And another weekend has come and gone. Horrendous weather in Roscommon hardly helped matters in the Connacht final while, up in Ulster, a strong, swirling, breeze wasn't ideal either. Nonetheless we had two very competitive and interesting finals, even if the quality was questionable at times. Congratulations to the two winning teams though, a provincial title is still worth winning in my humble opinion.
Connacht Senior Football Final
Despite the conditions, Roscommon and Mayo served up an entertaining, if uninspiring, clash in the Hyde on Sunday afternoon. With almost a gale blowing, and heavy rain leading to greasy conditions, it was never going to be a classic but at least the pace and effort displayed was fitting for a provincial decider. Roscommon will feel they probably left it after them a little, especially considering the silly frees they gave away at times, but Mayo did very well to stay in touch in that first half against the wind. Andy Moran did trojan work again, while young Cillian O'Connor auditioned well in the role of freetaker as he knocked over an impressive 8 frees, 3 into the teeth of the wind, over the course of the game.
In the second half, Mayo inched back into the game bit by bit but Roscommon were still managing to win an amount of ball, more than enough to win the game for them. However a marked reluctance, or inability, to kick the ball into the full forward line, where Donie Shine was going well, led to a lot of turnovers and missed opportunities. Indeed Roscommon only landed 2 points in that second half, 3 less than Mayo managed in the first half, and that was the difference between the teams. It could have been so different if Donie Shine's opportunity at goal hadn't flown over the crossbar, or even if his last minute attempt wasn't brilliantly caught over the crossbar by Hennelly in the Mayo goals, which led to the insurance point up the other end.
Roscommon are still probably a better side than they were last year, and they have a week extra to recover before facing the winners of Tyrone and Armagh. They will need to up their performance again, but they will not be without hope.
Mayo will be delighted to have clinched another Nestor Cup despite their shaky opening in Ruislip and two mudbaths against Galway and Roscommon. It will be interesting to see Mayo in the open spaces of Croke Park, and it would be nice to see them on a dry day as well. The wet may actually have helped on Sunday as, despite getting beaten for primary possession, they were able to dispossess Roscommon carriers a lot. That's not something to be relying on in Croker.
Ulster Senior Football Final
Conditions weren't nearly as bad in Clones on Sunday but a stiff breeze, which seemed to swirl around the ground, certainly made things trickier than ideal for the Donegal and Derry men. As expected Derry struggled to break down the massed, organised defence of Donegal and were unable to kick enough points from distance to cause Donegal to deviate from their plan.
All that said, and Donegal probably being the better team throughout, the game really hinged on a penalty decision from Maurice Deegan shortly after half time. A long ball was directed into the Derry square, and Michael Murphy couldn't quite reach it. As he chased it, the Derry goalkeeper came out to intercept it, but also missed the ball and brought down the big Donegal captain. It's debatable whether or not Murphy had a chance to reach the ball before it went out of play, probably not in my view, but Deegan was justified in giving the penalty even though it was on the harsh side.
Murphy made no mistake and, in a game where scores were going to be hard got, that was the decisive blow. In the first half, particularly, the forwards on both sides were tied up and Charlie Kielt, the Derry centre back, and Andrew Thompson, the Donegal wing back, ended up with two points each on a day when a lot of the impetus was provided by the defenders on both sides, even in attack.
Obviously the Bradley brothers were big losses for Derry, Eoin's long range point taking was missed badly, and this was emphasised by the fact that Donegal could rely on Murphy and Colm McFadden to chip in with vital scores when needed up the other end.
Derry will be bitterly disappointed and must now bounce back in 6 days to face buoyant Kildare, while Donegal can relax for a couple of weeks and focus on their return to Croke Park.
Football Qualifiers - Round 2 Replay
Micko's stint at the helm in Wicklow came to an end in Aughrim on Saturday night as this 2nd round qualifier replay fell the way of Armagh in another great tussle. Division 4 versus Division 1 it may have been, but for two weeks in a row Wicklow proved they could compete at this level and, while last week it was their goals which probably earned them a draw, this Saturday it was Armagh who got the breaks in front of the net and profited from two timely and crucial 3 pointers from Jamie Clarke, the newest star forward in the game.
Wicklow must now look to redouble their efforts and kick on. The 'Dwyer' roadshow may have left town, but the main show must still stay on the go. Micko has made noises about staying on in another county, and I'd be lying if I said I hoped he retired. Fair play to him, you have to say.
