Results:
Munster hurling championship
Cork 3-15 – 0-14 Tipperary
Leinster hurling championship
Antrim 3-16 – 2-26 Offaly (after extra time)
Connacht football championship
London 0-6 – 0-14 Roscommon
Ulster football championship
Donegal 2-10 – 1-15 Down (after extra time)
That’s all from me folks, an exciting day all round. Cork upset the odds in Munster, Down get the better of Donegal after extra time, Offaly survive against Antrim in Leinster and Roscommon overcome London with little difficulty. Enjoy the rest of the evening and tune in next weekend where we’ll be keeping track of all the sporting action. Bye for now.
After an almighty fright in normal time, Offaly emerged seven point winners after extra time on a scoreline of 2-26 – 3-16.
Absolutely massive win for Cork. The rebels were underdogs in everyone’s books (except the knowledgable folk at JOE of course) but they really delivered today. They were sharp, hungry and wanted it more than Tipp. Aisake was a real threat at full forward, Cathal Naughton was super at midfield and the fabled half back line were back to their best. Tipp weren’t at the races I’m afraid. Liam Sheedy has a lot of work to do to get them back to last year’s level. All over in Cork. The home side ten point winners in the end.
Cathal Naughton with probably the last score of the game. The big midfielder was galloping down the wing as if it was the opening couple of minutes. Paudie O’Sullivan adds another one. Ten points in it now, this will be a massive win for Cork.
Cadogan makes another superb fetch from a high ball. The dual star has been brilliant today.
After a bit of deliberation between the umpires, Timmy Hammersley’s effort is given as a point. Scant consolation for Tipp.
The Tipp defence have been having trouble with Aisake all day and now the dwarf like Michael Cussen comes on to replace Niall McCarthy.
At the other end, Donal Óg makes an outstanding save from Eoin Kelly, getting down low to divert the ball away from danger. Kelly knocks over the 65 and you could hear a pin drop amongst the Tipp faithful. Seems as if they’ve given up the ghost.
Finally Aisake gets the goal his performance deserved. Jerry O’Connor fists it to the full forward in acres of space and after taking an age to get round Brendan Cummins, he strikes it to the net. That could be game over.
Pat Horgan makes it 2-2 for the day with another quality score. Cork cruising at Páirc Uà Chaoimh.
Aisake with a glorious chance for goal after winning yet another high delivery, he strikes it on the ground but it drifts wide of Brendan Cummins’ right hand post.
Pat Horgan capitalises on another knockdown from Aisake to knock over a point. There was a goal on offer but Horgan took the sensible option and puts Cork six in front.
Super fetch from Eoin Cadogan above Eoin Kelly and the full back raises his fists in front of his man after Kelly fouls him. Tipp haven’t shown up in the second half.
Ben O’Connor responds with a free of his own, his fifth point of the day, three from frees.
Eoin Kelly with a sixth pointed free for Tipp who are back to within four.
Not sure about Eoin Cadogan’s choice of underwear here lads!
Eoin Kelly puts over a much needed point for Tipp from a free. The Mullinahone man is yet to score from play.
Ben O’Connor kepps Cork’s momentum going with another point. The home crowd are responding to their side’s purple patch.
Naughton could have put serious daylight between the sides there but his goal effort was well saved by Cummins. Very narrow angle for Naughton. John Gardiner pops over the 65 and Cork go in front by five.
Another one for Niall McCarthy after some great work by Seán Óg. Cork on fire at the moment.
1717:
Aisake with his first score of the game after taking what seemed to be about twenty steps. Ref let him away with it though, Cork in front by 2 until Niall McCarthy follows it up immediately with his first point. Cork lead by 3
Shane O’Neill hit high by Brian O’Meara who protests his innocence. O’Neill was on his way down when he was hit and gets up after a few minutes seeing stars on the deck. O’Meara gets a yellow for his troubles.
Eoin Kelly with the opening score of the half after only thirty seconds. A point in it now.
We’re underway again in Cork.
