GAA Roundup: Dublin push Kerry in defeat

Caffrey had reason to be worried during the first half as Kerry ratcheted up the pressure on his defense to lead by 7 points at the interval. However, once Ciaran Whelan finished off a fine move for a goal early in the second half, Dublin were rejuvenated and managed to close within a single point with 8 minutes remaining.
“It mightn’t be looking great for us now in terms of qualifying for the semifinals,” Caffrey admitted, “but this game was in the melting pot right until the very end, and Kerry are not All-Ireland, Munster and league champions for nothing.
“We’ve played quality teams over the past two matches, Tyrone and Kerry, and they?re the teams you want to measure yourself against. I was proud of the players.”
Kerry’s impressive first half was decorated by goals from Declan Quill, who finished with 1-5, and Paul Galvin, and the winners fully deserved their 2-7 to 0-6 halftime advantage. Whelan’s goal, and then another from Declan Lally near the end, left the issue in doubt until Eoin Brosnan rounded off the scoring in injury time.

TYRONE 0-18, OFFALY 0-10
Kerry’s second victory from three starts mean they now trail division leaders Tyrone, who maintained their 100 percent record with a victory against Offaly in Omagh. Almost a year to the day since the death of their talismanic captain, Cormac McAnallen, the Ulster county appear to have put the tragedy behind them with a series of excellent performances this winter.
Stephen O’Neill was in outstanding form as he picked off five points from play, while substitute Martin Penrose added three. The only setback was the sending off Conor Gormley. The defender will now only return if Tyrone qualify for the semifinals.
Offaly, who trailed by 0-9 to 0-5 at the break, were well served by Ciaran McManus, Pascal Kellaghan and Mark Daly, while James Coughlan kicked four points, all from frees. The Midlanders have only one win to their credit from three outings.

MAYO 0-14, MAYO 0-11
Cork’s unbeaten run was ended by Mayo in Ballina, where goalkeeper David Clarke made a series of superb saves to earn his side a precious victory.
Curiously, Clarke is only the second choice to John Healy at his club, Ballina Stephenites. However, on this recent display, Healy will have difficulty in winning back his intercounty place.
Clarke saved from Brendan Jer O’Sullivan, Kevin O’Sullivan and John Hayes in a short spell just after halftime spurred Mayo on, and points from Aidan Kilcoyne and Conor Mortimer put the game out of Cork’s reach.
“We haven’t beaten Cork at senior level for 15 or 16 years,” Mayo manager John Maughan said. “So this is satisfying. Had we not won this, we would have been in trouble — that’s how tight this division is.”

WESTMEATH 1-12, DONEGAL 1-11
Westmeath recorded a first win of the campaign when they narrowly got the better of Donegal in Mullingar, but the result now leaves the Ulster county without a point at the bottom of the division.
The Leinster champions showed their resilience when they recovered from being two points down after 50 minutes to hit four scores in succession through Joe Fallon (2), and then Dessie Dolan and Paddy Mulvilhill.
“It was a very important match for us, and we’ll go to Parnell Park to play Dublin on Saturday in a much more positive frame of mind,” manager Paidi O Se said.
Dolan also had the winners’ goal, while Colm McFadden replied for Donegal, and Michael Hegarty, Stephen McDermott and Rory Kavanagh each scored two points.

DIV. 1B
WEXFORD 3-15, LIMERICK 1-11
If Wexford remain one of Leinster’s more unfashionable counties, it’s still no surprise that they are currently leading Div. 1B after last Sunday’s convincing 3win over Limerick at Wexford Park, a result that gives them maximum points from three games.
As ever, the irrepressible Mattie Forde was at the heart of Wexford’s victory in scoring a high quality 1-5 himself and in setting up several of his teammates for scores.
“I was very impressed by the way Wexford used the ball at speed,” Limerick manager Liam Kearns said. “They were sharper and fitter and outplayed us in most areas of the pitch.”
John Hudson and Diarmuid Kinsella were Wexford’s other goal scorers, while Limerick, who have yet to register a point in the campaign, got 5 points each from Johnny Murphy and Muiris Gavin, as well as a goal by Conor Mullane.

ARMAGH 3-10, LAOIS 0-17
Armagh haven’t been as consistent as Wexford, but they got back to winning ways at O’Moore Park, where they defeated Laois in a compelling match. It took a goal 3 minutes into injury time from Steven McDonnell to give Armagh some breathing space, and even though Chris Conway replied with two points for Laois, the issue was settled.
Earlier, Oisin McConville was on the mark with two goals for the former All-Ireland champions, and McDonnell had scored 5 points, while Ross Munnelly and Conway each had 5 points for Laois.

GALWAY 4-16, SLIGO 0-7
Sligo remain rooted at the bottom of the table following their humiliation at the hands and feet of Galway in Tuam. Trailing by just 1-7 to 0-7 at the changeover, Sligo were right in contention, but they suffered an extraordinary second-half collapse and failed to score as Galway piled on the agony with 3-9.
Michael Meehan top-scored with 2-5, including a penalty, while Derek Savage and Padraig Joyce were also on the mark with goals to leave Galway in second place in the table on 4 points.

KILDARE 1-17, DOWN 0-9
Down lost their unbeaten run as Kildare recorded a first win with a convincing verdict in Newry, where John Doyle’s personal tally of 0-9 was a key element of an impressive attacking display by the visitors.

OTHER GAMES
In Div. 2A, Longford went to the top with a 1-19 to 0-9 win over Carlow, Roscommon hammered London by 1-23 to 0-5, Leitrim edged out Clare by 1-12 to 1-11, and Fermanagh were 2-13 to 0-13 winners over Monaghan.
Derry and Meath, who had wins by 2-16 to 0-10 and 0-14 to 1-7 over Cavan and Tipperary, respectively, lead the way in Div. 2B, while Antrim crushed Waterford by 4-17 to 0-9 and Wicklow were held to a 1-11 to 0-14 draw by Louth at Aughrim.

HURLING
Limerick IT captured the Fitzgibbon Cup for third-level colleges for the first time in their history when they defeated the University of Limerick by 2-13 to 3-4 in last weekend’s final at the Gaelic Grounds.
Coached by Cyril Farrell and managed by Davy Fitzgerald, Limerick IT were inspired by Tipperary All-Star Eoin Kelly, who scored 1-8, while Aonghus Callanan hit the decisive second goal in the 45th minute.