Armagh will relish a clash with Tyrone in Omagh next weekend and, while they will be outsiders, they have learned a bit about themselves this past fortnight and that will help a lot with the development of this new Armagh team.
Round 3
The big Round 3 clash of the weekend was the renewal of hostilities between Meath and Kildare up in Navan. Denied, they felt, by a disallowed Graham Geraghty goal in the Leinster Championship clash in early summer Meath would have been licking their chops at the prospect of a vaunted, yet title-less, Kildare team coming into Pairc Tailteann. For this reason, and for the reason that Meath did give it a right rattle with probably their best performance since the Dublin game last year, this was a big and important win for Kildare.
Halfway through the second period, it seemed for a while as if Kildare's big second half performance was not going to come. In fact it was Meath who were setting the tempo and laying down the marker, daring Kildare to respond. In fairness to McGeeney's men, respond they did. James Kavanagh was immense when he entered the fray, Daryl Flynn was industrious in his comeback and Emmett Bolton stepped up with 1-02 in a row from half back as Kildare put their foot to the floor and opened up a 5 point gap.
Meath, of course, kept going and narrowed it to 3 points just before the long whistle but once Kildare got that bit of space they never looked like being beaten. Kildare now face Derry and, while they are obviously hurting physically and still shorn of several long term injury victims, they must be buzzing mentally and will have an eye on a quarter final at least.
In the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick benefitted from a strange situation to advance from their tilt with Waterford. Referee Cormac Reilly awarded a penalty for a 'foul' on Paul Whyte but, following pleas from Limerick defenders, he consulted with his umpires and changed his mind to a throw in. It's a rare phenomenon to see a ref changing tack like that, but I suppose if justice was done then it's a good thing.
Stephen Kelly was on fire for Limerick, continuing his current form and his 0-7 were vital on a day when Ian Ryan and Ger Collins, the heroes against Offaly, were largely kept in check. Waterford's misery was compounded when Gary Hurney saw a straight red for an off the ball incident with Tom Lee, and from there on Limerick coasted to a 5 point victory and a place against Wexford in the next round.
The last game of the day saw Down significantly up their performance levels to blow Antrim away in Casement Park. A 12 point win flatters the Mourne Men somewhat, but they will be heartened to see their forward line start to click and move with menace. Benny Coulter's return to form is a big part of that improvement, and his lay off for Marty Clarke's goal was typical of the important role he plays in the attack. Conor Laverty rewarded James McCartan's decision to start him with the goal of the game, although Antrim fans will wonder just how he was allowed solo untouched through the centre of their defence.
Down still have issues, at centre field and in the back line specifically, but they are improving steadily and Cork will do well not to take anything for granted in Portlaoise next weeked. That's a game that would be worth seeing.
Hits
Cillian O'Connor. 20 years ago a young Roscommon forward called Derek Duggan broke Mayo hearts with a nerveless display of free taking. Last Sunday, in terrible conditions, a young Mayo forward returned the 'favour' to beat Roscommon and claim the title for the Green above the Red. Mayo had concerns and worries over freetaking inside 40 metres but O'Connor stepped up and took the responsibility. There had been half plaintive calls for Conor Mortimer to be togged out, despite just coming back from a bad injury. O'Connor put those thoughts firmly to bed.
Jimmy McGuinness. It's not pretty, it's not that entertaining and it's not a purist's cup of tea but Donegal and Jimmy McGuinness will not care one jot about that. Their style of play is based on being hard to break down, forcing turnovers and then using their good forwards to rack up enough scores. It worked a treat against Derry and, while it may not be good enough to win an All Ireland, it was certainly good enough to win a first Ulster Title since 1992 and we all know what happened after that.
Misses
The bloody weather. It ruined the Connacht final, and was influential in the Ulster decider. I'm not going to do a Rory McIlroy on it and say I'm not interested in events where the outcome is predicated by the weather but I do hope it improves before we hit the business end of the 'summer'.
Other sports
US Sports
The NFL is still locked out, but it does appear that all of the issues have been ironed out at this stage, or just on the verge of being ironed out. That being said, it's looking good for the training camps to open on schedule and the season to be unaffected. It's a 10 year deal on the table, so if it's signed we won't have to listen to this nonsense for another decade.
Hopefully more news on this next week.
On the diamond, the MLB All Star game was last Tuesday and resulted in a 5-1 victory for the National League. As mentioned on this blog previously, that now means that the NL champion will have home field advantage for the World Series in October. Whether or not that turns out to be critical remains to be seen, but this is the second year in a row that the NL has won the All Star game, the first time since 1995-96 that they have repeated.