Offaly with a last minute score in Parnell Park to send their encounter with Antrim into extra-time.
Result in Ruislip. Roscommon the winners by eight points, 0-14 – 0-8. So much for an upset there then.
Excellent first half in Cork. The hosts were probably the better side in the opening half and their tactic of long balls into Aisake Ó hAilpÃn working a treat, resulting in two goals for Pat Horgan and numerous frees for Ben O’Connor to tap over. Tipp have responded well though and it’s still all to play for in the second half.
Quick cut from Ben O’Connor to Cathal Naughton for the midfielder’s first point of the game. Instant response from Brendan Maher on the stroke of half time. First half over at Páirc Uà Chaoimh. Cork lead by two.
John O’Brien, in acres of space, turns and fires over his second point of the game. Tipp have narrowed the gap back to 2.
Eoin Cadogan is very agitated about something that has happened in the Cork penalty area. Eoin Kelly flciked the full back on the head with the hurley on the way out but escapes with a yellow card.
Eoin Kelly taps over his third free. We’ve hardly seen him in open play however.
Aisake wins another high ball and is immediately set upon like vultures by about five Tipp defenders. Somehow he doesn’t get a free out of it.
John Gardiner has been sending quality ball on top of Aisake all day and now he gets a score of his own from a free. Instantly John O’Brien replies down the other end for Tipp.
Again a high ball into Aisake causes damage. Te nig man catches it and tries to win a penalty with a dive that would make Ronaldo blush. Pat Horgan picks up the loose ball and fires an absolute cracker into the top corner.
GOAL Cork!!! (Pat Horgan)
Eoin Kelly with another free for Tipp and the gap is now the minimum.
Lar Corbett has been Tipp’s liveliest forward so far and he fires over his second of the game to bring Tipp to within two.
Padraig Maher with another foul on Aisake and Ben O’Connor taps over the free. Three between the teams.
No mystery behind Cork’s tactics, high balls into Aisake are already causing problems.
Pat Horgan missed one in the league final but makes no mistake with this one. The three lads on the line had no chance.
GOAL Cork!! (Pat Horgan)
Penalty Cork. Another high ball on Aisake and Padraig Maher fouls the big full forward. The ref blows the whistle even though Ó hAilpÃn had put it in the net.
Tom Kenny already receiving treatment for the hamstring injury that threatened to rule him out. Ben O’Connor taps over a free in the meantime. 0-3 – 0-2 for Tipp.
Aisake with a goal chance for Cork from Pat Horgan’s delivery. Padraig Maher and Brendan Cummins combine to push it away from danger.
Seamus Callinan fetches brilliantly from Maher’s sideline cut and points over his shoulder. Good start for Tipp.
Ben O’Connor makes sure this time with a point for Cork. Not even a giraffe could have caught that one over the bar.
Eoin Kelly taps over the resultant 65′ to put Tipp two in front.
Down the other end, Donal Óg shows his worth, sticking a leg out to prevent a goal from Lar Corbett.
Brendan Cummins prevents Ben O’Connor form landing Cork’s opening score, catching the ball a good six inches over the crossbar. Great fetch.
Lar Corbett with the opening score of the game for Tipp, caught the ball three times on his way to goal, but got away with it.
Few belts thrown in Cork before the sliotar has even been thrown in. That’s championship for you.
A reminder of the the Cork and Tipp teams:
Cork: D Og Cusack; S O’Neill, E Cadogan, B Murphy; J Gardiner, R Curran, S Og O hAilpin; T Kenny, C Naughton; B O’Connor, J O’Connor, N McCarthy; K Murphy, A O hAilpin, P Horgan.
Tipperary: B Cummins; P Stapleton, P Maher, P Curran; D Fanning, C O’Mahony, M Cahill; B Maher, S McGrath; N McGrath, S Callanan, J O’Brien; E Kelly (Captain), B O’Meara, L Corbett.
The rumours were unfounded it seems. Ben O’Connor and Tom Kenny both fit to start for Cork.
