THE SUNDAY GAME was back on our screens and it was the first major Sunday of the 2015 GAA championship.
We were following all the action from Ballybofey, Carrick-on-Shannon and Drogheda.
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‘We’re back’ is the roar of The Sunday Game. It’s the first big Sunday of the 2015 GAA season and we’re following the action all the way.
Here’s what’s in store today:
- Connacht SFC quarter-final: Galway v Leitrim, Páirc Sean MacDiarmada, Carrick-on-Shannon, 3.30pm
- Leinster SFC first round: Louth v Westmeath, Gaelic Grounds, Drogheda, 3.30pm
- Ulster SFC preliminary round: Donegal v Tyrone, Ballybofey, 4pm
The lads are out in force on a wet and miserable day in Ballybofey. Everyone happy to see them back debating?
Here’s how they’ll line out in Carrick-on-Shannon.
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The Louth team that starts in Drogheda.
And here’s the Westmeath side they will face.
The first flicker of a row between Joe Brolly and Pat Spillane over last year’s All-Ireland final but it’s quickly quelled by Michael Lyster as he moves swiftly on.
You can take the boy out of Louth but not Louth out of the boy. Carlton’s Ciaran Byrne interested in seeing how his former teammates fare today.
Early season Connacht silverware for Mayo football. They’ve won the provincial junior final against Galway, the curtain-raiser today in Carrick-on-Shannon.
Result: Connacht JFC final – Mayo 1-12 Galway 0-13
Louth 0-2 Westmeath 0-1
Lively start in the scoring stakes. Derek Maguire and Colm Judge on target for Louth.
Leitrim 0-2 Galway 0-1
Sean McWeeney and Ronan Kennedy grab points for Leitrim after Paul Conroy had got Galway off the mark.
All over in the Ulster minor football championship opener with Donegal seeing off Tyrone by 1-11 to 0-8.
Couple of interesting late changes to the Tyrone team. Both Brennan and McShane are graduates from the recent triumphant U21 team.
Galway 0-3 Leitrim 0-2
Paul Conroy edges Galway in front.
Westmeath 0-5 Louth 0-3
Two point advantage for Tom Cribben’s side.
Westmeath 0-6 Louth 0-3
John Heslin wins a free, converts the free and Westmeath go three clear.
Interesting sign in Drogheda.
Donegal 0-1 Tyrone 0-0
Lightning start by Donegal as Frank McGlynn tears forward and pops over a neat point.
Donegal 0-2 Tyrone 0-0
Really good play from Donegal. Patient play around the middle before Michael Murphy’s delivery finds Patrick McBrearty. He skins his man and come in off the right flank to take his point.
Galway 0-6 Leitrim 0-3
Paul Conroy knocks over a free to stretch Galway’s lead to three.
Donegal 0-3 Tyrone 0-0
Tyrone are getting unlocked here at the back. Odhran MacNiallais does great approach work, plays it across to Neil Gallagher who finds Christy Toye in plenty space and he picks off his point.
Galway 1-7 Leitrim 0-4
Damien Comer was the start of Galway’s win over New York and he’s making a big impact again today as he fires in a the game’s opening goal.
Donegal 0-4 Tyrone 0-0
Martin McElhinney with another point, Donegal are absolutely flying.
Donegal 0-4 Tyrone 1-0
Where did that come from?! Tyrone have looked very tentative early on with Donegal dictating the terms but Mickey Harte’s have just rattled the back of the net. It’s a cracking finish by Darren McCurry but Donegal’s defence was surprisingly prised apart with Peter Harte finding McCurry in aces of room.
Half-Time: Westmeath 0-7 Louth 0-6
Delicately balanced in Drogheda.
Half-Time: Galway 1-7 Leitrim 0-6
Four point advantage for the Tribesmen.
Donegal 0-5 Tyrone 1-0
Colm McFadden settles Donegal after the concession of that goal as he hooks over a point off his right.
Donegal 0-6 Tyrone 1-1
Justin McMahon hits a point but Tyrone could have got a greater reward with the score coming from a rebound after Peter Harte came closing to hitting the net only for Paul Durcan to block his shot.
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Two scoring chances for Tyrone from frees but Darren McCurry off target with both. Those could be costly.
Donegal 0-6 Tyrone 1-2
Tyrone hanging in there as Sean Cavanagh knocks over a close-range free.
