All over in Navan. Louth and Sligo are the giant killers after an entertaining day of football.
Johnny Doyle kicks his ninth and probably the final point of the game.
Andy McDonnell hits his third point of the day. Well done Louth. They’ve been stunning today.
Into added time. Three minutes. Big yawn.
Huge huge penalty shout for Kildare. “Had to be” says McStay. I agree. Alan Smith was definitely taken down in the area.
Yellow cards are being dished out all over the plave by Mr Duffy. Game has slowed way down and there will be a second surprise result in about five minutes time.
Dermot Earley makes a swing for Ray Finnegan, open-handed but we wait for a decision for the referee who consults his umpires. Doyle and Fanning booked for a different incident off the ball. Earley isn’t disciplined.
The steam has finally started to run out of both of these sides. Seven minutes left and Louth look odds on to hold out.
Andy McDonnell fires over a point. Kildare don’t mark at all. Ridiculous. Eamon Callaghan is back on again for Kildare.
Savage free from Judge.
And Shane Lennon hits Louth’s 19th point of the match. There’s a stat you could not have predicted.
Adrian Reid replies for Louth. So many scores, it’s frazzling stuff. I think I’m almost blind!
James Kavanagh kicks a superb point. Two-point game with 16 minutes remaining. Hold on tight.
Goalmouth scramble and Johnny Doyle gets to kick another free over. The referee is coming up with some strange decisions today. The handpass rule is causing major problems. Doyle hits another from play. He’s Kildare’s main man.
Brian White hits his sixth point of the match from a free.
Doyle hits three on the trot. This one from play. Only four points the margin now.
Another Doyle free but Kildare need a goal soon to rattle Louth spirits.
A Johnny Doyle free. Damien Hendy has been brought into a calamitous Kildare defence.
I have never seen such comical defending from Gary White. Mark Brennan picked his pocket and the referee should have let play go. White is on a yellow and he could have walked there. Judge kicks the free.
“Horrible defending (from Kildare)” says Kevin McStay. He’s spot on there. Brian White knocks over a free and Louth are six points ahead now.
GOAL FOR LOUTH!
A cracker from half-back Ray Finnegan, of all people.
James Kavanagh gets the Lily White fans buoyed up. A new Kildare have come out in this half. McGeeney must have given them the hairdryer treatment.
Daryl Flynn gets Kildare into the groove with a point. They need a complete upheaval. David White adds another and we have a three point game.
We’re back on in Navan… McGeeney has shaken it up. Tomas O’Connor is on for Eamon Callaghan.
Shane Lennon could be mistaken for Steven McDonnell today. Same style, same kind of returns. His point leaves Louth five points ahead at the break.
Johnny Doyle lands another free. Kildare are so boring. I’m rooting for the underdogs here.
RTE analyst Kevin McStay is on about adding, dividing and multiplying. Not making any sense. Alan Smith pops a point for Kildare. Five down with two minutes left in the half.
Johnny Doyle hits a free. Louth don’t realise how well they’re playing. JP Rooney knocks over his third point of the game.
Andy McDonnell is the fifth Louth forward to get on the scoresheet. Dermot Earley is on, sooner than we thought he’d be needed.
Louth for the Leinster title? Colm Judge pops over a free. McGeeney must let his players foul each other constantly in training.
Mark Brennan puts Louth four points ahead. Kildare are chasing shadows. Bring Dermot in.
Shane Lennon with a serious point. Kildare are knocked on their asses at the minute. Only for the goal it would be embarrassing by now.
Brian White can’t put a foot wrong. His fourth point of the game puts Louth two clear. 20 minutes gone.
Emmet Bolton was booked and then taken off by McGeeney. Andy McLoughlin is in. Bolton is not a happy camper.
Colm Judge levels with a free. A better match than what we saw in Sligo. Brian White puts Louth in front with a free.
Ronan Sweeney sends Kildare in front after 14 minutes. Goal was on.
GOAL FOR KILDARE!