All over in Ballybofey. Down the deserving winners by two points after extra time. Benny Coulter was absolutely outstanding for the winners. Not too much time to reflect, it’s straight to Páirc Uà Chaoimh for the clash between Cork and Tipp, who are all set to go.
Donegal need a goal, time is nearly up in Ballybofey and Benny Coulter is in the middle of the field winning kickouts. He’s been everywhere today.
Eoin Wade responds instantly for Donegal. Not quite over yet.
That should seal it and it’s fitting that it’s Benny Coulter that does the damage. Marty Clarke puts the livewire attacker in on goal, Benny rounds Paul Durcan and taps it home. Brilliant stuff.
GOAL DOWN!!! (Benny Coulter)
David Walsh blazes high and wide in front of the posts after two lovely dummies gave him a great chance. He collapses with cramp as soon as he sees it go wide. You wonder would he be down if he had put it over.
John Joe Doherty must have had some strong words, because Donegal have been a different team in the last few minutes. Colm McFadden levels the scores with a free from thirty yards.
Donegal don’t take long to reduce the deficit. Substitute Mark McHugh, son of the great Martin, with a point on his championship debut.
Second half of extra time is underway.
Half time in extra time in Ballybofey. Down look stronger, fitter and look like they want this one more.
Roscommon running away with it in Ruislip. Six points the gap between the sides, the exact number that Donie Shine has scored for Fergal O’Donnell’s men.
Down definitely seem to have more in the tank than Donegal at this stage. The ground is apparently rock hard so it will be taking a serious toll on the legs out there.
Danny Hughes with another effort for Down on his left this time, his fourth of the day from play. Down two points to the good.
Barry Dunnion with a goal chance for Donegal that deflects off a defender and hits the post. It was a difficult opportunity, he was stretching when he hit it.
Adrian Hanlon follows it up with another wide, he’s been very busy since he came on but has had a few poor efforts on goal.
Colm McFadden’s first effort from a free falls to the right and wide. poor effort from a normally accomplished kicker.
Who else but Benny Coulter with the first score of extra time. Took on and beat two defender and fired over from close range.
Back underway in Ballybofey
Great score by Kavanagh to level it, but Down deserve to be meeting Tyrone in the Ulster semi-final. They’ve been far more enterprising and ambitious and had the game’s stand out player in Benny Coulter. They could still do it yet, but Kavanagh’s score will surely have provided Donegal with a massive boost.
Joe Brolly says that watching Rory Kavanagh go on solo runs must be the one of the most depressing sights in Irish life. A tad over the top there Joe.
Rory Kavanagh drills over an equaliser in the dying seconds and the final whistle goes in Ballybofey. Sit tight folks, extra time awaits.
Adrian Hanlon with a chance to equalise immediately but the substitute blazes it wide. That could be their last chance.
Marty Clarke nails the 45′ to push Down in front with seventy minutes gone on the clock.
What a save from Paul Durcan. Dan Gordon flicks Marty Clarke’s line ball goalwards but the big man gets down well to push the ball round the post.
Benny Coulter with another fine score for Down to level it. He’s been superb all game.
Dermot Molloy withdrawn for Donegal and Colm McFadden will get three minutes or so to show what he can do. Not a bad replacement to have. Good day at the office for the debutant Molloy.
Benny Coulter gone out the field for Down, who are now bombing balls in on Dan Gordon at full forward.
Just five minutes left in Ballybofey. No surprises if it ends in a draw.
Roscommon two up against London. Both scores coming from Donie Shine.
David Walsh with a goal chance for Donegal, but with Brendan McVeigh bearing down on him, he opts to fist it over the bar. Badly needed score for Donegal, their first in a while.
Down building up momentum and their fans have upped the noise level as well. Two good pieces of goalkeeping from Paul Durcan prevent Down from adding to their lead.
Smashing score from Benny Coulter, really good stuff. Picked up the ball in the middle of the field, burst his gut to join the attack, played a one-two and cut in and popped it over the bar. Inspirational stuff from the captain. Down are level.