The players were straight back into regular season mode on Thursday night, and with most teams having played 94 or 95 games out of 162 the standings are starting to take shape, albeit with a long way to go.
In the National League East the Philadelphia Phillies are 59-36, which is good enough for first place, and hold a 2.5 game lead over the Atlanta Braves. The rest of the division here are in real trouble as the Washington Nationals, New York Mets and Forida Marlins are all more than 11 games behind.
The NL Central is a tight race at the moment. The surprising Pittsburgh Pirates, at 50-44, hold a slender half game lead over two clubs, the Saint Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cincinatti Reds are a further 3.5 games out and while the Chicago Cubs (12.5 games) and Houston Astros (20 games) appear out of the running, this one could go to the wire.
The NL West also has a surprising team in contention. The San Francisco Giants are the World Series Champions, and hold a 3.5 game lead, but the Arizona Diamondbacks are well within striking distance and have a favourable run in. The other teams appear out of it as the Colorado Rockies (10.5) Los Angeles Dodgers (13.5) and San Diego Padres (14.5) are all a long way behind.
In the American League there are also some exciting races and, while it has settled down a bit since our last update, there will undoubtedly be close run things coming towards September. The Boston Red Sox have rebounded from a poor start to hold a 1.5 game lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East, while the Tampa Bay Rays (8.5) have fallen off the pace. The Toronto Blue Jays (12) and Baltimore Orioles (19.5) appear to be in the also ran category at this stage.
The AL Central is still tight, with 7 games separating 4 teams. The Cleveland Indians (of the movie Major League fame) are 1 game ahead of the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers are 3.5 games ahead of the Chicago White Sox, while the White Sox are 2.5 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins. The Kansas City Royals (13.5) bring up the rear.
Finally, the AL West is being led by World Series Runners Up, the Texas Rangers on a mark of 55-41. They are 4 games clear of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and 11.5 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners. The Oakland As are in last place, a full 13 games behind.
Golf
It wouldn't be right to sign off without mentioning the great win Darren Clarke enjoyed on Sunday. With his victory, added to the recent Majors of Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell, Irish and Northern Irish golf in particular is on a real high. Well done to the big man from Dungannon. With the terrible personal tragedy he had to endure he had more important things to do than worry about winning golf tournaments, but it's great to see him savouring that win and I hope there's more to come for him.
Connacht Senior Football Final
Despite the conditions, Roscommon and Mayo served up an entertaining, if uninspiring, clash in the Hyde on Sunday afternoon. With almost a gale blowing, and heavy rain leading to greasy conditions, it was never going to be a classic but at least the pace and effort displayed was fitting for a provincial decider. Roscommon will feel they probably left it after them a little, especially considering the silly frees they gave away at times, but Mayo did very well to stay in touch in that first half against the wind. Andy Moran did trojan work again, while young Cillian O'Connor auditioned well in the role of freetaker as he knocked over an impressive 8 frees, 3 into the teeth of the wind, over the course of the game.
In the second half, Mayo inched back into the game bit by bit but Roscommon were still managing to win an amount of ball, more than enough to win the game for them. However a marked reluctance, or inability, to kick the ball into the full forward line, where Donie Shine was going well, led to a lot of turnovers and missed opportunities. Indeed Roscommon only landed 2 points in that second half, 3 less than Mayo managed in the first half, and that was the difference between the teams. It could have been so different if Donie Shine's opportunity at goal hadn't flown over the crossbar, or even if his last minute attempt wasn't brilliantly caught over the crossbar by Hennelly in the Mayo goals, which led to the insurance point up the other end.
Roscommon are still probably a better side than they were last year, and they have a week extra to recover before facing the winners of Tyrone and Armagh. They will need to up their performance again, but they will not be without hope.
Mayo will be delighted to have clinched another Nestor Cup despite their shaky opening in Ruislip and two mudbaths against Galway and Roscommon. It will be interesting to see Mayo in the open spaces of Croke Park, and it would be nice to see them on a dry day as well. The wet may actually have helped on Sunday as, despite getting beaten for primary possession, they were able to dispossess Roscommon carriers a lot. That's not something to be relying on in Croker.
Ulster Senior Football Final
Conditions weren't nearly as bad in Clones on Sunday but a stiff breeze, which seemed to swirl around the ground, certainly made things trickier than ideal for the Donegal and Derry men. As expected Derry struggled to break down the massed, organised defence of Donegal and were unable to kick enough points from distance to cause Donegal to deviate from their plan.
