Louth GAA club | Division One League round-up

St Mochtas 0-17 Geraldines 1-14

Geraldines produced a fine battling performance on Friday evening to earn a valuable Louth GAA John O’Neill Sand and Gravel Division One League point away to St Mochtas.

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Leading for almost the entire contest, the visitors were looking on course for a deserved victory; however, a late surge from the hosts saw them draw level in the closing stages.

Among the scorers for the McGeough Park side were Danny Nordone (1-2), Beanon Corrigan (0-5) and Michael Rogers (0-4).

Geraldines' goal came following a brilliant attacking move, with David O’Connell embarking on a surging run from midfield before showing great vision and composure to set up Danny Nordone, who finished clinically into the net.

At the break, it was 0-11 to 0-7 in favour of the Gers, but the Mochtas hit back well after the restart and were inspired by Gerry Garland, who finished with nine points, including two orange flags. Danny Kindlon, Cormac Smyth and Liam Craven also contributed vital scores.

A special mention must go to Jim McEneaney, who made his first senior start in goals. Jim produced an outstanding display between the posts and pulled off a vital second-half save at a crucial stage of the game to keep Geraldines in front.

St Mochtas: Daire O’Shea; Liam Lawlor, Andrew Lennon, Sean McLoughlin; Daniel Craven, Darren McMahon 0-1, Oisin Callan; Declan Byrne, Dylan Farrell 0-1; Sean Marron, Jamie Farrell, Danny Kindlon 0-3; Cormac Smyth 0-2, Gerry Garland 0-9 (2x2p), Liam Craven 0-1.

Subs: Gavin Callan for G Garland, Conor McKenna for D Farrell, Phily Englishby for S Marron.

Geraldines: Jim McEneaney; Jack McGailey, Finn Madine, Tom Cunniffe; John McCrohan, Jack Traynor, Aodhan Gibbons 0-1; Michael Rogers 0-4, Beanon Corrigan 0-5; Josh Arrowsmith 0-1, Cian Spaight, David O’Connell; Niall Brennan 0-1, Danny Nordone 1-2, Jack Greene.

Subs: Machiek Dobros for J Traynor.

St Marys 1-23 St Josephs 0-15

St Joseph's have to be content with a two-point advantage at the top of Division 1 heading into the second phase after losing out to second-placed St Mary's on Friday afternoon.

St Mary’s opened with two points from Daire McConnon before Josh Taaffe added a third on eight minutes, only for Conall Smyth, Ben Collier and Gabriel Bell to put the sides level at 0-3 each at the end of the first quarter.

Ronan Caroll and Carl Gillespie got in on the scoring act in the second quarter to give the visitors the advantage, but two points from Conall Smyth cut the gap to 0-8 to 0-5 at the break.

The teams shared scores after the restart, but the Ardee men stamped their authority on the game when they kicked 1-4 in a five-minute spell that included a Fionn Coyle goal and Jonathan Commins two-pointer, putting their side 1-16 to 0-9 in front.

The Joes battled to the end, but the game was already beyond them as the Marys held out for a comfortable win.

St Josephs: Aaron Gray; Cian Sheridan, Aidan Kieran, Rian Devlin; Gabriel Bell (0-2), Ben McKeown (0-1), Conor Neary (0-1); Killian Staunton, David Kieran; Rory McLoughlin, Ben Collier (0-1), Craig Doherty (0-2); Oisin Reidy, Jack Mulligan (0-2), Conall Smyth (0-6).

Subs: Cormac Marmion, Killian McDonnell, Ciaran Johnston, Michael O’Brien, Evan McEnteggart.

St Mary's: Gavin Douglas; Conor Keenan, Eimhin Keenan, Paraic McKenny; Flynn Markey, Kian Moran, Fionn Coyle; Lorcan Buckley, Liam Jackson; Carl Gillespie 0-2, Jonathan Commins 0-8, Andy Murphy; Ronan Carroll 0-2, Daire McConnon 0-5, Josh Taaffe 0-3.

Subs: Keelin Martin for F Coyle, Adam Gillespie 0-2 for R Carroll, Evan Malone for L Buckley, Jay Crawley for P McKenny, Caolan O’Callagan 0-1 for C Gillespie.

