Sligo, Donegal and Leitrim all claim weekend wins



It was a good weekend for the northwest teams, as Sligo, Donegal and Leitrim all picked up National League wins.

Donegal had eight points to spare over Cavan on Saturday in Breffni Park, winning by 1-16 to 0-11, with Eoin McHugh getting the game’s only goal.

Donegal boss Rory Gallagher and captain Michael Murphy spoke to Pauric Byrne…

Dublin, Kerry and Tyrone were the other sides to win in Division One, while Fermanagh, Clare, Kildare and Down won in Division Two.

In Division Three, Sligo returned to winning ways with a hard-fought 0-18 to 2-10 defeat of Laois at Markievicz Park, delighting manager Niall Carew, who spoke to Gavin Cawley…

Armagh and Louth also won at the weekend, while in Division Four, there were weekend wins for Limerick, Westmeath, Wexford and Leitrim, who beat Carlow by 2-14 to 2-12 in Carrick-on-Shannon.

Here’s boss Brendan Guckian speaking with PJ Leddy…

In hurling, Donegal claimed their second win in this year’s National League at the weekend, but Sligo and Leitrim tasted defeat.

Donegal beat Tyrone by 2-14 to 0-15 in Letterkenny, while Leitrim lost out in Birmingham to Warwickshire on a scoreline of 0-18 to 2-10.

Sligo disappointingly had to concede home advantage to Fermanagh and ended up losing by 2-15 to 1-14 in Irvinestown.

In schools GAA, there was disappointment for St Attracta’s Community School, who were beaten in the Connacht Senior A Championship for the second successive year.

It finished St Attracta’s 0-8 St Colman’s Claremorris 2-8 in Saturday’s final.

 

ALLIANZ LEAGUE ROUND-UPS

Louth, who top Division 3, and Wexford, leaders in Division 4, are the only counties with 100 per cent records after four rounds of the Allianz Football League. Dublin and Tyrone (Division 1) and Westmeath (Division 4) are also unbeaten but have dropped points in draws.

 

Louth are three points clear of Armagh and Sligo (5 points) atop the Division 3 table while Wexford (8 points) are a point ahead of Westmeath and four ahead of Waterford and Leitrim. It means that they would clinch promotion if they beat London in their next game. Waterford and Leitrim dropped any points against Carlow and Limerick respectively.

 

Tyrone and Cavan, whose Division 1 Round 3 game was postponed two weekends ago, meet in Omagh on Sunday when a win for Mickey Harte’s men would see them take over at the top of Division 1. They are currently on five points from three games, one behind Dublin, who are on six points from four games.

 

Tyrone will start as favourites to beat Cavan, who have just one point from their first three games (a Round 2 draw with Monaghan).

 

Tyrone and Cavan met on four occasions last year, with Harte’s crew winning three times while there was one draw.

 

Tyrone won an Allianz Football League Division 2 first round game by 0-10 to 0-8 and later won the Division 2 final by 1-17 to 0-15. The sides drew (Tyrone 0-16 Cavan 3-7) in the Ulster semi-final before Tyrone won the replay by 5-18 to 2-17.

 

The Division 3 clash between Tipperary and Longford, which was postponed last Sunday, will be played in Semple Stadium at 5pm on Saturday.

 

Tipperary have won two of three games while Longford have won one of three. A win for Tipperary would take them into second place in the table behind Louth. Longford beat Tipperary by six points in last year’s Allianz Football League.

 

ALLIANZ FOOTBALL LEAGUE 2017: RESULTS & FIXTURES

 

DIVISION 1

Round 1:  Dublin 0-18 Cavan 0-11; Kerry 2-17 Donegal 1-17; Tyrone 0-18 Roscommon 1-9; Monaghan 1-11 Mayo 0-12.

Round 2: Mayo 0-15 Kerry 1-10; Dublin 0-10 Tyrone 1-7; Donegal 0-16 Roscommon 2-9; Monaghan 0-7 Cavan 0-7.

Round 3: Mayo 1-19 Roscommon 0-14; Donegal 2-5 Dublin 1-8; Monaghan 2-8 Kerry 1-10; Tyrone v Cavan – postponed (re-fixed for March 12)

Round 4: Dublin 1-16 Mayo 0-7; Donegal 1-16 Cavan 0-11; Tyrone 0-14 Monaghan 0-10;  Kerry 1-19 Roscommon 1-13.