All that said, and Donegal probably being the better team throughout, the game really hinged on a penalty decision from Maurice Deegan shortly after half time. A long ball was directed into the Derry square, and Michael Murphy couldn't quite reach it. As he chased it, the Derry goalkeeper came out to intercept it, but also missed the ball and brought down the big Donegal captain. It's debatable whether or not Murphy had a chance to reach the ball before it went out of play, probably not in my view, but Deegan was justified in giving the penalty even though it was on the harsh side.
Murphy made no mistake and, in a game where scores were going to be hard got, that was the decisive blow. In the first half, particularly, the forwards on both sides were tied up and Charlie Kielt, the Derry centre back, and Andrew Thompson, the Donegal wing back, ended up with two points each on a day when a lot of the impetus was provided by the defenders on both sides, even in attack.
Obviously the Bradley brothers were big losses for Derry, Eoin's long range point taking was missed badly, and this was emphasised by the fact that Donegal could rely on Murphy and Colm McFadden to chip in with vital scores when needed up the other end.
Derry will be bitterly disappointed and must now bounce back in 6 days to face buoyant Kildare, while Donegal can relax for a couple of weeks and focus on their return to Croke Park.
Football Qualifiers - Round 2 Replay
Micko's stint at the helm in Wicklow came to an end in Aughrim on Saturday night as this 2nd round qualifier replay fell the way of Armagh in another great tussle. Division 4 versus Division 1 it may have been, but for two weeks in a row Wicklow proved they could compete at this level and, while last week it was their goals which probably earned them a draw, this Saturday it was Armagh who got the breaks in front of the net and profited from two timely and crucial 3 pointers from Jamie Clarke, the newest star forward in the game.
Wicklow must now look to redouble their efforts and kick on. The 'Dwyer' roadshow may have left town, but the main show must still stay on the go. Micko has made noises about staying on in another county, and I'd be lying if I said I hoped he retired. Fair play to him, you have to say.
Armagh will relish a clash with Tyrone in Omagh next weekend and, while they will be outsiders, they have learned a bit about themselves this past fortnight and that will help a lot with the development of this new Armagh team.
Round 3
The big Round 3 clash of the weekend was the renewal of hostilities between Meath and Kildare up in Navan. Denied, they felt, by a disallowed Graham Geraghty goal in the Leinster Championship clash in early summer Meath would have been licking their chops at the prospect of a vaunted, yet title-less, Kildare team coming into Pairc Tailteann. For this reason, and for the reason that Meath did give it a right rattle with probably their best performance since the Dublin game last year, this was a big and important win for Kildare.
Halfway through the second period, it seemed for a while as if Kildare's big second half performance was not going to come. In fact it was Meath who were setting the tempo and laying down the marker, daring Kildare to respond. In fairness to McGeeney's men, respond they did. James Kavanagh was immense when he entered the fray, Daryl Flynn was industrious in his comeback and Emmett Bolton stepped up with 1-02 in a row from half back as Kildare put their foot to the floor and opened up a 5 point gap.
Meath, of course, kept going and narrowed it to 3 points just before the long whistle but once Kildare got that bit of space they never looked like being beaten. Kildare now face Derry and, while they are obviously hurting physically and still shorn of several long term injury victims, they must be buzzing mentally and will have an eye on a quarter final at least.
In the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick benefitted from a strange situation to advance from their tilt with Waterford. Referee Cormac Reilly awarded a penalty for a 'foul' on Paul Whyte but, following pleas from Limerick defenders, he consulted with his umpires and changed his mind to a throw in. It's a rare phenomenon to see a ref changing tack like that, but I suppose if justice was done then it's a good thing.
Stephen Kelly was on fire for Limerick, continuing his current form and his 0-7 were vital on a day when Ian Ryan and Ger Collins, the heroes against Offaly, were largely kept in check. Waterford's misery was compounded when Gary Hurney saw a straight red for an off the ball incident with Tom Lee, and from there on Limerick coasted to a 5 point victory and a place against Wexford in the next round.
The last game of the day saw Down significantly up their performance levels to blow Antrim away in Casement Park. A 12 point win flatters the Mourne Men somewhat, but they will be heartened to see their forward line start to click and move with menace. Benny Coulter's return to form is a big part of that improvement, and his lay off for Marty Clarke's goal was typical of the important role he plays in the attack. Conor Laverty rewarded James McCartan's decision to start him with the goal of the game, although Antrim fans will wonder just how he was allowed solo untouched through the centre of their defence.
