Louth GAA club | Division Two League round-up

St Fechins 1-12 St Brides 1-11

St Fechin's secured their second win of the Louth GAA John O'Neill Sand and Gravel Division One League campaign with a hard-fought one-point victory over St Brides on Thursday evening in Páirc Naomh Feichín.

READ NEXT: Louth GAA club | Division One League round-up

Having previously lost out to the Knockbridge men in the semi-final of the Paddy Sheelan Cup, this result will have been particularly satisfying for the home side.

Ryan Walsh got Fechins up and running with an early point from play before adding a superb two-pointer to give the hosts a strong start.

St Brides responded with two points from placed balls, but Fechins struck a major blow when Walsh’s long-range effort dipped under the crossbar for a goal.

Aaron McGlew followed up with an excellent point after winning the kickout and beating several defenders, leaving Fechins 1-4 to 0-2 ahead approaching the quarter mark.

St Brides responded well, working a goal for Andrew Smyth through a flowing team move.

Harry Dowd opened his senior league account with a point after good work from McGlew, but Brides—despite being reduced to 14 men following a black card—enjoyed a strong spell, registering four unanswered points, three from frees, including a two-pointer.

Danny Burnell had the final say of the half, leaving the sides level at 1-6 apiece at the break.

St Brides opened the second half scoring with a free, but Fechins midfielder Harry Haughney quickly replied. Ryan Walsh continued to lead the charge, adding two more points from play to push the hosts back in front.

Although Brides stayed in touch with accurate free-taking of Sennan Hoey and Aaron Devin, Fechins maintained a slight edge thanks to further scores from Walsh and substitute Mikey MacMahon.

Late wides cost Brides as they chased the game, and despite a point deep into injury time, they fell just short as Fechins held on for a deserved 1-12 to 1-11 victory.

St Fechins: Kyle Meegan; Robert McCarthy, Garbhan O’Reilly, Danny Burnell 0-1; Aaron McGlew 0-1, Colm O’Neill, John O’Connell; Harry Haughney 0-1, Matthew Flanagan; Jake Flynn, Ryan Walsh 1-7, Tom Meegan; Matthew Burnell, James McGlew, Harry Dowd 0-1.

Subs: Sean Keane for M Burnell, Mikey MacMahon 0-1 for H Dowd, Dylan Rice for M Flanagan, Caelum Dolan for T Meegan.

St Brides: Aaron Devin 0-4; Robert McCaughey, Cillian Kirk, Kelvin Slowey; Ruairi Carpenter 0-1, Ronan Bailey, Sean Marry; Bernard Laverty, Ross Murnaghan; Andrew Smyth 1-0, Patrick Reilly, Morgan Tobin; Oisin McBride, Neil Thornton 0-1, Sennan Hoey 0-4.

Subs: Matthew Kerr 0-1, Nathan Kirk.

Young Ireland's 1-19 O'Raghallaighs 1-17

Young Irelands overcame a two-point interval deficit before securing their first win of the Division 2 campaign at home to the O Raghallaighs on Saturday evening.

A goal from James Prendergast seven minutes from the end proved decisive as the Dundalk men came out on top in a closely contested affair.

In a lively start, points from Liam McStravick and Peter Nixon cancelled out an early Daniel Reilly two-pointer for the visitors as the teams would go on to trade points for much of the half.

Jordan O’Donoghue and Dean Magurie edged the Irelanders two ahead by the 22nd minute, but it was the Drogheda men who finished the half on top with two-pointers from Kyle McElroy and Danny Morgan to lead by 0-11 to 0-9 at half-time.

It remained evenly balanced after the break, with McElroy and John Horan replying to scores from Ruairi Kelly and O’Donoghue.

McElroy looked to have put his side in charge when he scored the first goal of the game on 43 minutes, but the Irelanders put in a strong finish and secured the win thanks to Prendergast’s goal. 

Young Irelands: Fergal Sheekey; Peter McCourt, Ciaran Murray, Conn O’Donoghue; Tadhg Hoey, Brendan Prendergast, Cian O’Donoghue; James Prendergast 1-0, Peter Nixon 0-1; Jack Watters 0-1, Jordan O’Donoghue 0-6, Mark Lee; Liam McStravick 0-5, Ruairi Kelly 0-5, Dean Maguire 0-1.

