare v Wicklow.

Saturday, February 13: Limerick v Carlow
Sunday, February 14: Wicklow v Leitrim, Kilkenny v Clare, Waterford v London.

Saturday, February 20: London v Wicklow; Longford v Limerick; Carlow v Waterford; Leitrim v Kilkenny.

Sunday, March 7: Waterford v Longford, Kilkenny v London, Wicklow v Carlow, Clare v Leitrim.

Saturday, March 13: Limerick v Waterford
Sunday, March 14: Carlow v Kilkenny, Longford v Wicklow, London v Clare. Leitrim BYE

Sunday, March 21: Leitrim v London, Kilkenny v Longford, Wicklow v Limerick, Clare v Carlow.

Saturday, March 27: Carlow v Leitrim, Limerick v Kilkenny
Sunday, March 28: Longford v Clare, Waterford v Wicklow.

Saturday, April 3: Kilkenny v Waterford, Leitrim v Longford, Clare v Limerick, London v Carlow.

Sunday, April 11: Waterford v Clare, Limerick v Leitrim, Wicklow v Kilkenny, Longford v London.

FINAL – 24 April

National Hurling League Division 4 – Confirmed:

The hurlers will have 5 games in Division 4 and open their campaign away to Cavan and then away to Fermanagh. They will be home to South Down, followed by an away game to Longford and have their final game at home against Monaghan.

21.02.2010: Monaghan v Fermanagh, Cavan v Leitrim, Longford v South Down

28.02.2010: Fermanagh v Leitrim, Longford v Cavan, South Down v Monaghan

14.03.2010:  Fermanagh v Cavan, Leitrim v South Down, Monaghan v Longford

21.03.2010:  South Down v Fermanagh, Longford v Leitrim, Cavan v Monaghan

28.03.2010: Leitrim v Monaghan, South Down v Cavan, Fermanagh v Longford

FINAL – 10.04.2010

15-Oct-09 by Brendan Doyle – PRO

Leitrim 0-10 Longford 0-13

Leitrims brave bid to win their first ever SFC qualifier faded at Pairc Sean MacDiarmada tonight.  Spurred on by man-of-the-match Padraig Berry, Longford booked a prized place in the second round draw.

Both sides enjoyed spells of dominance in the first half. Michael Foley and Gary Reynolds starred as Leitrim pegged it back to 0-07 apiece at half-time.

But Longford, despite losing Kevin Smith to a red card, edged it in the second half with Berry, Paul and David Barden and Brian KavanÓgh leading them home.

In dry and near-perfect conditions, the games throw-in was delayed by 10 minutes due to crowd conjestion and when this novel clash got started, Leitrim grasped early control of the scoreboard.

Ger DennÓgan kicked Longfords first point, but the hosts cantered ahead thanks to scores from Michael Foley, Gary Reynolds and Philip McGuinness.

Reynolds kicked clear of the crossbar after Longford goalkeeper Damien Sheridan had managed to keep out a goal-bound shot from Philip McGovern.

Longford ended their barren spell in front of goal with points from Damien Masterson and Francis McGee and a subsequent white flag from full-forward Cian MimnÓgh sent them back in front at 0-06 to 0-05.

The ever-impressive Berry sandwiched a point in before the half-time whistle, replying to another Foley score and an entertaining half was brought to a close by a well-taken point by Carrigallen ace Reynolds.

The second half was just as competitive as the first but Longford, searching for their first Championship win under Manager Glenn Ryan, gradually stretched ahead.

DennÓgan and Foley both had wides before McGee also forced a free wide of the target, following a yellow card for Leitrim corner back Dermot Reynolds.

Reynolds full-back colleague Pat Gilmartin had an excellent game and was a rock for Leitrim on occasions, but he could do little as points from DennÓgan, McGee and Berry saw Longford push ahead.

Berrys score, coming off a brilliant solo run, was quickly followed by Paul Bardens first point of the evening and a superb point from Brian KavanÓgh, wide out on the left. Suddenly there were five points between the sides (0-12 to 0-07).

Foley reduced the arrears, dusting himself off to pop over a free, and the Leitrim management introduced Darren Duignan and James Holohan for the closing stages.

Ray Cox was also brought on and two successful frees from McGuinness, in between Kevin Smiths sending-off for a high challenge on Cox, set up an edge-of-the-seat finale.

Yet Leitrim could not muster another score. The scenario of being two points down with three minutes remaining will be played over in their players minds for the rest of the summer.

David Barden had the final say, Scóring a relieving point for Longford which proved to be the match-winner.

05-Jul-09 by SBPost.ie

HOME ADVANTAGE for the second round of the All-Ireland football qualifiers will be decided by the toss of a coin, following Sunday evenings draw in Croke Park. While home advantage for this Saturdays first round of matches was based on the first team drawn from the bowl, the second round draw will consist of two bowls – the eight first round winners in one bowl and the eight beaten provincial semi-finalists in the other.