Round 5: Mar 18: Donegal v Tyrone; Kerry v Dublin; Mar 19: Mayo v Cavan; Monaghan v Roscommon.

Round 6: Mar 25: Dublin v Roscommon; Mar 26: Cavan v Kerry; Tyrone v Mayo; Donegal v Monaghan.

Round 7: Apr 2: Monaghan v Dublin; Mayo v Donegal; Kerry v Tyrone; Roscommon v Cavan.

Final: Apr 9: 1 v 2

 

DIVISION 2

Round 1: Derry 0-11 Clare 1-8; Galway 0-14 Cork 1-11; Kildare 3-17 Meath 0-16; Fermanagh 1-16 Down 0-10.

Round 2: Clare 2-11 Down 0-11; Kildare 1-14 Cork 1-8; Galway 1-13 Fermanagh 0-10; Meath 3-15 Derry 0-9.

Round 3: Down 1-13 Meath 0-14; Cork 1-14 Fermanagh 0-9; Derry 1-18 Kildare 1-17; Galway 3-13 Clare 1-11.

Round 4: Mar 5: Kildare 4-14 Fermanagh 0-14; Meath 1-13 Galway 0-15; Clare 2-11 Cork 0-9; Down 1-15 Derry 1-7.

Round 5: Mar 18: Down v Kildare; Mar 19: Fermanagh v Clare; Cork v Meath; Galway v Derry.

Round 6: Mar 26: Derry v Cork; Meath v Fermanagh; Down v Galway; Kildare v Clare.

Round 7: Apr 2: Galway v Kildare; Cork v Down; Clare v Meath; Fermanagh v Derry.

Final: Apr 9: 1 v 2

 

DIVISION 3

Round 1:  Longford 1-12 Offaly 0-10; Sligo 1-14 Armagh 2-11; Tipperary 2-12 Antrim 0-13; Louth 2-16 Laois 0-10

Round 2: Sligo 2-14 Tipperary 1-16; Louth 0-11 Longford 0-10; Offaly 0-23 Antrim 1-7; Laois 2-11 Armagh 0-16.

Round 3: Tipperary 1-16 Laois 1-10; Louth 2-13 Offaly 0-14; Armagh 3-11 Longford 3-9; Antrim 0-11 Sligo 1-7.

Round 4: Tipperary v Longford – postponed (re-fixed for March 11); Louth 2-10 Antrim 1-11; Armagh 6-22 Offaly 0-10; Sligo 0-18 Laois 2-10.

Round 5: Mar 19: Antrim v Laois; Louth v Armagh; Longford v Sligo; Offaly v Tipperary.

Round 6:  Mar 25: Armagh v Antrim; Laois v Longford; Mar 26; Sligo v Offaly; Tipperary v Louth.

Apr 2: Antrim v Longford; Louth v Sligo; Armagh v Tipperary; Offaly v Laois.

Final: Apr 8: Final: 1 v 2

 

ROUND 4

Round 1: Waterford 2-16 London 1-8; Carlow 2-10 Westmeath 2-10; Leitrim 1-17 Wicklow 0-10; Wexford 0-14 Limerick 1-8.

Round 2: Waterford 1-17 Wicklow 1-9; London 2-15 Carlow 0-16; Westmeath 1-18 Limerick 0-12; Wexford 0-16 Leitrim 0-14.

Round 3: Carlow 1-10 Limerick 0-10; Wicklow 0-17 London 2-4; Westmeath 2-18 Leitrim1-9; Wexford 1-9 Waterford 0-10.

Round 4:  Limerick 1-13 London 0-12; Leitrim 2-14 Carlow 2-12; Westmeath 3-13 Waterford 2-11; Wexford 1-13 Wicklow 0-13.

Round 5: Mar 18: Carlow v Waterford; Mar 19: Wexford v London; Limerick v Leitrim; Westmeath v Wicklow.

Round 6: Mar 25: Waterford v Limerick; Mar 26: Leitrim v London; Wexford v Westmeath; Wicklow v Carlow.

Round 7: Apr 2: Westmeath v London; Leitrim v Waterford; Carlow v Wexford; Limerick v Wicklow.

Final: Apr 9

 

Tipperary and Wexford are on their way the quarter-finals of the Allianz Hurling League, with two rounds still to play.

