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GAA Roundup

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

By Mark Jones

Clare collected the vital National Hurling League points, which have now virtually assured them of a place in the semifinals, when they beat Offaly by 2-5 to 1-6 in front of 12,000 spectators in Ennis on Sunday.

This Div. 1A game looked to be heading Offaly’s way until Clare struck with two dramatic goals in the closing 10 minutes. First, Ollie Baker’s sideline cut somehow found its way through the defense and into the net and then a surging run by Colin Lynch created a second goal for David Forde.

“We were beaten in the space of two minutes,” was Offaly manager, Michael Bond’s summation.

A soaked surface made for some untidy hurling, but the game was fiercely competitive. The hard streak boiled over during one fairly minor incident, but referee Pat O’Connor was adopting his own tough code and Clare’s Niall Gilligan and Offaly’s Simon Whelahan were both sent off.

So, Clare will almost certainly qualify, along with Galway, who weren’t playing last weekend, while Offaly will need to beat Dublin and Kerry in their final two games to avoid relegation.

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Dublin 2-12, Limerick 0-11

Dublin registered a first win of the campaign with a valuable 2-12 to 0-11 verdict over Limerick at Parnell Park. This was a major turn-up as Limerick had previously run Clare close, but Dublin were dominant and if it hadn’t been for two excellent saves by goalkeeper Joe Quaid, Limerick would have suffered an even heavier defeat.

Conor McCann and Shane Ryan hit the vital goals for the winners, while Tomas McGrane clipped over five points to frustrate Limerick, whose manager, Eamonn Cregan, was none too pleased with his team’s display.

“There’s no point in blowing hot and cold,” Cregan said. “Only about five or six of our players performed up to scratch. Quite honestly, I don’t know where we go from here.”

Tipperary 1-12, Cork 1-11

Tipperary made themselves favorites to qualify from Div. 1B, along with Kilkenny, when a stunning injury-time goal by Liam Cahill brought a 1-12 to 1-11 victory over Cork at Semple Stadium.

Cork were two points clear and seemingly on their way to an impressive win even though Tipp were pressing hard. John Leahy then found Paul Shelly with brilliant pass and when Shelly’s was parried by Donal Og Cusack, Cahill launched himself at the ball and batted it into the net.

“I suppose they deserved it,” said a disappointed Cork manager, Jimmy Barry-Murphy. “They took their one goal chance at the death, but I wasn’t all that happy with our own performance.”

Cork will be looking for another win to move clear of relegation.

Kilkenny 2-20, Down 0-14

Kilkenny are bang on course for the semifinals following a comprehensive 2-20 to 0-14 demolition of Down at Ballycran.

Niall Moloney was in the right place to finish both goals, while Henry Shefflin bagged seven points and D.J. Carey 0-5 to leave Down without a win from four games.

Waterford 2-12, Laois 0-6

Laois had been tipped as potential semifinal candidates on the back of two earlier victories, but they slumped at Walsh Park where Waterford took the honors by 2-12 to 0-6.

“Brutal,” was how manager Padraig Horan described his team’s lackluster offering. “I don’t know what was wrong, but Waterford did the same to us last year.”

Paul Flynn was mainly responsible for the end of Waterford’s three-game losing streak with an impressive 2-5 contribution. The Laois defense simply had no answer to Flynn, who helped himself to a goal in each half.

Other games

In Div. 2, Wicklow moved into top spot when Jonathan O’Neill powered them to a 3-11 to 0-4 win over London at Arklow. Kildare ended Roscommon’s unbeaten run with a 0-10 to 1-3 success at Naas, Westmeath hammered Monaghan by 7-14 to 0-7, and Carlow were 6-11 to 1-7 winners against Meath.

Also, Louth’s easy 7-10 to 0-8 success against Longford moved them to the top of Div. 3 ahead of Sligo on scoring average. Fermanagh beat Donegal by 5-19 to 1-2, and Leitrim were 0-10 to 1-5 winners against Cavan.

Meanwhile, Armagh’s National Football League victory against Leitrim by 3-15 to 1-8 means the Ulster county will now meet Sligo in the quarterfinal on Sunday.

Because of Armagh’s win, Cork will be up against Derry.

Connacht on target

Connacht, who haven’t won football’s Interprovincial title since 1969, went some of the way to bridging that gap when they comprehensively defeated Leinster by 4-7 to 1-8 in the semifinal at Tuam.

The other semifinal ended all square following a thrilling game at Killarney. Not even extra time could separate Munster and Ulster, who were deadlocked at 1-20 to 3-14 as Munster’s Ciaran O’Sullivan calmly kicked the equalizing point at the death.

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