Goal for Westmeath’s Callum McCormack!
Donegal 0-7 Tyrone 1-2
Christy Toye relieves the pressure on Donegal with a point.
Donegal 0-7 Tyrone 1-3
Sean Cavanagh points a free for Tyrone after Peter Harte is fouled by Neil Gallagher. Tyrone have to be happy with this state of affairs given Donegal’s powerful start to the game.
Donegal 0-7 Tyrone 1-4
Great individual score by Matthew Donnelly, he shrugs off the challenge of Ryan McHugh and clips over a foot off his left.
Goal for Westmeath from Shane Dempsey.
Tyrone 1-5 Donegal 0-7
And now Tyrone go in front! Fine point from Sean Cavanagh after a mistake from Karl Lacey.
Tyrone 1-6 Donegal 0-7
Tyrone playing really good stuff now. Ronan McNamee adds a point to stretch their lead. Cavanagh, Harte and Donnelly really driving them on.
Goal for Donegal by Martin McElhinney!
Donegal 1-8 Tyrone 1-6
MacNiallais with the initial chance for Donegal but Michael O’Neill produces a brilliant block to deny him. The rebound falls to McElhinney and he strikes first time superbly to the net. McFadden has just knocked over a fine point to put Donegal two ahead.
Half-Time: Donegal 1-8 Tyrone 1-6
Some shenanigans at half-time as both sides come off the pitch in Ballybofey. A schemozzle being the correct term.
A third goal for Westmeath from Ray Connellan.
Westmeath 3-11 Louth 0-14
Thirteen minutes left and the advantage is with Westemath.
Can’t argue with this.
Galway 1-10 Leitrim 0-6
Kevin Walsh’s side are seven points clear with ten minutes left in Carrick-on-Shannon.
Schemozzle alert.
Galway 1-12 Leitrim 0-8
Time running out and Galway in control at Carrick-on-Shannon.
Donegal 1-8 Tyrone 1-7
Sean Cavanagh knocks over a free after his brother Colm is fouled.
Full-Time: Westmeath 3-14 Louth 0-16
Donegal 1-8 Tyrone 1-8
Now we’re all square thanks to a lovely point by Conor McAliskey.
Full-Time: Galway 1-13 Leitrim 0-8
Donegal 1-10 Tyrone 1-8
Karl Lacey stretches Donegal’s lead further with a neat score.
Donegal 1-10 Tyrone 1-9
Couple of good bits of news for Tyrone. Conor McAliskey points at one end and then at the other, Michael O’Neill produces a fabulous save to deny Patrick McBrearty.
Tyrone 1-11 Donegal 1-10
Good kick by Michael Murphy from a free and that puts Donegal back in front.
Another top-drawer save by Michael O’Neill in the Tyrone goal to deny Colm McFadden this time.
Donegal 1-12 Tyrone 1-10
But Michael Murphy taps over a free as McFadden had been fouled moments before.
Yellow card for Tyrone’s Justin McMahon. Donegal fans very happy to hear that.
Sub: Mark Bradley, another U21 graduate in for Tyrone, for McCurry.
Red card for Donegal’s Neil Gallagher.
Second yellow for Gallagher and that’s 14 men Donegal have to play with for the closing stages.
Sean Cavanagh is sent-off!
High challenge from Cavanagh and he receives a black card, which is followed by a red as he was already on yellow.
We should mention that Paul Durcan produced a brilliant late save to deny Peter Harte a few moments ago, clawing the ball away as Tyrone nearly grabbed a second goal.
Donegal 1-13 Tyrone 1-10
Is that the insurance score? Michael Murphy brilliantly strikes over a ’45.
Colm Cavanagh nearly rescues Tyrone with a goal but he palms the ball against the crossbar.
And Tyrone nearly hit the net again! Mattie Donnelly fires in a rocket of a shot but the balls flies wide.
Full-Time: Donegal 1-13 Tyrone 1-10
Three-point win for Donegal, they macrh on in the Ulster championship to face Armagh in the quarter-final. The qualifiers beckons for Tyrone but they gave it everything today and really pushed Donegal hard. Really interesting, good game to kickstart the 2015 football championship.
