NY GAA: Galway get victor’s spoils

Perhaps also of note was the free taking display of Dave Simms from a variety of lengthy distances and acute angles. Simms ended up with 1-10 for the afternoon. However, it was David Greene who started the day’s scoring for the New Jersey/Kilkenny combination. Then Simms opened for Galway while Greene quickly replied. It was tit for tat as Simms leveled up with the combo squad and then lofted a peach from midfield and close to the sideline to push Galway ahead.
Then Greene went for goal from a free but the Galway defense smothered it well, and the ball was well-cleared by Gerry Greaney. Midway through the period, Galway began to dominate as Dennis Gibbons launched a plentiful supply of ball upfront to Cian Burke and Eamon Jackman. Simms continued to pick off points to put the Tribesmen ahead by six points to three with ten minutes left in the period. Then keeper Finbar Flood landed a free over the bar from close to 100 yards out just to prove that Simms in not the only accurate striker of a long ball. The remainder of the script continued to be dictated by Simms’ freetaking though Sean Greaney sandwiched in a fine effort. At the break Galway looked to be coasting comfortably as they led the New Jersey/Kilkenny squad by 10 pts to 4 pts. with the latter scores all coming from David Greene.
In the second half, the New Jersey/Kilkenny combo upped the temperature considerably and played with greater passion and purpose. Greene pointed a free, fouling the ball in the process and fortuitously for him, evading the vigilance of the referee. Then the game took on an added sense of urgency as corner forward Nick Kenny, equipped with a deft sidestep and a turbo charge of speed goaled, leaving his opponent gasping and grasping at shadows. However, Galway responded with points from Simms and Sean Greaney. Then a rather reckless pull ended with Damian Hynes being injured, and a yellow card for the fouler.
The combo squad kept the pressure on and might have been closer if points were taken rather than futile goal attempts. Tadgh Healy got on the score sheet from long range while Finbar Flood was forced to make a great save from Nick Kenny. The move ended with Greene getting a point. Two further points by Declan Hogan and David Greene reduced the deficit to 4 points with five minutes left. Another Greene score left a goal between the sides. Indeed a goal looked to be on the cards as Kenny got in behind the Galway defense only to see his shot fly over rather than under the bar, leaving just two points between the sides at full time. Overall, a solid if not spectacular performance by Galway, with Flood, the Greaneys, Gibbons, Burke, Jackman, and, of course, free taker par excellence Simms playing well. For the vanquished, Gillman, the Fitzgeralds, Greene, Coogan, and Kenny were most to the fore. Like Simms, Greene also demonstrated some accurate long range striking.
Galway: Finbar Flood (0-1), Seamus Pender, Eamon Joyce, Gerry Greaney, Dennis Gibbons, Denny Forde, Sean Greaney (0-2), Shane Spellman, Dave Simms (1-10), Niall Lysaght, Cian Burke, Eamon Jackman (0-2), Damian Hynes.
Subs: John Kennedy, Liam Kilkenny, Tom Bowes, Kieran Conway, Dara Kinnane, Dave Dunne, Sean Glynn, Cathal Carr.
New Jersey/Kilkenny: Don Ryan, Tom Gillman, Matt Fitzgerald, Tadgh Healy (0-1), Mike Fitzgerald, Robert Conton, Tim Tully, Declan Hogan (0-1), Dennis McCarthy, Ronan Sheedy, David Greene (0-9), Joe Coogan, Nick Kenny (1-1).
Subs: Tom Bermingham, Noel McGovern, Cathal McKeever, Tony Spillane, Coleman Murray, Cathal O’Shaughnessy.