Subs: Derek Maguire for J Watters, Cian O Naraigh for J Prendergast.

O'Raghallaighs: Connor Browne; Daragh Smith, Emmet King, Conor Higgins; Daniel Reilly 0-5, Danny Morgan 0-2, Ewan Sweeney; Olan Walsh, Ruairi Moore; Senan McGinty 0-1, Kyle McElroy 1-8, Harry Devitt; Ben Rogan, John Horan 0-1, Josh Moore.

Subs: Barry Moore for H Devitt, Jason Reynolds for J Moore, Joe Meehan for E Sweeney.

Sean O’Mahony’s 0-15 Glen Emmets 1-5

Sean O’Mahonys picked up their first win of the Division 2 season when they overcame the challenge of Glen Emmets in Tullyallen on Saturday.

Kayden Fisher continued his good scoring form as he landed seven points to see the Dundalk men bounce back from losing their opening fixture a week earlier.

The corner forward was among the points in the opening period as the O’Mahonys went in at the break with a slender 0-5 to 0-3 lead.

The hosts gave themselves hope when Diarmuid Cullen scored the only goal of the game in the second half, while Conor Wogan and Paddy McHugh were also on target.

However, they were unable to prevent the O’Mahonys from claiming victory on a night when Conor Finnegan, Tiarnan Cassidy, Sean Cassidy and Aaron Mackin were also on the mark for the Dundalk men.

Sean O’Mahonys: Eddie Maguire; Kian McEvoy, Barry O’Brien, Ciaran Redmond; Conor Finnegan 0-2, Aaron Boyle, Tiarnan Cassidy 0-1; Gareth Hall, Sean Cassidy 0-1; Aaron Mackin 0-1, Conor Martin, Junior Shotayo; Kayden Fisher 0-7, Mark Agnew, Conor McGailey.

Sub: Brian McGuirk 0-1.

Glen Emmets: Ian O’Reilly; Emmet Delaney, Keith Boylan, Shane Curtis; Brien Maguire, Callum Wogan, Robbie Byrne; Andrew Mooney, Cian Talbot; Diarmuid Cullen 1-1, Conor Wogan 0-2, James Butler 0-1; Keefer Carolan, Eoghan Maguire, Kealan O’Neill.

Subs: Eoghan McKeown for I O’Reilly, Cathal Maguire for R Byrne, Alex Carolan for E Maguire, Paddy McHugh 0-1 for K Carolan.

Stabannon Parnells 2-16 Kilkerley Emmets 1-11

Stabannon Parnells continued their good early-season momentum with a comfortable win away to Kilkerley Emmets on Saturday evening in Division 2.

It was another disappointing outcome for a Kilkerley side who are still waiting for their first win after losing on the opening day against O Raghallaighs.

Although the visitors who opened the scoring, Kilkerley quickly took control with points from Tadhg McEneaney, Ciaran Bellew and Cormac Mallon, along with a Finnian Crawley goal to lead by 1-3 to 0-1.

However, Stabannon found their rhythm in the second quarter, and a two-pointer from Harry Butterly combined with a Colm Giggins goal saw them take a 1-7 to 1-4 lead into the halftime break.

The teams traded scores at the start of the second half with Padraig Reynolds and Cormac Mallon on target for their respective sides.

Barry McCoy produced the decisive score of the second period when he added a goal to open up a comfortable gap and ensured his side returned home with victory despite three late points from the Emmets. 

Stabannon Parnells: Ryan Halpenny; Daniel Clinton, Mark Byrne, Ciaran Titley; Johnny McGee, Bobby Butterly 0-2, Jake Corrigan; Colm Giggins 1-1, Harry Butterly 0-4 (2x2p); Patrick Reynolds 0-2, Conor Clinton 0-2, Ryan Shevlin; Barry McCoy 1-0, Dylan Shevlin 0-1, Charlie McBride 0-3.

Subs: Tadhg Gorman for C Giggins, Robert Callaghan for C McBride, Padraig Reynolds 0-1 for B McCoy, Darragh Murray for R Shevlin, Aaron Dunne for J McGee.