“My only concern would be from a health and safety point of view that if he meets it from the 14, I don’t what’s going to happen him if it hits him in the neck.”…That could be said about any shot ever taken for a goal in hurling, in that the goalie might be hit, its one of the risks of goalkeeping. As for the lifting alright the distance Nash gets is a bit much, but Davy himself used to do it, not to the extent but he did lift it beyond the place of the free, and I never heard him complain about Joe Canning doing it for LIT when he coached them
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No Brian, this is bigger than Davy. He may be playing mind games , prior to the replay , but he had hit on an issue the GAA must address . In the modern game, with the new ball and the physique and technique of the penalty takers, the ball flies at a savage speed, and someone will get badly hurt , maybe loose Abe eye or worse. I don’t know how they will solve it but here’s my ten cents worth . How about a football type penalty, a free taken from a penalty spot, say 30m out, just one man in goal, and the penalty taker, it would be safer, and I think , just as exciting for the crowd . Shur weren’t we always at it as kids, and believe me they won’t always be scored.
It’s only become bigger than Davy (which wouldn’t be hard) since he made a big deal of it! He’s dragged down an unbelievably talented bunch of Clare hurlers into the bitter doldrums than exuding their uninhibited hurling talents!
While Davy is right on this issue insofar as saying that striking the ball from the 14 yard line isn’t really right (disregard the safety argument) he is now, ultimately, the boy who cried Wolf. He has huffed and puffed so much and alienated everyone to such an extent that he is not seen as a reliable critic. Even when he’s raising an point that has validity no one will give him much heed. Personally I feel that a 21 should be hit from that area but Nash like other great players has made the best of a grey area. However I feel that if Nash goes down that road carrying the ball that far then the goalie should be allowed to do something equal. The rule now unfairly favours the striker. Just my two cents.
Methinks ole Davy should be more worried about his pool of “little fish” as he calls them himself.Poor Davy the whole worlds against him
I knew when I read the comments there would be the usual anti Davy comments. He was asked questions about issues and answered you lot are obsessed with him, sad enough really
Same stupid old comments. Its a genuine issue regardless of fish.
Ya like Alex Ferguson last year with the whole van Persie ‘He could have been killed’ theory???!!!
I bet the fact that cork are even allowed to score goals is a problem for him. Cork being allowed have 15 players? another issue thats wrong with the game…if you ask davy cork shouldnt be allowed play with hurleys…
Listening to Davy is a health and safety concern too!!!
New Amendment by Central Council/Annual Congress, Section 4 Sub Section 6 No Lashies in front of Goal.
Methinks Davy should be more concentrated on his pool of “little fish” as he calls them.Poor ole Davy, the whole worlds against him
no fear of hitting the clare goalie in neck shur he will be out on the 20 himself
But he’s right, it does need to be addressed. Everybody was complaining about the sideline ball a few years ago, in football & hurling, when it was been taken from 3 yards on the pitch and not on the line. Even the goalies were being pulled up on for leaving the small square when taking a puck out. And everybody was happy when the rules were enforced. By the time the ball is struck in a free/pen/45/65, the players have gone 3-4 foot ahead of where they picked it up. Why is the placing of the ball on the ground more important of a sideline cut than a penalty ?
Ya right you have the cork goalie running the full length of the pitch nearly and Clare players can’t touch him come of it of course he is going to get tackled what are they moaning about cork saying it was dangerous play on Nash lets change the rules for cork and let Nash have the freedom of the pitch and no player can touch him LOL!
Eh? This is him being jostled on the way to take the free. The ball is dead. What business do the Clare players have to hit him when the ball is dead and not in play? It is the bane of the GAA. It’s not intimidatory. Pathetic.
I’ll tell you what’s pathetic, pathetic is a player striking another player in the head with his hurley. Ye Cork fans make me laugh. Ye are all so disgusted & appalled that some of the Clare players tried to shoulder Nash but conveniently forget to mention Shane O’Neill assaulting Darach Honan.
There has been 3 articles this week about the Clare players trying to shoulder Nash along with Ger Cunningham’s concern for Kelly coming out to face Nash’s frees.
The Cork management team are obviously worried & are putting all this crap out there in the media in the hope that the match officials give them some favours in the replay.
Pa Horgan made a good point the other team is being penalised this rule would hand the advantage to the fouling team. There a simple enough solution to this if you dont want the ball coming at you that fast than dont be dragging fellas down!