Louth GAA club | Opening round victory for Naps and Nicks

Na Piarsaigh Blackrock 3-13 Cuchulainn Gaels 1-15

Na Piarsaigh Blackrock got their Junior Championship campaign off to a winning start with a hard-fought victory over Cuchulainn Gaels on Saturday evening.

It was the Dundalk men who prevailed by four points in this clash at Lordship, thanks to a late goal from substitute Matt McLoon, along with 12 points from the impressive Ciaran Murphy.

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After the opening two points were shared, it was Cuchulainn Gaels who took charge, with David Reilly, Adam Sharkey, and Cian McDonald among the points, and they raced into a 0-8 to 0-1 lead.

Ciaran Murphy helped steady the ship for the Dundalk side before a David Boyle goal kept them very much in the game. Gaels did finish the half on top, and a James Sharkey two-pointer helped them lead by 0-12 to 1-4.

The Omeath men went six points ahead early in the second half, but Na Piarsaigh responded in impressive style with two two-pointers and a single point from Murphy, along with a James Mahoney effort to level the game on 47 minutes.

The Rock Road outfit pressed home their advantage when Joe Woods found the net to put his side in front for the first time.

This time, it was the peninsula side that showed character in responding, and when Cian McDonald found the net, they were back in front with eight minutes to play.

However, Murphy landed another two-pointer and converted a ‘45’ before McLoon’s late goal saw Na Piarsaigh edge an entertaining contest.

Na Piarsaigh Blackrock: Jordan Mackin; Fionn Tipping, Shane Roddy, Stephen McGuinness; John Galligan, Michael Woods, Conall Shields; Conall Myles, Darren McElhinney; Gerry Rice, Ciaran Murphy 0-12, Jamie Fealy; Joe Woods, David Boyle 1-0, Tommy Muckian.

Subs: Chris Kellet for C Shields, Eoin Farrell for S Roddy, Paul Mallon for D Boyle, James Mahoney 0-1 for C Kellet, Matt McLoon 1-0 for G Rice.

Cuchulainn Gaels: Shea Quigley; Stephen Og McGuinness, Martin Hynes, Sean Brennan; Jamie Molloy 0-2 (2p), Luke McGovern, Ramie Phillips 0-1; Dylan Lynch, Micheal McCabe; James Sharkey 0-3 (2p), Larry Brennan, Cian McDonald 1-1; Adam Sharkey 0-5; Aodhan O’Hanlon 0-1, David Reilly 0-2.

Sub: JP Elmore for L Brennan.

St Nicholas 2-15 Westerns 0-10

St Nicholas started their Junior Championship with two points on the board following a win over the Westerns in a sun-soaked Hunterstown on Sunday afternoon.

In a tense first half, it was the men from Reaghstown who took an early lead from play thanks to Killian Crosbie, only for the Nicks to hit back with a well-struck two-pointer from Paudi Downey.

Both teams traded frees midway through the half, with Downey and Crosbie on the mark again. The Drogheda men then got a lead through points from Roy Kierans and Alan Dyas, a lead they would keep for the remainder of the match.

Another Paudi Downey point and one from Lee Kavanagh had the Nicks up by four at the break at 0-8 to 0-4, with Ryan Duffy also adding a point for the Westerns.

The Nicks took a firm grip of the game after the restart, with Hayden Quinn finding the back of the net early in the half. They extended their lead with points from Kierans, Phillip Kirwan and Shane Downey.

The Westerns added two points from play from Anthony Durnin and Duffy to remain in touch. However, any hopes of a comeback quickly disappeared as St Nicholas brought in Con Sheehan, who immediately made an impact with 1-1 from play.

A late rally yielded four points for the Westerns, including a Duffy two-pointer, but it wasn't enough to deny the Nicks.

St Nicholas: Shane Fineagan; Stephen Finnegan, Ruairi Hanlon, Dylan Brogan; Aaron Flanagan, Alex Finnegan, Alan Dyas (0-3); Brian Carter, Phillip Kirwan (0-1); Shane Downey (0-1), Roy Kierans (0-2), Hayden Quinn (1-0); Fionn Meagher (0-1), Lee Kavanagh (0-1), Paudi Downey 0-5 (2p).

Subs: Caebhan Housidari for S Finnegan; Con Sheehan (1-1) for L Kavanagh, Sean Lynch for P Downey, Lorcan Downey for D Brogan, Cian Flynn for B Carter.

Westerns: Terence Sweeney; Mick Martin, Dylan Ogle, Joe Murphy; Roan Gallagher, Adam Duffy, Darragh Osborn; Matthew Kane, Conal Kennedy; Pat Kerley 0-1, Anthony Durnin 0-1, Ryan Duffy 0-5 (2p); Conor Kerr, Killian Crosbie 0-3, Dylan McDonald.

Subs: Emmett Smith for C Kerr, Sean McGuinness for D Ogle, Conor Smith for R Gallagher, Bradley Duffy for M Martin, Killian Daly for C Kennedy.