Down still have issues, at centre field and in the back line specifically, but they are improving steadily and Cork will do well not to take anything for granted in Portlaoise next weeked. That's a game that would be worth seeing.
Hits
Cillian O'Connor. 20 years ago a young Roscommon forward called Derek Duggan broke Mayo hearts with a nerveless display of free taking. Last Sunday, in terrible conditions, a young Mayo forward returned the 'favour' to beat Roscommon and claim the title for the Green above the Red. Mayo had concerns and worries over freetaking inside 40 metres but O'Connor stepped up and took the responsibility. There had been half plaintive calls for Conor Mortimer to be togged out, despite just coming back from a bad injury. O'Connor put those thoughts firmly to bed.
Jimmy McGuinness. It's not pretty, it's not that entertaining and it's not a purist's cup of tea but Donegal and Jimmy McGuinness will not care one jot about that. Their style of play is based on being hard to break down, forcing turnovers and then using their good forwards to rack up enough scores. It worked a treat against Derry and, while it may not be good enough to win an All Ireland, it was certainly good enough to win a first Ulster Title since 1992 and we all know what happened after that.
Misses
The bloody weather. It ruined the Connacht final, and was influential in the Ulster decider. I'm not going to do a Rory McIlroy on it and say I'm not interested in events where the outcome is predicated by the weather but I do hope it improves before we hit the business end of the 'summer'.
Other sports
US Sports
The NFL is still locked out, but it does appear that all of the issues have been ironed out at this stage, or just on the verge of being ironed out. That being said, it's looking good for the training camps to open on schedule and the season to be unaffected. It's a 10 year deal on the table, so if it's signed we won't have to listen to this nonsense for another decade.
Hopefully more news on this next week.
On the diamond, the MLB All Star game was last Tuesday and resulted in a 5-1 victory for the National League. As mentioned on this blog previously, that now means that the NL champion will have home field advantage for the World Series in October. Whether or not that turns out to be critical remains to be seen, but this is the second year in a row that the NL has won the All Star game, the first time since 1995-96 that they have repeated.
The players were straight back into regular season mode on Thursday night, and with most teams having played 94 or 95 games out of 162 the standings are starting to take shape, albeit with a long way to go.
In the National League East the Philadelphia Phillies are 59-36, which is good enough for first place, and hold a 2.5 game lead over the Atlanta Braves. The rest of the division here are in real trouble as the Washington Nationals, New York Mets and Forida Marlins are all more than 11 games behind.
The NL Central is a tight race at the moment. The surprising Pittsburgh Pirates, at 50-44, hold a slender half game lead over two clubs, the Saint Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cincinatti Reds are a further 3.5 games out and while the Chicago Cubs (12.5 games) and Houston Astros (20 games) appear out of the running, this one could go to the wire.
The NL West also has a surprising team in contention. The San Francisco Giants are the World Series Champions, and hold a 3.5 game lead, but the Arizona Diamondbacks are well within striking distance and have a favourable run in. The other teams appear out of it as the Colorado Rockies (10.5) Los Angeles Dodgers (13.5) and San Diego Padres (14.5) are all a long way behind.
In the American League there are also some exciting races and, while it has settled down a bit since our last update, there will undoubtedly be close run things coming towards September. The Boston Red Sox have rebounded from a poor start to hold a 1.5 game lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East, while the Tampa Bay Rays (8.5) have fallen off the pace. The Toronto Blue Jays (12) and Baltimore Orioles (19.5) appear to be in the also ran category at this stage.
The AL Central is still tight, with 7 games separating 4 teams. The Cleveland Indians (of the movie Major League fame) are 1 game ahead of the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers are 3.5 games ahead of the Chicago White Sox, while the White Sox are 2.5 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins. The Kansas City Royals (13.5) bring up the rear.
Finally, the AL West is being led by World Series Runners Up, the Texas Rangers on a mark of 55-41. They are 4 games clear of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and 11.5 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners. The Oakland As are in last place, a full 13 games behind.
Golf
It wouldn't be right to sign off without mentioning the great win Darren Clarke enjoyed on Sunday. With his victory, added to the recent Majors of Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell, Irish and Northern Irish golf in particular is on a real high. Well done to the big man from Dungannon. With the terrible personal tragedy he had to endure he had more important things to do than worry about winning golf tournaments, but it's great to see him savouring that win and I hope there's more to come for him.
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