Padraig O’Neill left in acres of space to slot home easily.
Wow. JP Rooney’s point drives Louth four points clear. Silence has come over the ground. Padraig O’Neill pulls one back for the Lily Whites. Back to three.
Brian White kicks a free after Emmet Bolton makes a hash of getting rid of the ball and commits a third man foul. Where did they get this fella from at all?
Brian White lamps one over from play. Louth look exciting. Unexpected.
Johnny Doyle drives his first free over. No problem.
Two minutes. Two Louth attacks. Two points. JP Rooney scores. Bolton is not in the running for an All Star.
Shane Lennon gets Louth off the blocks. Emmet Bolton was at sixes and sevens.
We’re underway in Navan… Warm and dry are the conditions. Sit back and enjoy.
Dermot Earley is on the bench for Kildare. Will he be needed? I don’t think so. A second upset is not on the cards here surely.
Christy Ring Cup semi-final results:
Kildare 0-18 : 3-19 Westmeath
Kerry 2-17 : 2-14 Wicklow
Nicky Rackard Cup Round 1 results:
Armagh 3-15 : 1-12 Fingal
Louth 3-17 : 1-07 Tyrone
Roscommon 4-16 : 0-18 Monaghan
Teams:
Kildare: S McCormack; H McGrillen, G White, E Bolton; M O’Flaherty, B Flanagan, K Cribbin; D Flynn, D White; J Kavanagh, J Doyle, R Sweeney; A Smith, P O’Neill, E Callaghan.
Louth: N Gallagher; E McAuley, D Finnegan, R Greene; R Finnegan, M Fanning, J O’Brien; P Keenan, B White; A McDonnell, M Brennan, A Reid; C Judge, S Lennon, JP Rooney.
David Kelly was named as Man-of-theMatch in Markievicz Park by the way.
Next up: Louth v Kildare. Let me go put the kettle on and I’ll be back with team news shortly.
Well that’s a shock but there’s no doubt that Sligo were the better team. Mayo are going to get slaughtered in the media. Terrible performance.
Sligo have knocked Mayo out of the Connacht championship. Deservedly so.
Three minutes of additional time to be played. Mayo could be here until September and they wouldn’t win it.
David Kelly kicks the insurance point. Our first shock of the weekend is almost here. Sligo four to the good.
Shocking stuff from Conor Mortimer. Balloons an easy chance wide. He’s in for some stick after this. Stephen Coen on for Colm McGee.
Kieren Conroy on for Ronan McGarrity. Bad sign that O’Mahony had to pull both his midfielders. Freeman knocks over a free. Three minutes of normal time left.
David Kelly restores the three point advantage. And Alan Costelloe hits a screamer seconds after. No stopping Sligo now.
Andy Moran fires over to bring it back to two points with seven minutes left. Barry Moran on for the invisible Tome Parsons.
Trevor Mortimer is off for Mark Ronaldson. The Mayo captain is in a daze after that clash with Harrison. There’s so many off-the-ball incidents going on now you’d want eyes in the back of your head.
Is that the turning point? Mayo native Alan Costelloe spins one over off the outside of his boot. Not good enough for Mayo they said.
Car crash. Trevor Mortimer and Charlie Harrison. Two hard men. Ouch. Mortimer booked.
I think Tom Parsons got his first touch just now. Didn’t realise he was even out there. Sligo can pull away if they have the bottle. Stephen Gilmartin has anyway. Huge point.
Alan Freeman, the only Mayo player worth talking about, kicks a good point to bring it back to the minimum. Aidan O’Shea is finally on for Enda Varley. Why so long Johno?
Vaughan (Mayo) and Davey (Sligo) both were booked in separate incidents earlier by the way. A sending-off wouldn’t go astray in this scrappy affair.
Colm McGee swings over a massive free. Only one team in it at the moment.
Tony Taylor kicks Sligo in front. 17 minutes left in the quarter-final.
O’Mahony opts for Willie’s son Billy Joe instead. He’s on for O’Shea. David Kelly kicks Sligo level again. Great point off balance.