Offaly prove too much for Tyrone

Offaly 4-15 Tyrone 1-10

As the scoreline suggests, Offaly had things very much their own way in this high-scoring senior football encounter. Colin White goaled early after Andy Grady sailed through the middle.
A minute later, Grady set up the in rushing Quaid to find the net again. Brendan Moran added a point before P.J. Ward got Tyrone on the score sheet. Quaid was again on target before Martin McCreash, Tyrone’s best player, landed a lovely left-footed effort over the bar after a nice side-step.
Then a three-man move of Moran, Grady, and White swept the ball for White to strike for his second goal midway through the period. Offaly continued to dominate the rest of the period with Nigel Kearney, Colin White, and Mike Byrons chipping in with points. Pat McGuire and McCreash battled away around the middle, and despite some Tyrone pressure, Offaly were comfortably ahead by 3-6 to 0-4 at the short whistle.
Little changed in the second half as Offaly kept scoring and Tyrone tried to make a contest of it. Liam Briody opened for Tyrone while Quaid, Bryons and Moran and Grady tacked on points for Offaly. McCreash and Peter McNamee replied with two before Pat McGuire was fouled in the square. P.J. Ward’s penalty hit the upright and he pointed the ensuing free. Further scores from Quaid and Cunningham had the Faithful county ahead by 3-14 to 0-9 midway through the second period when Ward converted the second penalty to add a veneer of respectability to the scoreline. Then veteran Danny Leavy fisted a good cross by Shane Cunningham to get his name on the score sheet. Moments later, another speculative lob by Cunningham was mishandled by the keeper only to nestle in the corner of the net for the last score of a one-sided contest.
Offaly were very much the better team with attackers aplenty, particularly White, Moran, Quaid, and Grady. Kavanagh and Cunningham held the edge at midfield while the Offaly defense though solid was somewhat reckless giving away two penalties in the second half. Tyrone struggled to get the full squad on the field but they valiantly tried to make a game of it though it was always going to be an uphill struggle. Skeffington, McCreash, Ward, Meenan, and Briody did their best to keep Tyrone’s spirits up.
Offaly: John McGinley, Mark Dolan, Chris Willis, Brian Delaney, Noel Coughlan, Enda Condron, Kevin Delaney, James Kavanagh, Shane Cunningham (1-2), Tommy Quaid (1-4), Anthony Grady (0-1), Nigel Kearney (0-1), Mike Bryons (0-2), Colin White (2-2), Brendan Moran (0-2).
Subs: Danny Leavy (0-1), John Madden, John Fitzpatrick, John Fingelton, Karol Kelly.
Tyrone: Barry McElduff, Mark O’Neill, Stephan Mullan, Declan Campbell, Conor Skeffington, Michael McQuaid, Liam Briody (0-1), Martin McCreash (0-4), Pat Maguire, Peter McNamee (0-1), P.J. Ward (1-4), Damien Devlin, Lee Kelly, Paddy McNamee.

Down start on a low note

Stamford 4-9 Down 0-9

From the beginning, Down were faced with a difficult task as they were forced to line out without their defensive anchorman, Eugene O’Hagen, and their talisman-cum-prolific scorer, Mark Dobbin.
Indeed, the magnitude of their task grew as a speculative lob from Sean Collins was fumbled to the net in the first attack. The same player quickly added another point as he eluded his marker.
In the early stages, Stamford were very much in control as Down struggled to get the ball out of their half. Down’s opening score, a point, came from a Mark Pollard free after five minutes. Sharpshooter Collins added another point for Stamford after a good delivery from Bernard Callinan. This was followed by another pointed Pollard free. Then disaster struck Down again as the cornerback deflected the ball past his keeper.
Prior to this blunder, Ted Steede had threaded a ball through to Eric Bradley and the danger for Down appeared to have passed as Bradley slipped and the ball destined for a wide until the defensive error. Despite the disastrous start, Down settled as Eddie Flynn and Mickey Cooke landed points.
However, some poor finishing by Stamford kept Down very much in the game. Aiden Sweeney and Pollard exchanged points before the Down keeper Raymond Mackey redeemed himself with a fine save from Sean Collins. At the other end, Mickey Cooke finished a good move with a soccer style volley for a point after good support play by Ciaran Fearon. At the break, Stamford led by 2-3 to 0-6.
After the interval, Pat Coyne came in for Stamford and had an immediate impact. However, it was Down that started the second half scoring with points from Mark Pollard and Ciaran McBride to bring them within a point of Stamford. However that was as close as they got as Sean Collins got his first score of the half, a point. He quickly followed with another after Eric Bradley was fouled. Then the killer blow came at the halfway stage as the busy Justin O’Halloran finished to the net a Bradley initiated move.
At this stage it was nearly one-way traffic as Collins added to his tally after Keith Hennessy picked him out with a great diagonal ball. Noel Magee scored a point but there was little the Mournemen could do. Then the astute Collins read the break well as he drifted in behind the defense to rattle the twines again. Further points from Eric Bradley and Fergus Flynn finished the scoring.
Stamford will be happy with the outcome as their top scorer Sean Collins had a personal tally of 2-5. He was well supported by the Williams boys, Callinan, Hennessy, Bradley, O’Halloran, and company. Down, despite being shorthanded and the disastrous start, battled away to the end with Mark Kelly, Aiden Carr, Noel Magee, Mark Pollard, and Mickey Cooke catching the eye.
Stamford: Niall Duggan, Jason Williams, Brendan Brady, Tom Carney, Donald Kissane, Bernard Callinan, Tom Williams, Ted Steele, Fergus Flynn (0-1), Keith Hennessy, Erik Bradley (0-1), Derrick Williams, Aiden Sweeney (0-1), Justin O’Halloran (1-0), Sean Collins (2-5).
Subs: Pat Coyne, Paddy Coyle, Brian Faulkner (0-1).
Down: Raymond Mackey, Marty McGivern, Mark Kelly, Chris Feeney Eddie Flynn (0-1), Aiden Carr, Kevin Coulter, Barry Annette, Noel Magee (0-1), Colm Cunningham, Mark Pollard (0-4), Liam Farrell, Ciaran McBride (0-1), Ciaran Fearon, Mickey Cooke (0-2).