Peter Fitzpatrick on for Paul McComiskey for Down. Fitzpatrick goes to midfield with Dan Gordon moving into the full forward line.
Marty Clarke has been relatively quiet, but he lands a peach of a score from the left wing. The Down faithful beginning to find their voice. Only a point in it now.
No word of any score in the London Roscommon game in Ruislip so far.
Anthony Thompson replaces Barry Monaghan on the Donegal team.
Danny Hughes with his third point of the game for Down, all of them from play. Lovely score from a narrow angle.
Adrian Hanlon, who’s only just on for Donegal, pops over a confident score for the home side.
Conor Maginn comes in for John Clarke for Down.
Poland grabs Down’s first score of the second half from a free. Two points between them again.
Very quiet start to the second half. Only one score so far and the atmosphere has gone a bit dead. Donegal won’t mind too much if it stays like this though.
Michael Murphy with his first score of the game, a free from the hands from the 45 metre line. He really got a hold of that one, it would have gone over if he had taken it ten yards further back.
Beny Coulter picking up where he left off in the first half, already causing trouble for the Donegal defence. No score yet in the second half at Ballybofey.
Second half ready to go in Ballybofey.
No further news yet on whether Tom Kenny or Ben O’Connor will be fit to start for Cork. Hopefully we’ll be updated shortly.
Half time in Ballybofey. Mediocre enough game, Down have been far better in open play but conceded two soft goals, the second one especially so. Dermot Molloy has been excellent for Donegal, but their attack is far too predictable. Coulter, Poland and Hughes have been good for Down and with the breeze in the second half, they’re in with a good shout if they can keep the performance levels up. 2-3 – 0-7 to the hosts at the break.
Daniel Hughes with his second point of the game for Down on the stroke of half time. He’s been very busy today.
McLaren 1-2 in the Turkish GP. Lewis Hamilton the winner.
Dermot ‘the brick’ Molloy with another pointed free for Donegal. He has quite a barrel chest on him alright. His dad is called ‘the wall’ apparently.
Super score from Mark Poland on the left wing. Drew it in with the outside of his boot and it sailed between the sticks.
In that last attack, I counted 4 outfield players in the Donegal half of the field. Meaning there were 24 outfield players in the Down half. No wonder Donegal can’t find a way through.
Donegal’s only tactic seems to be high ball on Michael Murphy and it’s not working at the moment. It’s not helping that they seem to take an age before delivering it in the first place.
Dermot Molloy with a fine free for Donegal. Lovely strike with the left boot. 1-2 for him already today.
Coulter is giving Karl Lacey, a current All-Star, a bit of a roasting at the moment but has still only one score to his name.
Coulter with another great goal chance for Down. He tries to beat Durcan at his near post but the big keeper is equal to it and taps it onto the post and wide. Mark Poland was waiting in the middle with an open goal in front of him. Let off for Donegal.
Mark Poland the third Down player to receive a yellow card. They’ll need to be careful, there’s a long way to go yet.
Danny Hughes with a super score for Down from a tight angle. Two points between the teams.
Another instant response from Down. Marty Clarke with his first championship score for the Mourne men.
Way too easy for Donegal. Dermot Molloy involved again, his shot comes back off the post and Conal Dunne picks up the rebound and with no Down defender in sight , rounds Brendan McVeigh and slots it home.
GOAL DONEGAL!!! (Dunne 19 mins)
Coulter with a goal chance for Down but he drops it at the last minute. He’s causing the Donegal rearguard all sorts of problems.
Lacey fouls Benny Coulter and a bit of dissent from the Donegal corner back sees Joe McQuillan move the ball right in front of the posts. Easy for Mark Poland. 1-1 – 0-3 to Down.
John Clarke follows Coulter’s score instantly with a point of his own as Down begin the comeback.
Instant response from Down and it’s a familiar figure in Benny Coulter who gets his team on the board with a point.
