Louth GAA club | Division One round-up

Dreadnots 1-17 St Mary's 1-17

Dreadnots landed two late points to claim a draw at home to St Mary's in an exciting finish to their John O'Neill Sand and Gravel Louth Division One League clash on Saturday evening.

Craig Shevlin and Leon Fox were the heroes for the Clogherhead side as their injury-time points ensured a deserved share of the spoils.

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After their dramatic win over Nh Mairtin the previous week, the Ardee men picked up where they left off as Daire McConnon opened the scoring with a goal in the first minute.

However, the Dreadnots were not too outdone and hit the net at the other end through Craig Shevlin to edge ahead by 1-4 to 1-3 at the end of the first quarter.

The hosts went three clear soon after, but the Marys hit back to cut the gap to 1-7 to 1-6 at the interval. The lead changed hands a number of times in an entertaining second half, but the game was always in the balance.

The Marys looked to have won it when they landed a two-pointer in the 59th minute to lead 1-17 to 1-15. However, the Dreadnots were in no mood to give up and saw Shevlin and Fox rescue a point.

Dreadnots: Dylan Cassidy, Callum Skinnader, Padraig Rath, Aaron Scullion; Donnacha Skinnader 0-1, Anthony Williams, Conor Faulkner; Ciaran Cunningham, Leon Fox 0-4 (2p); Conor Clarke 0-2, Sam Reilly 0-1, Ciaran Finnegan 0-1; Craig Shevlin 1-5 (2p), James Califf 0-2, Paraic Smith.

Subs: Barry Faulkner 0-1 for C Finnegan, Donnacha Hodgins for P Smith, Owen Murphy for C Cunningham, Cian McEvoy for C Skinnader.

St Marys: Tiarnan Markey 0-1; Jay Crawley, Karl Faulkner, David Rooney; Kian Moran 0-1, Eimhin Keenan, Carl Gillespie 0-3; Robbie Leavy, Evan Malone; Liam Jackson 0-1, Shane Matthews, Andy Murphy 0-1; Conor Gillespie 0-2, Ronan Carroll 0-1, Daire McConnon 1-6.

Sub: Adam Gillespie 0-1.

(John O'Neill Sand and Gravel Louth Division One League table)

St Mochtas 3-18 St Joseph’s 0-19

In the top of the table clash in Cluskey Park on Saturday night, it was St Mochtas for the second time this season who came out on top against St. Joseph's, with victory based on a dominant first-half display.

In the opening minutes, the sides traded points with Oisin McGuinness and Shane Lennon on target before a Declan Byrne two-pointer free-edged the Mochtas ahead.

The Joes responded with three points in a row from Craig Doherty, Pearse Grimes Murphy and Alan Quigley before the Mochtas hit back to lead by 0-6 to 0-5 on 12 minutes with the help of scores from Lennon and Jamie Farrell.

The game turned just before the end of the first quarter when Liam O’Flaherty palmed in the first goal of the game, and his side surged ahead. With the help of a Dara Quinn two-pointer, they led by 1-14 to 0-7 at the break.

The Joes opened the second half in fine style with points from Conor Neary and Alan Quigley and a superb two-pointer from Conall Smyth to narrow the margin to six within the first three minutes.

However, their revival suffered a setback when Ciaran Byrne raced through to plant the ball in the Joes net.

Jack Mulligan, Conall Smith and Oisin McGuinness pointed to keep the Joes in the game but were denied the goal they needed by an excellent Daire O’Shea save, while McGuinness saw a penalty clear the crossbar.

The Mochtas sealed the win in the closing minutes when Sean Flynn added the third goal.

St Mochtas: Daire O’Shea; Andy Lennon, Oisín Callan, David Lennon; Andrew English, Daniel Craven, Jamie Farrell; Dara Quinn 0-3 (2p), Gerry Garland 0-1; Sean Flynn 1-1, Shane Lennon 0-2, Decky Byrne 0-5 (2p); Liam O’Flaherty 1-1, Cormac Smyth 0-1, Darren McMahon 0-1.

Subs: Casey Byrne 1-0 for A Lennon, Liam Lawlor for D Byrne.

