Derry 1-16 Cavan 2-11
Fermanagh 1-15 Longford 0-18
A DRAMATIC FINAL day of action in Division 3 North of the Allianz football league saw Derry and Fermanagh clinch promotion play-off spots while Ulster champions Cavan and Longford face relegation battles to avoid dropping to the basement tier.
Derry saw off Cavan by two points at Kingspan Breffni with Shane McGuigan their scoring star as he hit 0-8. They will now take on Limerick in the promotion play-off.
Sean Quigley’s late fisted point secured second spot for Fermanagh as they drew with Longford, moments previously it had seemed the Leinster side would win that game and do Cavan a favour.
Fermanagh now take on Offaly while Cavan must play Wicklow and it’s Tipperary against Longford.
Rory Gallagher’s in-form Derry side raced into a 0-5 to 0-0 early lead before Cavan fought back with four successive points. Gearoid McKiernan’s 25th minute goal nudged Cavan ahead but a Niall Loughlin goal left Derry ahead 1-7 to 1-6 at the break.
Derry enjoyed a brilliant third quarter with six points in a row yet Cavan countered again late on with Martin Reilly’s 66th minute goal helping to cut the defict to two points.
Cavan did get within a point of Derry but could not find a levelling score as McGuigan (0-8), Loughlin (1-3) and Emmet Bradley (0-3) proved the key players in front of goal for the winners. McKiernan (1-3) was Cavan’s scoring star while Raymond Galligan and Luke Fortune hit 0-2 apiece.
Sean Quigley was the hero for Fermanagh in Brewster Park with his late point in a game watched by fans with restrictions lifted for games in the six counties this weekend.
Quigley hit an early goal for the home team but Longford had Robbie Smyth in excellent scoring form as they went ahead 0-10 to 1-6 at the interval.
In the third quarter, Fermanagh forged ahead with Quigley, who finished with 1-6, to the fore but it was Longford who scrambled to draw level and then went ahead in injury-time as they chased their first win of the campaign.
But Quigley’s crucial intervention means Fermanagh retained their place in the third tier and still have a chance at promotion while Longford face a relegation battle.
The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud
Bernard Jackman and Murray Kinsella join Gavan Casey to discuss their roles in the rugby media, the concept of ‘bias’, punditry preferences, the art of co-commentary, new-age online analysts and much more