Simple as you like. High ball in on Michael Murphy, who won it above Declan Rooney and laid it off to Dermot Molloy, who crashed it home with the left boot. Great start for the under 21 star on his championship debut.
GOAL DONEGAL!!! (Molloy 13 mins)
Joe McQuillan hasn’t blown for a single hand pass infringement yet which is a relief.
As expected, Marty Clarke is back around the middle, getting behind the ball with about 12 of his team mates. Both sides reluctant to give anything away easy.
There could be a red card here. Kevin McKernan fouled by Barry Dunnion and McKernan reacts stupidly by giving him a dig in the ribs. Seeing the replay it wasn’t that bad, McKernan escapes with a yellow, but a stupid one at that.
Molloy adds insult to injury by kncoking over Donegal’s first point, an assured finish from play on his left boot.
Damien Rafferty caught high with the elbow by Dermot Molloy but nothing done by the officials. Lucky to escape without censure there, Molloy.
Yellow card already for Down’s Kallum King and if Joe McQuillan is going to give yellows for that kind of foul all day, there definitely won’t be thirty men on the field at the end.
He’s ok to go on.
Kevin McKiernan down injured and in a lot of pain. He was tackled by Michael Murphy but there didn’t look to be a lot in it. He seemed to have fallen awkwardly on his wrist.
First chance for Michael Murphy from a difficult angle. The ball comes down with snow on it but drops wide.
Thankfully there’s another one, a young fella was on the way out thinking he had bagged himself a nice O’Neills but they managed to stop him before he got out the gate.
The ball is burst already, hopefully they’ve another one somewhere so the game can continue.
The whistle blows in Ballybofey. We’re underway. Donegal playing with the breeze and playing from right to left.
Mark Webber leading the Turkish GP with 33 laps gone. Very tight at the top though. Jenson Button is less than three seconds behind…and he’s in fourth.
Dermot Molloy starts for Donegal at corner forward, keeping Colm McFadden on the bench. Molloy was superb for the Donegal under 21’s this year and he must be doing something right if McFadden can’t get a look in.
Interesting news from Austria: England are 1-0 down to the might of Japan in Graz. Tulio Tanaka with the goal for the Japs.
A lot of Donegal’s hopes will rest on big Michael Murphy at full forward. A really super player and a nightmare to mark, but no doubt Down will double even treble team him to prevent the big man from making an impact.
Captain Ambrose Rogers missing for Down today, he thought he might figure despite the fact that he only had a cast removed from his foot last week. Dan Gordon comes in to replace him.
Interesting selection for Down who name the Clarke brothers, Marty and John in a potent looking full foward line alongside Benny Coulter. Can’t see Marty hanging round there for too long though, he’ll probably drop around the middle and try and ping some balls into the two boys inside.
I almost forgot about London v Roscommon which takes place in Ruislip at 3 o’clock today. Unforgiveable mistake I know. Seriously though, London might well cause an upset in that one, it would be their first Connacht Championship win since 1977.
Early rumours that Ben O’Connor and Tom Kenny may not be fit to start for the Cork hurlers later on. Michael Cussen in line to start. We’ll keep you updated with any further developments.
Teams for the clash in Ballybofey.
Donegal: P Durcan; F McGlynn, N McGee, K Lacey; M Maguire, K Cassidy, B Dunnion; B Monaghan, N Gallagher; R Kavanagh, C Toye, D Walsh; D Molloy, M Murphy, C Dunne
Down: B McVeigh; B McArdle, D Rooney, D Rafferty; K McKernan, J Colgan, C Garvey; D Gordon, K King; D Hughes, M Poland, P McComiskey; B Coulter, J Clarke, M Clarke.
Good afternoon folks and welcome to JOE’s live coverage of all of today’s GAA action. A couple of cracking games in both codes, Donegal host Down in football in Ulster and then the big one at 4, Cork take on Tipp in the Munster hurling championship. We won’t miss a beat and we’ll have updates of the Leinter hurling encounter between Offaly and Antrim aswell. Some team news from Donegal/Down to follow shortly.