Kilkerley Emmets: Conall McEneaney; Oran McMahon, Paddy Murtagh, Ewan McEnteggart; Brian Brady, Cathal Bellew 0-1, Ronan Deery; Ciaran Bellew, Darragh Conlon; Conain Fox, Cormac Mallon 0-3, Tadhg Fitzgerald; Tadhg McEneaney 0-5, Ultan McEneaney, Finnain Crawley 1-0.

Subs: Rian Hand 0-1 for D Conlon, Fintan Brady for B Brady, Kieran Murtagh for Cathal Bellew, Kian Lennon for C Fox, Aidan Corrigan for F Crawley.

Roche Emmets 2-11 St Kevins 1-8

Roche Emmets came good in the second half to maintain their winning start to the Division 2 campaign.

The game in Roche saw the teams turn around on level terms, but second-half goals from Sean Dawe and Mark Byrne ensured the hosts made it two wins from two.

St Kevins also went into the game on the back of a victory on the opening day, but were unable to find their best form against a determined home side.

The first half proved to be a low-scoring affair that ended level at five points apiece, but after the restart, it was Roche who seized the initiative and looked like the likely winners from a long way out.

Goals from Dawe and Byrne gave them breathing space despite Cian Callan raising a green flag at the other end.

Daire Reilly was in good form for the winners as he kicked five points, while Shane Byrne and Senon Connolly were also on the mark. Danny Crosbie, Cameron Maher and TJ Doheny all chipped in with a brace for the Kevins.

Roche Emmets: Senon Connolly 0-1; Dermot Carthy, Jack McKay, Gerard Browne; Fionn Connolly, Sean Dawe 1-0, James McDonnell; Glen Stewart, Liam Dawe 0-1; James McArdle, Shane Byrne 0-2, Conor Carthy; Daire Reilly 0-5, Mark Byrne 1-1, Alex McArdle. Subs: DD Reilly 0-1, Barry O’Hare, Ryan Martin.

St Kevins: Danny Crosbie 0-2; Caoimhin Prout, Donnacha Boylan, Niall Gregory; Darren McMullem, Cameron Maher 0-2, Dylan Maher; Brian Callaghan, Ciaran King; Jacob Finlay 0-1, Tom Matthews, Robbie Matthews; Keelan Maher 0-1, Cian Callan 1-0, TJ Doheny 0-2.

Subs: Lee Crosbie for R Matthews, John Callaghan for C King, Cormac Callan for T Matthews.

Oliver Plunketts 2-13 John Mitchels 1-7

A dominant first-half display saw Oliver Plunketts come out on top at home to John Mitchels in Sunday evening's Division 2 clash.

Both teams went into the encounter hoping to bounce back from defeats in round one, but in the end, it was the Plunketts who had too much firepower for the visitors, with goals from Adam Lambe and Kristian Nolan helping them on their way.

Lambe’s goal came inside the opening five minutes to give his side the perfect start, and the Plunketts built on that score to take a 2-9 to 1-1 lead at the break after Nolan added the second three-pointer. The Mitchels responded through a Mikey Nulty goal and a John Gallagher point.

The visitors turned in an improved second-half performance with points from Stephen Bingham and John Gallagher to close the gap, but it wasn’t enough to trouble the Plunketts, who held out comfortably in a game where they had Killian Nolan, Adam Smith, Shaun Smith and Luke Haggans among the points.

Oliver Plunketts: Luke Haggans 0-1; Ricky Bateson, David McTeggart, Cillian Smith; Adam Lambe 1-3, Shaun Smith 0-1, Barry Reynolds; Dean Carolan, Jack Taaffe; Conor Haggans, Kristian Nolan 1-4, Killian Nolan 0-1; Ben Boyce, Adam Smith 0-2, Niall Murtagh.

Subs: Jack Boyce, Sean Callaghan, Shane Lambe, Kenny Hurley.

John Mitchels: David Anderson; James Sands, Joe Mulholland, Adam Finegan; Mikey Nulty (1-0), Tristan Knowles, Ruairi McCann; John Bingham (0-1), Aaron Keely; Eoghan McEneaney, John Gallagher (0-5), Keith Durnin; Trevor Matthews, Arthur Sands, Stephen Bingham (0-1).

Subs: Jake Gillespie for T Matthews, Alan Mackin for S Bingham, Niall McNeice for K Durnin, Gareth Finnegan for J Sands, Matthew Commins for J Mulholland.