Louth GAA Round Up | Division 1

John O’Neill Sand & Gravel Louth Division 1 League

Ardee St. Mary's 1-11 Cooley Kickhams 1-8

St Marys cut the gap at the top of Division 1 to just two points thanks to a 1-11 to 11-8 win at home to Cooley Kickhams in the penultimate round of the league on Wednesday evening.

The Ardee men were trailing by three points entering the final quarter, but came back strongly in the closing stages to win by three, with a goal from Conor Gillespie proving crucial.

Cooley impressed from the opening whistle in this contest as they kicked the first three points before the Marys got off the mark. The hosts did get back on level terms but the Kickhams had the final point of the half to lead by 0-5 to 0-4 at the break.

Just after the restart, Cooley scored the first goal of the game through Michael Rafferty to open up a four point gap and at the three-quarter mark, they were leading by 1-7 to 0-7.

However, they could only manage one further point as St Marys dominated the remainder of the contest. Jonathan Commins took his tally to five points when Tom Jackson, Daire McConnon and Andy Murphy were also among the points. Cian Connor, Cormac Malone and Niall Morgan contributed points for Cooley on the night.

Naomh Mairtin 1-14 St Mochtas 1-12

Naomh Mairtin are just two points further back in the table after they defeated leaders St Mochtas by 1-14 to 1-12 at Monasterboice. The Jocks recovered from a slow start before finding their rhythm as a late goal from Tom Gray helped them over the line.

The Louth Village side were quick out of the blocks and made their intentions clear when they opened the scoring with a goal from Shane Lennon inside three minutes, and they added two points before Mairtins got off the mark through Wayne Campbell.

The visitors were 1-7 to 0-3 ahead on 25 minutes but the Monasterboice men rallied with points from Gray (3) and Val Leddy to cut the gap to three at the break. Gray and Sam Mulroy scored the next five points between them in the third quarter to see their side move ahead.

With Declan Byrne and Gerry Garland among the scores on the night, the Mochtas briefly restored their advantage but the Mairtins weren’t to be denied as Gray’s 57^th minute goal secured a narrow victory.

Roche Emmets 1-5 Dreadnots 1-12

Dreadnots turned in a strong second half display to see off the challenge of Roche Emmets in Pairc de Roiste as they returned home with a 1-12 to 1-5 victory.

The Clogherhead side have been in good form of late and they continued that momentum with a dominant second half display to see Roche remain in the relegation battle going into the last game of the season.

With Jay Hughes leading the way in attack, the visitors had the edge in terms of points but a goal from Mark Byrne sent the teams in level at 1-3 to 0-6.

However, Roche were unable to sustain their efforts in the second period as the Dreadnots took charge. Conor Clarke found the net to open up daylight for his side, while Hughes took his tally to six for the night. Paraic Smith and James Califf were also on target, while Barry O’Hare finished with four for Roche.

Sean O'Mahonys 0-11 Geraldines 0-8

The Sean O'Mahonys ground out a fantastic 0-11 to 0-8 win in their penultimate league game of the season at the Point Road. After a very lacklustre first quarter by the home team, and after letting the visitors notch the first points of the game, the Dundalk men finally woke up in the last 10 minutes of the half.

The home side suddenly took the game by the scruff of the neck, kicking four points to trail by the minimum at the break, 0-5 to 0-4. Upon the resumption, the lads from the Quay dominated the proceedings with Terry Kelly raising five white flags. When Thomas Rice landed his third point of the night just past the hour, the O’Mahonys had done enough to secure the win.

St. Patricks 0-20 Newtown Blues 4-8

Declan Commons struck an injury-time point to give St Patricks a share of the spoils in a high-scoring encounter in Lordship. The young forward held his nerve in the 64^th minute to earn his side a deserved point in a game that finished 0-20 to 4-8.

The Drogheda men were unable to keep up with the hosts in terms of point-scoring but they kept themselves in the game throughout with their ability to find the net with goals from Flynn Richardson, Daire Nally, Andy McDonnell and Jack Healy.

The pattern for the game was set early on as early scores from Tadgh O’Connor and Aidan McCann helped the Pats to lead by 0-6 to 0-1 before Richardson scored the first goal of the game.

The peninsula side regained control with scores from Conor McGuinness but a Nally penalty cut the gap to 0-11 to 2-3 at the break. Darren Connor and Matt Pagni were among the points at the start of the second half as the Pats opened up a gap again.

However, two goals inside the eighth minute had the Blues right back in the game. With four minutes on the clock, the Drogheda men were three ahead but McGuinness (2) and Commons struck to earn a share of the points.