St Josephs: Adam Cassidy, Ciaran Johnston, David Kieran, Rian Devlin, Michael O’Brien, Cormac McKeown (0-1), Ben McKeown (0-1), Oisin McGuinness (0-3), Gabriel Bell (0-1), Jack Mulligan (0-1), Ben Collier, Pearse Grimes Murphy (0-1), Alan Quigley (0-3), Craig Doherty (0-1), Conall Smyth (0-6), Conor Neary (0-1), Michael Staunton.

(John O'Neill Sand and Gravel Louth Division One League fixtures)

Hunterstown Rovers 1-22 Sean O’Mahonys 1-19

Hunterstown Rovers recovered from a slow start to claim victory over Sean O’Mahonys at the Point Road on Saturday evening.

The hot conditions didn’t restrict the players in terms of scoring as they produced an entertaining encounter. However, it was a strong showing on either side of the break that helped the visitors over the line.

Boosted by their win the previous week, the Dundalk men began well, and a goal from Sean Cassidy helped them establish a 1-4 to 0-3 lead.

However, Hunterstown battled their way back into the game and points from the impressive Ryan Ward saw them take a 0-13 to 1-9 lead into the break.

By the end of the third quarter, Rovers had stretched that advantage to four points with the help of a Ciaran Russell goal, and despite the best efforts of Terry Kelly, who finished with ten points, the hosts were unable to bridge that gap.

Conor Finnegan, Kayden Fisher and Kyle Carroll were also among the points for the O’Mahonys, while Donovan Sheridan, Jason Monaghan and Dean Burns contributed important points for Rovers.

Hunterstown Rovers: Donovan Sheridan 0-3 (2p); Adam O’Reilly, Micheal Reid 0-1, Euan Woodlock; Colm Murphy 0-1, Patrick Taaffe, David Finn 0-1; Marc Ward, Shane Halpenny 0-1; Jason Monaghan 0-2 (2p), James Rogers, Glen Mathews; Ciaran Russell 1-0, Ryan Ward 0-9 (3 x 2p), Dean Burns 0-2.

Subs: Paul Carrie for J Rogers, Cian Matthews 0-1 for D Burns.

Sean O’Mahonys: Kevin Brennan; Oisin Breen, Stephen Kettle, Conor Mackin; Conor Finnegan 0-3, Sean Cassidy 1-0, Aaron Boyle; Gareth Hall, Brian McGuirk; Luke Kelly, Thomas Rice 0-2, Kyle Carroll 0-1; Terry Kelly 0-10, Conor Martin, Kayden Fisher 0-3.

Subs: Junior Shotayo for C Mackin, Aaron Mackin for Conor Martin.

Newtown Blues 0-16 Geraldines 0-16

Jamie Kelly landed an injury-time point to give Newtown Blues a share of the spoils in a lively Division 1B contest at Newfoundwell on Saturday night.

The visitors looked to be on course for a welcome victory but were denied at the death as the Blues secured a point to help them move further away from trouble at the foot of the table.

The Drogheda side made a bright start to the contest and landed the opening three points from Alan Connor (2) and Conor MacCriosta, only for the Gers to take a grip of proceedings by replying with seven unanswered points.

However, the Blues regained the lead at the break as they turned around with a 0-9 to 0-8 advantage with the help of scores from Eoin McCoy and Jamie Kelly.

The game ebbed and flowed in the second half as a Jim McEneaney two-pointer levelled matters, with Emmet Carolan and Jamie Kelly keeping the Blues in the game.

The Gers looked to have done enough as the game moved into injury time, but Kelly had the final say as he fired over the equaliser.

Newtown Blues: Johnny McDonnell; Dan McArdle, Aidan O’Brien, Paul Moore; Jack Healy, Colm Judge, Emmet Carolan; Ciaran Cluskey, Kelly, Ryan Kelly; Alan Connor, Conor MacCriosta, Niall Devlin; Jamie Kelly, Eoin McCoy, Conor Moore.

Subs: Brian Kermode for P Moore, Emmet Murray for N Devlin, Liam Brannigan for C Moore, Sean Cummins for C Judge.