Alan Freeman brings his tally to 1-02 for the day with a free. Tony Davis tells us that Willie Joe Padden is warming up for Mayo!
Tony Davis: “Well done Quiche Higgins…” Commenting on the Mayo corner-back’s tidying up.
And McGee levels with a free. Mayo’s handpassing is not up to rule book standards.
Mark Breheny points a free.
The biggest roar from Sligo supporters this afternoon. Conor Mortimer shanks a free.
Enda Varley denied a goal by Charlie Harrison. A great block down. He’s kept tabs on the diminutive forward all day.
We’re back on in Markievicz Park…
RTE pundit Tommy Lyons has a made a big deal out of McGarrity’s brush with Costelloe. We’ll be good to go very soon.
Conor Mortimer slots over a free to put two points between the sides on the half-time whistle.
Two minutes of additional time to be played. A few schkelps could be thrown before the last whistle of the half. Breheny points a free.
Now they’re revved up in the stands. Replays show Alan Costelloe doing a good Didier Drogba impression. The converted Sligo man tries to make McGarrity the culprit.
Trademark point from Conor Mortimer. He’s always good for one from the sideline. Four minutes to the break.
Mayo’s Seamus O’Shea betters O’Hara’s first attempt. 74 yards wide and 108 feet high I make that effort.
Score of the match to date from Johnny Davey. We needed something. What a point from way out.
David Kelly is down for Sligo and it doesn’t look good. 99-MO-77844 01-MO-9668….about eight of them called out by the PA. Oh the Mayo boys just park it up anywhere!
Enda Varley and Charlie Harrison have a grapple. Varley booked. He’ll be hauled off soon I think. Not at the races.
Ronan McGarrity is all over the shop today with his passing. Hang on, has he ever been any other way? Overall it’s substandard stuff so far. Mark Breheny cuts over a free.
Enda Varley’s shot for a point from 21 yards out needs to be saved for a bloopers DVD. O’Hara points for Sligo.
Conor Mortimer salutes the crowd with his fist after kicking an unmissable point. Idiot. Freeman had a big claim for a second penalty prior to that score.
I’ve seen the Sligo ladies pass it better than these lads in black. Colm McGee strokes over a free to get their first score after 10 minutes.
Kevin Walsh and his management team are already having summit meetings on the sideline. The lanky Freeman is causing consternation at full-forward.
GOAL MAYO!
Freeman dusts himself down and dispatches the peanlty to the net. He’s got class this new lad.
PENALTY FOR MAYO!
Noel McGuire dragged Freeman to the ground.
Eamonn O’Hara kicks Sligo’s first attempt at the sticks about 73 yards wide.
Alan Freeman kicks a fantastic point with his first touch in championbship football. What a start!
Game on… Mayo playing with the breeze in the first half.
This one should be a good old battle. Sligo have been in super form of late. The Division 3 NFL champions against the Division 1 runners-up. Throw-in will go ahead at 5.00pm as scheduled.
Rumours flying around Markievicz Park that the game will be delayed to allow supporters to get into the ground.
Mayo team:
David Clarke; Peader Gardiner, Ger Cafferkey, Keith Higgins; Donal Vaughan, Tom Cunniffe, Kevin McLoughlin; Tom Parsons, Ronan McGarrity; Andy Moran, Seamus O’Shea, Trevor Mortimer; Conor Mortimer, Alan Freeman, Enda Varley.
Sligo team:
Phillip Greene; Charles Harrison, Noel McGuire, Ross Donovan, Keelan Cawley, Brendan Phillips, Jonathan Davey, Tony Taylor, Stephen Gilmartin, Mark Breheny, Alan Costelloe, Eamonn O’Hara, Colm McGee, Kenneth Sweeney, David Kelly.
You’re welcome to a blockbuster evening of GAA action.
Team news (Mayo):
Peader Gardiner replaces Chris Barrett at corner-back in the starting team. Barrett is sick, the poor lad.
