IT WAS ANOTHER epic weekend of GAA action up and down the country. Missed any of the drama? We’ve got you covered.
The home fans welcome Sky Sports to Wexford Park on Saturday evening. Cathal Noonan / INPHO
Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO
Rebels revel in Clare win
Cork gained some measure of revenge for their All-Ireland final defeat to Clare last September to set up consecutive Munster hurling finals with Limerick for the first time since 1979-80.
Patrick Horgan was the hero for the Rebels with two goals – one from a 20m free with the second a penalty – as he contributed 2-11 of their 2-23 to 2-18 winning margin.
Five Cork players who started Sunday – Damien Cahalane, Mark Ellis, Aidan Walsh, Bill Cooper and Alan Cadogan – were not involved in the squad for last year’s All-Ireland final replay. The quintet have certainly given Jimmy Barry-Murphy plenty of options.
Tyrone were very unhappy with referee Eddie Kinsella’s decision to add just two minutes of injury time at the end of their Ulster football quarter-final with Monaghan. The Red Hands lost by a point and assistant manager Tony Donnelly told BBC television: “We felt two minutes was a little bit on the stingy side. There was even a stoppage during the additional time and when we won possession and were just breaking forward the referee blows the whistle.”
Conor McManus started that game despite telling TheScore.ie earlier this week he was resigned to watching from the bench after damaging ankle ligaments in a club game with Clontibret last month. The 2013 All-Star converted six of six frees, the last of which ultimately gave Monaghan their first win over Tyrone in 26 years.
Meath made light work of Carlow in Dr. Cullen Park, finding the net no less than seven times as they warmed up for their Leinster football semi-final with Kildare in real style. Mickey Newman (3), Andrew Tormey, Bryan McMahon, Stephen Bray and Dalton McDonagh all raised the green flag.
In the Munster SFC, Clare made no mistake in their quarter-final replay against Waterford with an eight point win at Fraher Field on Saturday evening. Goals from Gary Brennan, Shane Brennan and Rory Donnelly secured a comfortable win in front of a crowd of just 1,357.
Lovely hurling
Christy Ring Cup winners Kildare were unable to match their previous week’s heroics as they fell to a nine point loss to Westmeath in the Liam MacCarthy playoff game on Saturday. Two early goals gave the Lilywhites hope but the men from the Lake County retained their All-Ireland status with relative ease in the end.
Armagh's Ciaran Clifford with Derry's Ruairi Convery battle for possession. Presseye / William Cherry/INPHO
Presseye / William Cherry/INPHO / William Cherry/INPHO
In the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship, there were comfortable wins for both Derry and Down as they set up a semi-final clash on June 29. Derry and Armagh shared seven goals as the Oak Leaf County advanced while Down had 24 points to spare over Donegal.
Your GAA championship weekend review
IT WAS ANOTHER epic weekend of GAA action up and down the country. Missed any of the drama? We’ve got you covered.
Rebels revel in Clare win
Cork gained some measure of revenge for their All-Ireland final defeat to Clare last September to set up consecutive Munster hurling finals with Limerick for the first time since 1979-80.
Patrick Horgan was the hero for the Rebels with two goals – one from a 20m free with the second a penalty – as he contributed 2-11 of their 2-23 to 2-18 winning margin.
Five Cork players who started Sunday – Damien Cahalane, Mark Ellis, Aidan Walsh, Bill Cooper and Alan Cadogan – were not involved in the squad for last year’s All-Ireland final replay. The quintet have certainly given Jimmy Barry-Murphy plenty of options.
Banner unfurled
Clare manager Davy Fitzgerald was brutally honest about the performance of some of his team admitting when speaking to RTÉ after the game: ”[Cork] were smarter than us and faster than us.”
However, that didn’t stop him questioning the performance of referee James McGrath.
“There were other factors that I won’t go into.
He continued: “I’m not the fella in the middle giving the frees… Conor McGrath gets pulled to pieces in the middle and gets nothing for it.”
Say What?
Antrim hurler Neil McManus didn’t have much sympathy for Fitzgerald.
Anthony who?
With new rules in place, Horgan took over the penalty and 20m free duties for Cork on Sunday. It’s fair to say he did well.
Ger wasn’t impressed with Clare’s defending though:
Stat attack
“Dublin converted 61% of their shots compared to Wexford’s 47% as they ran out five point winners.”
- via @AnalysisGAA
Ooh ah Wexford Park
And look who turned up to watch Dublin reach their second consecutive Leinster hurling final.
Talking points
Lovely hurling
Christy Ring Cup winners Kildare were unable to match their previous week’s heroics as they fell to a nine point loss to Westmeath in the Liam MacCarthy playoff game on Saturday. Two early goals gave the Lilywhites hope but the men from the Lake County retained their All-Ireland status with relative ease in the end.
In the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship, there were comfortable wins for both Derry and Down as they set up a semi-final clash on June 29. Derry and Armagh shared seven goals as the Oak Leaf County advanced while Down had 24 points to spare over Donegal.
The man behind the most famous tweet in the history of hurling spoke to TheScore.ie about his new found fame and appreciation for the sport.
Whoops!
We couldn't find this Tweet
Hungry fans pic of the day
And they were live again
The Sky cameras were back in Ireland with Jamesie and Brian looking sharp in front of their giant iPad.
Meanwhile, Dublin’s Simon Lambert was so excited to see them he phoned his family to make sure they were recording the game.
5 talking points after Cork’s win over Clare in Munster senior hurling semi-final
Magnificent seven goals for Meath as they rout sorry Carlow
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
All-Ireland Senior FC All-Ireland Senior HC Football GAA Hurling Round-Up