St Patricks 2-16 Mattock Rangers 1-11

St Patricks got back to winning ways in Collon on Friday night when they overcame the challenge of the hosts with the help of goals from Sean Holland and Sean Fearon.

The visitors got off to a bright start with points from Joe Connor and Eoin O’Connor before Mattock found their rhythm to rattle off five unanswered points and take control of proceedings.

It got even better in the 23rd minute when Cathal Fleming scored the first goal of the game from the penalty spot. However, the Pats responded with the last three points of the half from Jack Murphy, Aidan McCann and Fearon to cut the gap to 1-6 to 0-7 at the break.

St Pats started well in the second half as Sean Holland found the net, only for Mattock to respond with three points on a night when Jack Flynn and Ben Watters were on target.

The game was still in the balance entering the final quarter, but Mattock were hampered by the loss of two players to black cards and St Pats took full advantage with a Sean Fearon goal and successive two-pointers from Jack Murphy (2) and O’Connor to secure a much-needed win.

St Patricks: Ciaran O’Hanlon; Joe Holland, Rory Duffy, Conor Grogan; Sean Holland 1-0, Darren O’Hanlon, Micheal O’Shaughnessy 0-1; Eoin O’Connor 0-3 (2p), Tom McCann; Aidan McCann 0-1, Jack Murphy 0-7 (2x2p), Chris Conlon 0-1; Sean Fearon 1-1, Padraig Duffy, Joe Connor 0-2.

Subs: Kevin Toner for J Holland, Darren Connor for T McCann, James Savage for M O’Shaughnessy, Jack Elvin for A McCann.

Mattock Rangers: Stephen Smith; Eoin McCloskey, Killian Hickey, Tom Grimes; Rian Hickey, Shane Maguire, Liam Flynn 0-1; Jason Condon, Cathal Fleming 1-3; Jack Thompson 0-2, Rob Holmes, Terry Donegan; Sean Flynn 0-2, Oisin McKenna 0-1, Ben Watters 0-2.

Subs: James Caraher, Nathan Murphy.

Cooley Kickhams 0-16 Newtown Blues 0-15

Cooley Kickhams finished phase one of the league campaign in the top six after coming through a tight contest away to Newtown Blues on Friday night.

Fionn O’Reilly was the hero for the visitors as he came off the bench to land his side’s final point and secure victory by the minimum.

The Blues went into the game seeking a victory that would have taken them off the foot of the table, and their hopes were boosted by an encouraging first-half display that saw them lead by 0-10 to 0-8 at the break.

The second half continued to be a close affair as Cooley hit back on a night when Emmet Duffy, Sean Hoey and Cian Connor were on target.

At the other end, Ronan Browne, Eoin McCoy and Johnny McDonnell led the scoring as the Blues looked to have done enough to take a share of the spoils. However, O’Reilly’s point proved to be different as Cooley claimed victory.

Cooley Kickhams: Niall Brady; Paddy Hanlon, Darren Marks, Ian Arnold; Sean Hoey 0-2, Paul Brennan, Ronan McBride 0-1; Jack Long, Niall Morgan; Emmet Duffy 0-3, Brian Boyle 0-1, Tiarnan Hannify; Cian Connor 0-3, Michael Rafferty 0-2, Joseph Hanlon 0-3.

Subs: Thomas McCarragher, Fionn O’Reilly (0-1), Luke Sheridan, Shea Connolly, Michael Carron.

Newtown Blues: Ronan Browne 0-4 (2x2p); Iolann Farrell 0-1, Alan Connor 0-1, Joey Nally; Liam Branigan, Ian Connor 0-1, Jamie Kelly 0-1; Johnny McDonnell 0-2 (2p), Ryan Kelly; Eoin Brannigan, Ewan Hoban, Conor Moore; Ryan Nugent 0-1, Niall Devlin 0-1, Eoin McCoy 0-3 (2p).

Subs: Colm Judge for R Nugent, Ross Nally for C Moore, Flynn Richardson for E Hoban.

