Louth Division 3 roundup: O’Connells put themselves in pole position
Wolfe Tones moved level on points with Lannleire in fourth place in the table
St Nicholas 1-8
Nh Fionnbarra 0-9
Nh Fionnbarra’s hopes of clinching the Division 3 title suffered a major setback on Friday evening when they fell to a surprise defeat at the hands of St Nicholas in Drogheda as a late Con Sheehan goal gave the hosts victory.
After a month off since their last game, the Barrs were looking to hit the ground running, but they failed to capture the free-scoring form of some of their earlier matches as a determined Nicks secured an impressive win.
Playing the first half against a very strong wind, the Togher men would have been content with going in at half time only a point down as the Nicks led by 0-4 to 0-3.
For the second game in a row the Barrs failed to use a strong wind to their advantage and were very attritional in their attacks. Jack Murtagh was the standout Finbarrs Player with his personal tally of 0-5 on the night and on 55 minutes it looked like the visitors had done enough as they led 0-9 to 0-7. However it was the Nicks who finished strongest Sheehan scored the decisive goal that maintains his side’s outside chance of reaching the league playoffs.
Naomh Fionnbarra: Fionn McQuillan; Adam Kirwan, Ronan Callaghan, Máirtín Murphy; Chris McGlynn (0-1), Josh Crosbie, Stephen Doyle; Matthew O’Reilly, Rory Smith; Conor Osborne, Hugh Osborne, Pádraig Butterly; Jack Murtagh (0-5), Ciarán Markey (0-3), Jack Butterly. Subs: Conor Boyle for H Osborne, Ronan McCreesh for S Doyle.
St Nicholas: Con Sheehan 1-3, Lee Kavanagh 0-2, Paudi Downey 0-2, Ruairi Hanlon 0-1.
Wolfe Tones 3-12
Lannleire 2-12
Wolfe Tones moved level on points with Lannleire in fourth place in the table thanks to this three-point win away to the Dunleer men on Saturday evening.
Having been in the title hunt for much of the season, Lannleire’s hopes of topping the Division 3 table suffered another setback with a second successive defeat to fall four points behind leaders O’Connells.
The Drogheda men made the trip in confident mood given their impressive form for much of the campaign and first half goals from Chris Cudden and Shane Leslie saw them take charge with a 2-6 to 1-5 lead at half time. A Bob Murphy penalty goal kept the hosts in touch.
It was nip and tuck throughout the second half as Lannleire fought hard to get back into the game. A goal from Darragh Malone gave them hope on a night when Mark Grogan, Killian Gregory and Mark Dunne were on target.
However, the Tones were not to be denied as a second goal from Cudden saw them over the line in a game where Sean McQuail, David Bolger and Dwayne Leavy contributed important points.
Wolfe Tones: Seán McMahon; Shane Leslie (1-1), Alan Fanning, Niall Smith; Seán McQuail, (0-3), Rhys McGovern (0-1), Sam Kelly; Mark Healy, Dean Haggins; Killian Mc Loughlan (0-1), David Bolger (0-2), Seán Flanagan; Dwayne Leavy (0-2), Chris Cudden (2-1), Eoghan Brennan (0-1). Subs: Taidgh Rock for D Haggins, Garrett Cooney for S Kelly, Ciarán Ellis for N Smith, Lorcan Mallon for C Cudden, Callum Sheedy for D Brennan.
Lannleire: Conor Dunne; Alex Carroll, Paul Doyle, Aaron McArdle; Mark Grogan (0-1) Briain McGuinness, Jack O'Connor; Kyle Van Rhijn, Ian Mulroy (0-1); Darragh Malone (1-6, 2x 2p), Killian Gregory (0-2), Mark Dunne (0-1); Ryan McArdle, Bob Murphy (1-1), Ian Mulroy, Cian Kearney. Subs: Liam Callan for I Mulroy, Michael O’Hare for R McArdle, Luke Reilly for A McArdle.
O’Connells 5-18
Sean McDermott's 0-7
O’Connells put themselves in pole position in Division 3 thanks to this comfortable win over Sean McDermotts in Mountrush on Saturday evening.
Victory, combined with Nh Fionnbarra’s slip the previous night, means that The Grove outfit are now two points clear at the top ahead of their final game against Nh Malachi.
The Seans have been in good form of late but they were unable to match the visitors on this occasion as the O’Connells took charge from the early stages. At the interval, the Bellingham side led by 2-7 to 0-4 and they added three further goals in the second half to complete the win.
Sean McDermotts: Finbar Moran; Ian Corbally, Eoin McEntee, Conor Walsh; Dean Tuite, Sean Martin, Matthew Little; David McArdle, Cormac Walsh; Ian McDonald, Kevin McMahon, Jack Melia; Nathan Commins, Noel Tuite, Donnacha McCourt. Subs: Sean McMahon, Sean Boyle.
Clan na Gael 3-17
Glyde Rangers 0-14
Clan na Gael moved level with Nh Fionnbarra in second place in Division 3 thanks to a 12-point win over Glyde Rangers in Tallanstown on Sunday evening.
Late goals from Liam O’Hanlon and Billy Smith put the gloss on a victory that saw the Dundalk men continue their recent good run of form.
The Clans also began the game with a three pointer as Jason Cullen raised the first green flag of the evening. That put the Dundalk men in a strong position at the break and they went on to complete victory on a night when Mark McGeown and Robbie Curran scored three points apiece, while Lee O’Carroll, Shane Carroll and Micheal McDonnell were also on target.
Clan na Gael: Sean Smith; Tiarnan Weldon, Gerry Curran, Kevin Carroll; Aodhan Kirk 0-1, Conor Noonan, Lee O’Carroll 0-1; Robbie Curran 0-3, Stephen Coleman; Gavin Gaffey, Jason Cullen 1-1, Liam O’Hanlon 1-4; Mark McGeown 0-3, Shane Carroll 0-1, Sean O’Hanlon. Subs: Micheal McDonnell 0-1 for G Gaffey, Billy Smith 1-2 for R Curran, Farouq Ibrahim for L O’Hanon, Ellis O’Carroll for L O’Carroll.