Therefore, the GAAs Central Competition Control Committee (CCCC) will toss a coin to determine which of those teams gets home advantage when they meet on Monday to confirm the throw-in times and venues for the eight second round games, which are all due to be played on Saturday week, July 11th.

Whichever team does win the toss is automatically entitled to home advantage, provided the CCCC deem their home ground is suitable for the fixture.

All eight first round games go ahead this Saturday: Donegal against Carlow, Monaghan against Armagh, Meath against Waterford, Wicklow against Fermanagh, Wexford against Offaly, Louth against Tipperary, Down against London, and Leitrim against Longford.

The usual period of extra-time will also be played if necessary, and provided replays are avoided, these eight first-round winners will then face off against one of the eight teams beaten in the provincial semi-finals: Kerry and Clare, from Munster; Roscommon and Sligo, from Connacht; Derry and Cavan, from Ulster; and Laois and Westmeath, from Leinster.

The draw itself will take place on TV3 shortly after 6pm on Sunday, following their live coverage of the Leinster senior hurling final between Dublin and Kilkenny.

If a first replay is required the draw will go ahead as scheduled, but with the second round game affected postponed until the following Saturday.

The GAA has also finalised admission prices for all of this weekends first round qualifiers, with entry to the stands, like last year, costing €20, while admission to terraces has been reduced by €5 to €10.

A further effort to maintain the positive attendance figures for the remainder of the championship saw the GAA yesterday launch a new range of ticket packages to cover the closing stages of both the football and hurling championship.

Six deals – five of which are new – are being offered which are aimed at allowing followers of football and hurling to combine quarter-final and semi-final games. The Hurling Heaven, package priced at €90, includes tickets for one hurling quarter- final and two semi-finals. The Football Feast offers fans tickets for two football quarter-final days and both semi-finals, and costs €99. That works out at less than €25 per match and, on last years ticket prices, offers savings of €35 and €60 respectively.

Other offers include a quarter and semi-final package covering one quarter-final and a semi-final, costing €65, and a Dual Deal for the quarter-final and semi-final stages of both the football and hurling championships priced at €175.There are also Club Pass and Group Pass offers.

The packages were announced by GAA president Christy Cooney at the opening of the new Ticket Shop on Lower Dorset St in Dublin, close to Croke Park.

"We have been very happy with attendances at our games to date this year," said Cooney, "but we have said all along that in these challenging times we would continue to review our ticketing arrangements in an effort to offer our members and followers value for money . . .

"We have attempted to cater for different types of GAA supporters by offering combined football and hurling deals and a variety of options and we are confident followers of our games will take up deals that will provide excellent live entertainment at an affordable price."

03-Jul-09 by IrishTimes.ie – Ian O Riordan

CONNACHT MFC SEMI-FINAL Roscommon 1-17 Leitrim 0-3 : ROSCOMMON PRODUCED a significantly-improved second-half display to overwhelm Leitrim at Hyde Park on Saturday.

After a dreadful first-half, the home team led by 0-5 to 0-2.

However, unanswered points from Ciarán Murtagh, Niall Kilroy, Daniel Qualter and Cathal Shine within seven minutes of the resumptionÓgave Roscommon a seven-point lead and Leitrim s diminishing hopes vanished when Conor Beirne was sent-off for a second bookable offence after 42 minutes.

Substitute Darren Clabby sealed victory for the home team with a well-taken individual goal in the 49th minute when he shook off a defender and sent a powerful shot to the net.

Leitrim scored just one point in the second half.

Roscommon Manager Wynne believed the pressure of the occasion contributed to the poor quality of the first half.

"Both teams were under a lot of pressure, there wasn t any back door and the winners would be straight into the provincial final. We had to come up with a result.

"We started a bit slow and that reflected the inactivity of not having played a championship match. We played some nice spells of football, but there is plenty of work to be done for the final.

ROSCOMMON : N Connaughton; P Feeney, G Deeney, P Brogan; N Daly, D Butler, C Cafferky; S McNulty, D Qualter (0-3, one 45); J Carty (0-1) , S Oates, B Carthy (0-1); N Kilroy (0-4, two frees), C Shine (0-1), C Murtagh (0-2, frees). Subs : D Connellan for Deeney, D Clabby (1-2) for Oates, C Compton (0-1) for Murtagh, A Feehily (0-1) for Carty, M Sweeney (0-1) for Carthy.

LEITRIM : S Sweeney; S Ryan, D Harkin, J O Brien; M Clancy, S McWeeney, M Quinn; C McWeeney, R Burke; D Flynn, S Flanagan (0-2, one free) , Aaron Hickey; C Beirne (0-1, free) , B Mulvey, E Sweeney. Subs : K Boyle for R Burke, P Hill for Sweeney, R Kennedy for Hickey.

Referee: M Daly (Mayo

29-Jun-09 by IrishTimes.ie