Leitrim slip, slide to loss

Westmeath 1-6 Leitrim 0-5

Though this senior football match was from the A division, it fell far short of its billing. A Westmeath squad, fortified by a seasoned cadre of former Stamford players, eventually overcame Leitrim in the second half. Reports of the demise of the Lakeside squad have been obviously greatly exaggerated as they are now right in contention, while Leitrim continue to slide down the chart.
Midfielder Vinnie Gavin opened with a point for Westmeath, and was quickly followed by another from Sean Collins. A fine catch and a good long pass by Pat Coyne set up Collins for this score. Unfortunately for the scorer, he twisted his ankle and was forced to retire. After ten minutes, a foul on Conor Brosnan ended with Alan McFadden getting Leitrim on the scoreboard. Veteran John Donahoe leveled up with another minor before he retired injured. Alan McFadden edged Leitrim ahead with 10 minutes left in the half. At this stage, the proceedings were fairly even with Niall McArdle tying up the score again after a foul on Brian Murphy. Just before the break, points from Derick Costello and Billy Harte left both teams with four points.
A heavy downpour at the beginning of the second half seemed to have opposite effects on both teams. Westmeath picked up their pace and play considerably while Leitrim seemed devoid of purpose as they struggled aimlessly. Westmeath began to assert their dominance throughout the field, especially from Gavin. Westmeath though exerting consistent pressure were finding it difficult to land the scores. McArdle pointed a free and then Gavin scored an inspirational effort to push the Lakesiders ahead by two. At this stage, Leitrim struggled to get the ball out of their own half. At the halfway mark came the decisive score in the game. A quick free by Westmeath caught the Leitrim rearguard napping, and Dave Fitzgerald punished with a goal. Indeed the same player, a veteran of many contests, injected new life into a playing career that had been almost dormant. As the game wore on, Costello, McArdle, Coyne, and Peter Dalton were controlling matters more and more. Perhaps a good indication of Leitrim’s ineptitude was that they only scored one point in the second half. They failed miserably to adopt to the wet and slippery conditions. For the last quarter, Westmeath battened down the hatches and held on to their merited four-point win. For this so far unheralded Westmeath squad, this victory will boost their momentum and motivation. It was a solid display with Dalton, Coyne, Gavin, McArdle, Fitzgerald, and Costello proving their mettle. Leitrim will want to press the delete button quickly on this performance. Only Fergal Griffin, Paul Murray, Noel O’Donavan, and Billy Harte made any impression. McFadden’s game hasn’t reached the heights of a few years ago when he was a veritable scoring machine. I’m sure manager Andy Grady won’t have kind words for this effort on Tuesday evening.
Westmeath: Brian Donnellan, Tommy Williams, Peter Dalton, David Bailie, Justin O’Halloran, Pat Coyne, Barry Smith, Brian Murphy, Vinny Gavin (0-2), Niall McArdle (0-2), Keith Hennessy, David Fitzgerald (1-0), Ciaran Walsh, Derick Costello (0-1), Sean Collins (0-1).
Subs: Pat Spellman, Sean Roche, Jimmy O’Flynn, Pat Healy, Mickey Cleere.
Leitrim: Seamus Sweeney, Seamus Ivers, Fergal Griffin, Kevin Fitzgerald, Michael Fitzgerald, Paul Murray, Neil Maguire, Aiden Power, Noel O’Donavan, Danny O’Sullivan, Billy Harte (0-1), James McFadden, Conor Brosnan (0-1), Alan McFadden (0-2), John Donahoe (0-1).
[JS1]Subs: Kieran Potter, Andy O’Connor.

Gaelic Park schedule for next weekend

Saturday, July 23rd
5:00 p.m. — Senior Football
Derry vs. Monaghan
6:30 p.m. — Mayo vs. Donegal

Sunday, July 24th
1:00 p.m. — Junior Football
Roscommon vs. St. Raymonds
2:30 p.m. — Senior Hurling
Waterford vs. Tipperary
4:00 p.m. — Senior Football
Clare vs. Cavan
5:30 p.m. — Meath vs. Offaly