Louth GAA club | Division Three League round-up

Naomh Fionnbarra 4-14 Clan na Gael 0-9

Naomh Fionnbarra kept in touch with Louth GAA John O'Neill Sand and Gravel Division Three League leaders O’Connells after recording a comfortable win over Clan na Gael in Ballygassan on Friday night.

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

O’Reilly got the first score of the game, a sweet strike from a tight angle and at the end of the first quarter, the teams were locked at three points apiece.

The Finbarrs then hit a purple patch and kicked three points in a two-minute spell through Jack Murtagh, Conor Osborne and Stephen O’Reilly, only for Liam O’Hanlon and Jason Coleman to reply for the Clans.

However, midfielder O’Reilly had the final say of the half, though with a calmly taken score to make it 0-8 to 0-6 for the Barrs.

The Togher men came out all guns blazing in the second half, effectively ending the contest in the first 10 minutes, through Ciarán Markey (2) and a point from Cillian McQuillan, who was introduced alongside Louth U-20 colleague Andrew O’Reilly.

Another sub, William Woods, added a third goal to make it 3-12 to 0-8 after 50 minutes, and McQuillan added a fourth before the end.

Naomh Fionnbarra: Fionn McQuillan; Máirtín Murphy, Ronan Callaghan, Adam Kirwan; Chris McGlynn, Josh Crosbie, Sean Boyle; Matthew O’Reilly (0-2), Jack Butterly (0-1); Conor Osborne (0-1), Stephen O’Reilly (0-1), Pádraig Butterly; Jack Murtagh  (0-3), Ciarán Markey (2-1), Ciarán Murphy.

Subs: Cillian McQuillan 1-3 for C Murphy, Andrew O’Reilly for S Boyle, William Woods for C McGlynn, Jake Young for J Crosbie.

Clan na Gael: Sean Smith; Ellis O’Carroll, Donal Boyle, Lee O’Carroll; Jack Callan, Conor Noonan, Aodhan Kirk; Robbie Curran, Gerard Curran; Gavin Gaffey, Liam O’Hanlon 0-5, Stephen Coleman; Jason Coleman 0-4, Mark McGeown, Shane Carroll.

Westerns 5-9 Annaghminnon Rovers 1-6

Westerns moved off the foot of the Division 3 table when they picked up their first win of the season at home to Annaghminnon Rovers on Thursday night.

The hosts produced their best display of the campaign and rattled in five goals as Jack Martin, Oisin Drumgoole and Conor Kerr all found the net to inflict a second defeat on Rovers.

The opening exchanges saw little between the teams with Kerr among the points for Westerns, but goals from Martin and Drumgoole ensured that their side went into the break with a 2-3 to 0-4 lead.

The Reaghstown men started the second period in a confident mood and added goals from Martin and Drumgoole while Killian Crosbie landed a two-pointer to put his team firmly in command.

Rovers did pull a goal back in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Westerns from claiming a much-needed win.

Westerns: Anthony Durnin; Pat Kerley, Adam Duffy, Joe Murphy; Roan Gallagher, Finn Duffy, Cathal Kennedy; Mick Martin, Matthew Kane; Emmet Smith, Conor Kerr 1-2, Ryan Duffy; Jack Martin 2-3 (2p), Killian Crosbie 0-3 (2p), Oisin Drumgoole 2-1.

Cuchulainn Gaels 1-8 Naomh Malachi 0-8

Cuchulainn Gaels picked up their second win of the Division 3 campaign with a victory over Nh Malachi in Courtbane on Wednesday night.

A strong first-half display put the visitors in a strong position, and despite an improved second-half display, the Mals were unable to overturn the deficit.

The home side went into the game looking for their first win of the season, but they were unable to gain control as the Gaels established a 1-6 to 0-4 lead at the break.

With Andrew Begley and Malachy Mackin in good scoring form, the Mals battled back in the second half, but in the end, Cuchulainn Gaels did enough to hold out for the win.

Naomh Malachi: Jack Fagan; Dan Mulligan, Lee McShane, Donal Begley; Shea Burns, Conor Begley, Matty Campbell; Kevin McShane, Iarla McMahon; Darren Clarke, Joey Hearty, Andrew Begley 0-4 (2p); Conor Nicholson 0-1, Malachy Mackin 0-3, Dean Murtagh.

Subs: David Begley for D Begley, Collie Rooney for D Murtagh.

Glyde Rangers 3-20 Dowdallshill 0-2

Glyde Rangers remain just two points off the top of Division 3 after recording a comfortable win over Dowdallshill in St Brigid’s Park on Friday evening.

Three second-half goals proved to be the icing on the cake for the Tallanstown side as they made it four wins from five.

The home side battled well in the first half and trailed by just 0-11 to 0-2 at the break, with both points coming from the boot of Cathal Byrne.