Mattock Rangers 0-7 St. Fechins 1-11

St Fechins kept their survival hopes alive with a much-needed victory over Mattock Rangers in Collon. The Termonfeckin side emerged with a 1-11 to 0-7 win that moves them a point clear of Roche Emmets in the relegation play-off position ahead of the final round of games.

After the disappointment of losing to rivals Roche in their previous outing, St Fechins looked determined from the outset and at the end of the first half had established a 0-8 to 0-2 advantage, as Joe Corrigan, Harry Haughney and Niall Devlin were among those on target.

Mattock came out strongly in the second half and managed to reduce the gap to four points. However, the Fechins sealed a deserved victory when Jamie McDonnell scored the only goal of the game late on.

Liam Flynn was the leading light for a Mattock side who will be returning to Division 2 football next year, as he finished with five points. Sean Flynn and Robert Holmes were also on target.

Cooley Kickhams 0-15 Newtown Blues 0-8

Cooley Kickhams continued their encouraging season with a victory at home to Newtown Blues on Saturday evening. The peninsula side came out on top in this Round 13 back-fixture to make is seven wins from the campaign as they head into their final fixture.

The hosts always had the slight edge in a contest where the Blues failed to find their best form and in the end had seven points to spare.Cian Connor top-scored for the winners with five points, while Fearghal Malone, Brian Boyle, Michael Rafferty and Cormac Malone all landed two points apiece.

Daire Nally led the way for the Blues at the other end as he chipped in with four points, while there were also contributions from Jamie Kelly, Brian Kermode and Ross Nally.

COOLEY KICKHAMS: Neil Gallagher; Ronan McBride, Eoin McDaid, Dean McGreehan; MJ Hanlon, Fearhgal Malone 0-2, Paul Brennan; Jason Brady, Gerard White; Michael Carron, Cian Connor 0-5, Peter Thornton 0-1; Brian Boyle 0-2, Michael Rafferty 0-2, Cormac Malone 0-2.

Subs: Ian Arnold for J Brady, Gerard Hanlon for M Carron, Sean White 0-1 for P Thornton, Ciaran McGuinness for M Rafferty.

NEWTOWN BLUES: Ronan Brown; Joe Harte, Emme Carolan, Paul Moore; Ian Connor, Ciaran Cluskey Kelly, Jamie Kelly 0-1; Brian Kermode 0-1, Daire Nally 0-4; Liam Brannigan, Conor Moore, Iolann Farrell; Jack Healy, Ross Nally 0-2, Colm Judge.

Subs: Cormac McQuillan for E Carolan, Oisin Doherty for C Cluskey Kelly, Aidan O’Brien for D Nally, Hugh McGinn for C Judge.

Geraldines 1-10 Dreadnots 1-9

Geraldines and Dreadnots served up an entertaining encounter at Haggardstown as they brought their respective Division 1 campaigns to a conclusion.

There wasn’t much to choose between the teams throughout the contest but in the end it was the Gers who claimed the points to end the season on a high. A late point from Jim McEneaney proved the difference between the sides.

The teams couldn’t be separated at the end of the first half with Jay Hughes and Dan Corcoran finding the net at either end to send them in level at 1-5 apiece.

It was a similar story in the second half as the sides cancelled each other but it was McEneaney’s third point of the day that proved crucial. Eoin McDonnell and Shaun Callan both kicked two points for the winners. Hughes added three points to his goal, while Paraic Smith Craig Shevlin contributed a brace for the Clogherhead men.

GERALDINES: Sean McEneaney; Cian Farrell, Dan Corcoran 1-1, Paul Clarke; Tom Cunniffe, Gareth Neacy, Eoin McDonnell 0-2; Michael Rogers, Thomas McNamara; Shaun Callan 0-2, Jim McEneaney 0-3, Brian Cafferty; Jack Traynor 0-1, Matt Corcoran 0-1, Shane Rogers.

DREADNOTS: Dylan Cassidy; Aaron Scullion, Padraig Rath, Barry Faulkner; Ciaran Cunningham, Cian McEvoy, Alex Aspell; Gustas Knustautaite, Anthony Williams; Sam Reilly, Jay Hughes 1-3, Darragh Shevlin; Dean Hyland 0-1, Craig Shevlin 0-2, Nathan Sutherland 0-1.

Subs: Carl Monaghan for N Sutherland, Conor Clarke for P Rath, Ciaran Finnegan for C Cunningham, Ronan Califf for D Shevlin, Paraic Smith 0-2 for S Reilly.