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.
This is becoming more and more common and I’m delighted that these young lads are seeing theres life outside the GAA and aren’t giving up their youth for the benefit of the organisation. I wonder how many regret not doing the same when they’re in their 30s and don’t have the choice to travel
@Jamie Smith: iv yet to hear of any player say they regret playing with their county, as much as you’d love for them to say othetwise
@Stíofán Mac Piarais: well why are more and more opting out? it’s not necessarily county players but how many club players put off going abroad for the summer for the sake of their club
@Jamie Smith: because its their own choice, just like they choose to play. You seem to think they’re being forsed to play.
@Stíofán Mac Piarais: v true. But the reality is there are lots of v good committed gaa players unable to play our amateur sport because of not being able to give the crazy levels of commitment now needed to play at county level. Most panels now comprise of students, and a handful of other professions which allow them to give the massive hours involved. We ve seen lately how some are choosing/changing careers to suit their playing career – which in these times is not more than 7/8 years if even. Madness but their own choice i suppose. I just dont like where we are heading and playing numbers in a lot of counties are falling. Our sport is in crisis i feel but who cares about the little guy!
@Stíofán Mac Piarais: you often hear of coaches calling to lads houses who have given up the game for exams don’t you ? Anyway county football is at a tipping point and the smart ones realise that it’s not worth sacrificing your youth to essentially enjoy a professional sportsman without the PAY!!!
@joe: 100% agree with you imagine someone choosing a career that you’re going to be doing for at least 40 years ( teaching which is what most GAA players s doing lately )just so it allows you the benefit of playing a game for 8/10 years max ? That to me is a waste of a life I’m not taking away from teaching in any way shape or form but you’d wonder what the guys think of it after they’re retired from the GAA living with the aches and pains and think of the careers they could had
@Jamie Smith: “that to me is a waste of a life”, exactly, to YOU. That’s why you don’t play the game and these lads do. It takes considerable dedications and work rate but anything worth doing in life does. You’re sounding like a dodgy guidance counsellor the way your going on, stick to your life and let these lads do what they enjoy. And referring to the ones that are in agreement with you as ‘wise’ is completely inaccurate, inter county players didn’t fall in the last shower and they’re far from stupid.
@Daniel O’Donnell: more and more are opting out of it and it’s only going to rise
@Daniel O’Donnell: i ve no problem with lads choosing to play it. I ve a bigger problem that the intercounty game is nearly now elitest to certain types of professions/life styles in what is still an amateur game.
@joe: 100% agree but the GAA need people like him
@joe: I understand the game has gone to an extreme level and it won’t be professional any time soon anyway. But the reason it’s gotten to this level is because there is such desire to succeed and for the few counties, to win Sam. There wouldn’t be that desire if the players didn’t enjoy it or find it worthwhile so Jamie is talking complete nonsense.
@Daniel O’Donnell: theres desire in all counties.. Just that theres realistic chance in some and more money in others!!
@Daniel O’Donnell: bang on Daniel, fair play! Jamie just cannot get his head around how lads play a game they love without the desire to be paid!! Stick to the soccer Jamie….you must love that game where lads are being paid obscene amounts of money to play it, and have no loyalty generally to any club they’re with!! Haha….
@Jamie Smith – for every 1 player that opts out and goes travelling/takes a year or two off for career reasons, there’s dozens who put their heart and soul into playing for their County. It’s gone to the stage where lads are taking years off college or after college or even taking time out of their jobs to focus on their hurling or football. But continue away with your poxy agenda against the GAA.
Niall Mcinerney also pulls out of panel for the league to concentrate on his medical exams .makes sense of course as this is his future career . A big loss also for the Rossies.
The meath keeper opted out last week said he has his life back playing with his club and having a laugh with players