However, the Hill suffered a blow early in the second half when they were reduced to 14 men and soon after had another player black-carded. Glyde took full advantage by adding a series of points along with the three goals to seal victory.

Dowdallshill: Sean Morrison; Tommy Craig, Paddy McKenna, Keenann McGavisk; Donal Magennis, Paul Flynn, Eddie Lapkis; Emmet O’Brien, Justin Halley; Cian Kieran, Dermot Smyth, Chris Mullen; Stephen Traynor, Cathal Byrne 0-2, Thomas McKenny.

Subs: John Kerr, Graham Kearns, Kevin McGonagle, Eoin O’Hare, Stephen Murray, Stephen King.

O’Connells 2-14 St Nicholas 0-9

O’Connell’s welcomed St. Nicholas to The Grove, looking to continue their perfect start to the league campaign with another win and managed to achieve their objective with the help of goals from Bernard Osborne and Niall Conlon.

The home side got off to the perfect start with Robert Quigley kicking over a two-pointer inside the first three minutes to put O’Connell’s ahead early.

Jackie Agnew slotted a point before the Nicks responded to a point from Hayden Quinn, with Niall Conlon finding the back of the net to leave the game at 1-3 to 0-1 after 15 minutes.

St. Nicholas would not go down easy, however, scoring five points unanswered before the half-time whistle to tie the game up heading into the break, on a night thanks to efforts from Paidi Downey (2), Ross Brady and a Hayden Quinn two-pointer.

At the start of the second half, St. Nicholas went ahead thanks to a Leo Quinn two-pointer. This seemed to kick O’Connell’s into gear, with the home side scoring 1-10 without reply to firmly take control of the game.

During this run, O’Connell’s had eight different scorers on the board, with points from Cailum Woods, two from Niall Conlon, two from Robert Quigley, Evan Kearney, Justin Cooney, Jackie Agnew, Cian Geeney, along with a Bernard Osborne goal.

O’Connell’s: Johnathan Brennan; Alan McGovern, Jack McGeough, Adam Flynn; Rian McKeever, Conor Culligan, Joshua Horwell; Justin Cooney (0-1), Cailum Woods (0-1); Jackie Agnew (0-2), Robert Quigley (0-4), Conall Clerkin; Bernard Osborne (1-1), Niall Conlon (1-3), Evan Kearney (0-1).

Subs: Cian Geeney (0-1) for C. Clerkin, Leo Walsh for E. Kearney, Jay Conlon for J. Horwell.

St. Nicholas: Shane Finegan; Stephen Fineagan, Donal Carr, Darren Thornton; Caebhan Housidari, Ruairi Hanlon, Senan Meagher; Cian Flynn, Hayden Quinn (0-3, 2p); Leo Quinn (0-2, 2p), Fionn Meagher, Sam Reilly; Ross Brady (0-1), Paudi Downey (0-3), Brian Carter.

Subs: Alex Fineagan for Shane Fineagan, Lee Kavanagh for P Downey, Josh Byrne for Stephen Fineagan, Sean Lynch for F Meagher, Alan Dyas for S Meagher.

Wolfe Tones 4-8 Na Piarsaigh Blackrock 0-6

Wolfe Tones kept themselves in touch with the Division 3 leaders after returning home from the Rock Road with their fourth win of the season.

The visitors’ eye for a goal proved the difference between the teams as the Naps were unable to find sufficient response on a night when Ciaran Murphy landed four points, while Paul Mallon and Robbie Murphy were also on target.

The Tones took a grip on the game from the early stages as Conor Farrell and Eoghan Brennan found the net in the first half to establish a healthy 2-4 to 0-4 lead.

It was much the same story in the second half, as although there was little to choose between the teams in terms of points, the Tones added two goals through Chris Cudden to complete a comfortable win.

Wolfe Tones: Seán McMahon; Rhys McGovern, Danny Byrne, Niall Smith; Alan Fanning, Sam Kelly 0-1, Sean McQuail; Mark Healy, Killian McLoughlan; Dwayne Leavy, Davy Bolger, Eoghan Clinton; Chris Cudden 2-2, Conor Farrell 1-0, Eoghan Brennan 1-5 (2p).

Subs: Johnny Woods for C Farrell, Patrick Fanning for K McLoughlan, Rory Taaffe for E Clinton, Lorcan Mallon for E Brennan, Kevin Brady for Smith.

Na Piarsaigh-Blackrock: Jordan Mackin; Joe Woods, Darren McElihenery, Tiernan Rodgers; Tommy Muckian, Fionn Tipping, Calum Smith; Shane Ruddy, Conall Myles; Paul Mallon 0-1, Ciaran Murphy 0-4 (2p), Jamie Fealy; Tony McNally, Robbie Murphy 0-1, Michael Woods.

Subs: John Galligan, Oisin Woods, Chris Kellett.