Nh Mairtin 2-14 Hunterstown Rovers 2-11

Nh Mairtin picked up an important victory that moves them further clear of the relegation zone with a victory away to Hunterstown Rovers on Friday night.

In a lively opening, it was the hosts who were first off the mark with a Ryan Ward two-pointer followed by a Colm Murphy effort, but the Mairtins responded with a goal from Charlie McDonnell before Jack Murphy edged them in front.

James Russell added another orange flag for Rovers, but the Jocks got back on level terms with the help of an Evan Whelan goal on 25 minutes. On the stroke of half-time, Hunterstown saw Dean Burns find the net to take a 1-9 to 2-3 lead.

The visitors upped the pace after the restart, with Jack Murphy landing a two-pointer and two singles along with an Adam Scott effort. John Clutterbuck, Eric Winters and Evan Whelan pointed to keep the Mairtins in control, and they held out despite a late Cian Matthews goal.

Hunterstown Rovers: Donovan Sheridan; Adam O’Reilly, Paddy Taaffe, Euan Woodlock; Daithi Carroll, Micheal Reid, Cillian Taaffe; Marc Ward, James Russell 0-3 (2p); James Rogers 0-1, Aaron Levins, Colm Murphy 0-1; Ryan Ward 0-4 (2p), Dean Burns 1-0, Sam Scott.

Subs: Cian Matthews 1-2 (2p) for S Scott, Oran Martin for A Levins, Glen Mathews for C Murphy.

Nh Mairtin: Joey O’Brien; Conor Healy, Thomas Sullivan, Colm Egan; Evan Whelan 1-1, Eric Winters 0-2, Jack Murphy 0-3; Adam Booth 0-1, Joe McGrane; Sean Healy 0-1, John Clutterbuck 0-3, Craig Callanan; Jack Lynch 0-3, Val Leddy, Charlie McDonnell 1-0.

Dundalk Gaels 2-14 Dreadnots 2-14

Dreadnots staged a dramatic late revival to claim a share of the spoils in an entertaining Division 1 encounter at The Ramparts on Friday evening.

The visitors looked dead and buried when they went seven points down after the impressive Tom O’Connell landed his ninth point of the game.

However, they refused to give up, and a goal from Craig Shelvin gave them hope before Jay Hughes landed a two-pointer to level the game.

It was the home side who started quicker with O’Connell and James Stewart on the mark. However, Dreadnots responded with four unanswered points.

It was nip-and-tuck for the remainder of the half, but the difference proved to be O’Connell’s penalty goal that put his team 1-7 to 0-7 clear at the short whistle.

O’Connell stretched the lead with three points at the start of the second half before he claimed his side’s second goal. Dreadnots retained some hope when Pauric Smith pulled a goal back from the penalty spot.

The game looked to be up for the visitors when O’Connell restored a seven-point lead, but the Clogher men showed great character to land the last 1-4 and claim an unlikely point.

Dundalk Gaels: Aaron Culligan; Tommy Idowu, Alan Jumbo, James Lynch; Liam Coleman, Luke Murray, Paddy O’Connell 0-1; James O’Connell, James Stewart 0-1; Jordan Keating 0-1, Sean Murray 0-2, Jack Mullen; Chris Sweeney, Thomas O’Connell 1-9, John O’Hare.

Subs: Tony McDonnell for L Coleman, Dylan McKeown for J O’Hare, John Byrne for C Sweeney, Stephen Tuohy for T McDonnell, Oran Mulligan for L Murray.

Dreadnots: Dylan Cassidy; Enrique Devlin, Padraig Rath, Aaron Scullion; Jay Hughes 0-7, Alex Aspell, Donnacha Skinnader; Pauric Smith 1-0, Cian McEvoy; Ciaran Finnegan, Sam Reilly, Conor Clarke 0-1; Craig Shevlin 1-5, Darragh Shevlin, Donnacha Hodgins.

Subs: Ciaran Cunningham for D Hodgins, Gustas Knystautas for E Devlin, Calum Shevlin 0-1 for D Shevlin, Ciaran Caffrey for S Reilly, Dean Hyland for D Skinnader.