ATHENRY HAVE EDGED out a dramatic battle with Portumna in the Galway B senior hurling final to secure promotion to the top grade for 2025.
The sides have won seven All-Ireland titles between them but it was Athenry who prevailed today. Trailing by one point in injury time, Joe Canning missed a late equalising free having just brought Portumna back to within just one point with a goal from a well-struck free.
He also converted a penalty in the first half, and provided a beautiful assist for a Declan McLoughlin in the second half. But Athenry held on for the victory with Cian Burke supplying a vital goal as well as a late insurance point from a free.
Goal for Portumna! in the blink of an eye we are back to a 2 point game!
— StreamSport.ie (@StreamsportI) October 19, 2024
📺Stream👉https://t.co/Dv4DBGSJ9d@portumnagaa 2-10@cumannathanri 0-18 @WiiStream | @Galway_GAA pic.twitter.com/Hf2w8hOLPx
St Loman’s retained their Westmeath SFC title after eventually defeating The Downs in a replay which was decided by extra-time and penalties.
Sam McCartan, Ronan O’Toole and John Heslin scored the spot-kicks that ensured back-to-back glory for St Loman’s while The Downs missed all three of their penalties.
Shane Dempsey gave the champions an early advantage with a goal after seven minutes which helped them into a three-point lead at half-time. A Luke Loughlin penalty brought the sides back level in the second half as the game went to extra-time on 1-10 apiece at full-time.
Ian Martin delivered a second goal for The Downs in the first period of extra-time as the challengers held a one-point lead at the break. Ronan O’Toole rescued St Loman’s at the death with a point to send the contest to penalties where the holders prevailed.
In the Limerick SFC, Adare dethroned three-in-a-row champions Newcastle West in the semi-final to avenge the heartbreak they suffered in the last three county finals.
Two goals in just over a minute paved the way to victory, as Shane O’Connor and Hugh Bourke raised the green flags in the first half to push Adare 2-6 to 0-6 in front at half-time. The pair accounted for 2-5 of their side’s final tally of 2-9.
Adare held their six-point buffer heading into the final quarter although Newcastle West did reduce the gap to four following points from Mike McMahon and Brian O’Sullivan and Eoin Hurley. But they ran out of time as Adare progress to the final where they will meet either Fr Casey’s or Mungret St Paul’s.
Limerick SFC semi-final
Newcastle West 0-11 Adare 2-9
Westmeath SFC final replay
St Loman’s 1-15 The Downs, 2-15 [AET] St Loman’s win 3-0 after penalties
Galway senior B hurling final
Portumna 3-13 Athenry 1-21
I live in England. Watched the game in a packed pub. They cheered and sung football’s coming home and then went about their business. I can honestly say the fans are not getting carried away. The media, they just can’t help themselves.
Also possible that they’ve just had a very kind run of fixtures.
@Sean Moore: they have had a nice run of fixtures but why would anyone care.
@Sean Moore: hasn’t stopped England getting knocked out in the past which is kind of the point.
Like them or not the the English football league is arguably the best football league in the world what’s surprising is that it’s been 28 years since their last semi final on the world cup
@Jim: it’s still a technically inferior and grossly overated domestic league in my opinion, but a very well drilled and organised current national team.
@Jim: It is a good league but its not down to English players, italian; spanish, dutch, french etc, make it the league it is
j
No way they’ll beat Croatia
@Cathal: Ir France. Or Belgium.
Its not coming home. Finito.
Everyone seems to know he score we’ve seen this all before England gonna throw it away.
Good luck to them- playing as a team no egos.
Unlike Slippy, Rio, Carra, JT et al. They are all the experts now. No wonder Scholes walked away .
Englands golden generation failed due to previous coaches believing they could play other teams off the park with attacking football. This was a huge mistake. The likes of Beckham, Gerrard and Lampard were all amazing players but never had the technical ability to to play the tika taka of Spain or the disciplined attacking tactics of say Germany. Southgate has been brilliant as he has done a Mourinho where he has made them ultra defensive while also picking lesser names based on their speed, energy and work rate over their reputation so you have players like Lingard, Delph, Loftus-Cheek, Pickford getting chosen ahead of Jack Wilshire, Rooney, Walcott, Hart etc.
I’ve no doubt England’s golden generation would have cruised to WC semi finals also had a manager like Mourinho been in charge.