 

Tipperary (1A) and Wexford (1B) have already taken full points from three games, the only teams in the groups with 100 per cent records. Four teams qualify for the quarter-finals from each group.

 

DIVISION 1A: ALL-IRELAND FINAL REPEAT IN THURLES SHOWDOWN

 

Saturday (7.0): Tipperary v Kilkenny, Semple Stadium.

Sunday (2.0): Clare v Dublin, Ennis; Waterford v Cork, Walsh Park.

 

Unbeaten since losing to Clare in the Allianz Hurling League quarter-final last April, Tipperary will go into Saturday’s clash with Kilkenny on a high after beating Dublin, Waterford and Clare in recent weeks.

 

Kilkenny ended their losing run with a seven-point win over Cork last Sunday, leaving them in a much better frame of mind for the big clash with their great rivals. They had earlier lost to Waterford and Clare.

 

Kilkenny and Tipperary met twice last year, with the Cats winning the Division 1A Allianz League clash by five points and losing the All-Ireland final by nine points. Tipperary beat Kilkenny in the 2015 Allianz Hurling League.

 

Waterford host Cork, having won two of three games so far while the Rebels have won one of three. Waterford beat Cork by three points last year, having also beaten them in the 2015 Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Final.

 

Clare beat Dublin by two points in the 2015 Allianz Hurling League – the sides did not meet last year as they were in different divisions and were not paired together in the knock-out stages.

DIVISION 1B: WEXFORD STAY ON COURSE FOR PROMOTION

 

Saturday (7.0): Laois v Limerick, Portlaoise.

Sunday (2.0): Offaly v Wexford, Tullamore; Kerry v Galway, Tralee.

 

Having beaten Limerick, Galway and Kerry, Wexford are well-primed for promotion as they head into Round 4. They take on Offaly, who have lost all three games so far, but will be very wary after losing to the Midlanders by 2-21 to 3-11 in last year’s Allianz Hurling League.

 

Galway and Limerick (both two points behind Wexford) will be hoping that Davy Fitzgerald’s men slip up and that they beat Kerry and Laois respectively. Limerick will be away to Laois on Saturday night, having beaten the O’Moore men by 6-29 to 1-12 last year.

 

Galway, who have the best points differential (+50 points) in the group, travel to Tralee to take on Kerry, who have won one of three games so far.

 

DIVISION 2A: CARLOW AND ANTRIM SETTING THE PACE

 

Sunday: Westmeath v London, TEG Cusack Park; Armagh v Antrim, Athletic Grounds; Kildare v Carlow, Newbridge.

 

Carlow and Antrim, both of whom have taken five of six points, will be ‘away’ on Sunday as they bid to remain at the head of the promotion race. Antrim take on Armagh, whom they beat in last year’s Ulster final.

 

Carlow, who will be away to Kildare, beat the Lilywhites by five points in last year’s Allianz Hurling League. Westmeath, who got their first win of the campaign against Armagh last Sunday, will be at home to London who have taken one point from a possible six.

 

DIVISION 2B: WICKLOW LEAD THE WAY

 

Sunday: Derry v Roscommon, Owenbeg, 1.0; Mayo v Meath, Elverys MacHale Park 2.0; Wicklow v Down, Joule Park Aughrim, 2.0

 

Wicklow have won all three games while Down, whom they meet on Sunday, have won two of three. Down beat Wicklow by 13 points in last year’s Allianz Hurling League. Meath, whose game with Roscommon was called off last weekend, are still very much in the promotion hunt, having won their first two games. They lost to Mayo by four points in last year’s competition.

 

DIVISION 3A: MONAGHAN ON FULL POINTS AFTER FOUR GAMES

 

Sunday: Donegal v Monaghan, Letterkenny; Tyrone v Louth, Carrickmore.

 

Monaghan are on full points after four games, followed by Donegal on four points from three games and Tyrone on two points from three games.

 

DIVISION 3B: TOP TWO MEET IN LONGFORD

 

Saturday: Longford v Warwickshire, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, 2.30.

Sunday: Leitrim v Sligo, Ballinamore, 2.0

 

Warwickshire (6 points) take on Longford (4points) in a top-of-the-table clash while Leitrim host Sligo, whom they beat by five points in last year’s Allianz Hurling League.