Geraldines: Cian O’Donoghue; John McCrohan, Dara O Gradaigh, Paul Clarke; Neil Gartlan, Gareth Neacy, Daithi O’Connell; Michael Rogers, Thomas McNamara; Jack Traynor, Jim McEneaney, Brian Cafferty; Shayne Soraghan, Shane O’Hanlon, Niall Brennan.

Nh Mairtin 4-19 St Patricks 2-16

Nh Mairtin bounced back from their dramatic defeat the previous week as they returned to winning ways at home to St Patrick's on Saturday night.

In a high-scoring encounter, the hosts were on top for much of the game and sealed the deal with goals from Ben Callanan, Wayne Campbell, Dara McDonnell and Val Leddy.

It was close in the early stages as points from Joe McGrane and Darragh Dorian were cancelled out by efforts from Aidan McCann and Jack Murphy.

However, the Jocks picked up the pace and with the help of scores from Sam Mulroy, Sean Healy and their own Jack Murphy, they went into the break with a comfortable 0-12 to 0-5 lead.

An early Ben Callanan goal in the second half ended any hopes the Pats had of staging a comeback, although they did respond with a three-pointer from Darren Connor on 35 minutes.

When Campbell found the net on 41 minutes, the lead was stretched from 2-17 to 1-10. Still, the visitors continued to battle and added a 59th goal from Padraig Duffy along with two-pointers from Martin McEneaney, Conor Grogan and Darren Connor.

However, there was to be no denying the Mairtins and late goals from McDonnell and Leddy sealed the victory.

Nh Mairtin: Darren Morgan; Colm Egan, Evan Whelan, Conor Healy; Shane 0-1, Sean Healy 0-1, Jack Murphy 0-2; Joe McGrane 0-1, Dara McDonnell 1-1; Ben Callanan1-1, Sam Mulroy 0-5, Craig Callanan; Thomas McKiernan, Tom Gray 0-3, Darragh Dorian 0-4.

Subs: Oran McDonnell for B Callanan, Wayne Campbell 1-1 for T McKiernan, Val Leddy 1-0.

St Patricks: Martin McEneaney 0-3 (2p); Jak Elvin, Rory Duffy, James McGeown; Conor Grogan 0-2 (2p), Barry Dunne, Darren Connor 1-2 (2p); Padraig Duffy 1-0, Jack Murphy 0-8 (2p); Sean Fearon, Joe Connor, Aidan McCann 0-4 (2p); Micheal O’Shaughnessy, Tom McCann, Conor McGuinness.

Subs: Cillian White for R Duffy, Cillian Keenan for C McGuinness.

Cooley Kickhams 1-17 St Fechins 0-11

Cooley Kickhams eased their relegation woes with a comprehensive victory over St Fechins at home in Fr McEvoy Park on Saturday night.

Driving from wing back, Sean Hoey provided the hosts with the perfect start with a first-minute goal, while it got worse for St Fechins as they lost County player Ryan Walsh to injury.

From that point, there was a long way back for the Beaulieu boys, and although Delaney Cup winner Niall McDonnell pulled back five-placed efforts, it wasn’t going to be enough.

Cornermen Cian Connor and Mickey Rafferty combined for nine between them, and with that efficiency, Kickhams would never be troubled. 

The peninsula men now go top of the bottom half while John Kennedy’s men sit in the relegation play-off spot.

Cooley Kickhams: Niall Brady; Niall Morgan, Dean McGreehan, Sean White; Gerry Malone 0-2, Darren Marks 0-1, Sean Hoey 1-0;  Richard Brennan 0-1, Fearghal Malone 0-1; Fionn O’Reilly 0-1, Enda O’Neill 0-2, Gerard Hanlon; Cian Connor 0-5, Jason Brady, Mickey Rafferty 0-4.

Subs: Ian Arnold, Cormac Malone, James O’Reilly, James Loughran.

St. Fechins: Niall McDonnell 0-5, Paul Mathews 0-2, Danny Burnell 0-1, John O’Connell 0-1, Matthew Flanagan 0-1, Sean Keane 0-1.