 

ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE 2017: RESULTS AND FIXTURES

 

DIVISION 1A

Round 1: Cork 0-21 Clare 1-11; Tipperary 1-24 Dublin 1-8; Waterford 1-15 Kilkenny 0-17.

Round 2: Dublin 2-19 Cork 1-14; Clare 2-19 Kilkenny 0-12; Tipperary 1-18 Waterford 0-15.

Round 3: Waterford 2-19 Dublin 1-17; Kilkenny 0-22 Cork 0-15; Tipperary 0-28 Clare 0-21

Round 4: Mar 11: Tipperary v Kilkenny; Mar 12: Clare v Dublin; Waterford v Cork.

Round 5: Mar 26: Cork v Tipperary; Clare v Waterford; Dublin v Kilkenny

 

DIVISION 1B

Round 1: Kerry 3-14 Laois 0-19; Galway 6-23 Offaly 1-12; Wexford 1-14 Limerick 0-14.

Round 2: Laois 1-26 Offaly 1-20; Wexford 1-21 Galway 3-13; Limerick 6-21 Kerry 3-8.

Round 3: Limerick 1-25 Offaly 3-15; Galway 3-31 Laois 1-11; Wexford 3-18 Kerry 0-12.

Round 4: Mar 11: Laois v Limerick; Mar 12: Offaly v Wexford; Kerry v Galway.

Round 5: Mar 26: Kerry v Offaly; Wexford v Laois; Limerick v Galway.

 

QUARTER-FINALS

Apr 1 /2: 1st 1A v 4th 1B; 2nd 1A v 3rd 1B; 3rd 1A v 2nd 1B; 4th 1A v 1st 1B

SEMI-FINALS

Apr 16

FINAL

Apr 23

 

DIVISION 2A

Round 1: Antrim 0-20 London 0-13; Kildare 1-18 Armagh 1-15; Carlow 1-13 Westmeath 1-11.

Round 2:  Antrim 2-15 Carlow 0-21; Kildare 1-16 Westmeath 0-14; Armagh 1-13 London 1-13.

Round 3: Carlow 3-22 London 2-7; Westmeath 3-29 Armagh 0-16; Antrim 1-16 Kildare 1-14.

Round 4: Mar 12: Westmeath v London; Armagh v Antrim; Kildare v Carlow.

Round 5: Mar 26:  Kildare v London; Antrim v Westmeath; Carlow v Armagh.

Final: Apr 1 /2: 1st v 2nd

 

DIVISION 2B

Round 1: Derry 1-14 Mayo 1-13; Meath 4-21 Down 1-10; Wicklow 2-17 Roscommon 0-7.

Round 2: Down 1-21 Roscommon 1-16; Meath 2-19 Derry 0-16; Wicklow 2-17 Mayo 1-17.

Round 3: Roscommon v Meath – postponed; Wicklow 1-21 Derry 1-11; Down 2-23 Mayo 0-12.

Round 4: Mar 12: Derry v Roscommon; Wicklow v Down; Mayo v Meath.

Round 5: Mar 26: Down v Derry; Roscommon v Mayo; Meath v Wicklow.

Final: Apr 1 /2: 1s v 2nd

 

DIVISION 3A

Round 1: Donegal 2-23 Louth 1-14; Monaghan 3-15 Tyrone 1-11.

Round 2: Next Sunday: Monaghan 1-21Donegal 3-14; Tyrone 5-16 Louth 0-12

Round 3: Feb 26: Tyrone v Donegal postponed; Monaghan 1-10 Louth 1-8.

Round 4: Monaghan 2-12 Louth 2-9; Donegal 2-14 Tyrone 0-15.

Round 5: Mar 12: Donegal v Monaghan; Tyrone v Louth.

Round 6: Louth v Donegal; Monaghan v Tyrone.

Final: Apr 1 /2: 1st v 2nd

 

DIVISION 3B

Round 1:  Warwickshire 3-9 Sligo 3-8; Longford 2-13 Fermanagh 0-7

Round 2: Warwickshire 2-12 Fermanagh 1-9; Longford 2-19 Leitrim 3-13.

Round 3: Fermanagh 2-15 Sligo 1-14; Warwickshire 0-18 Leitrim 2-10

Round 4: Mar 12: Leitrim v Sligo; Longford v Warwickshire.

Round 5: Mar 26: Fermanagh v Leitrim; Sligo v Longford.

Final: Apr 1 /2: 1st v 2nd



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