THERE WAS PLENTY of drama in Division 3 and Division 4 of the Allianz Football Leagues, as Westmeath and Down sealed promotion and booked their place in the third division decider. Leitrim and Laois are bound for the Division 4 showpiece.
Clare’s bid to upset Down and usurp the Mourne County in the race for Division Two football next year never got off the ground in Newry this afternoon, where Conor Laverty’s side always had something to spare.
The Banner men did all they could to stay in touch in the opening half, responding to the concession of an early goal from Ceilum Doherty with a fine goal of their own. Aaron Griffin’s sharp run and finish shook the twine of the Down net and Clare had their chance to build on that momentum when John Doherty received a black card.
Instead Down held firm to lead by 1-7 to 1-4 after half-time, and they were out of sight when Odhran Murdock scored one goal from a penalty and then set up another for Danny Magill early in the second half, precipitating a pedestrian finish to proceedings.
Westmeath will go into next Saturday’s Allianz League final against Down under something of a cloud after they were comprehensively outplayed by Sligo in the final round of games at Markievicz Park today.
Dessie Dolan said afterwards that his team “lacked a spark”, though they started well, with two points from Luke Loughlin opening the scoring. Lee Deignan and Niall Murphy shot good scores for Sligo in response, but Ronan O’Toole and Loughlin hit the target to leave Westmeath 0-6 to 0-4 in front at half-time.
The midlanders needed a positive result to be sure of promotion, though as the afternoon progressed, Down’s dominance against Clare removed the urgency from the situation.
Whether that fed through to the Westmeath players in the second half is hard to tell, but it certainly looked that way as Sligo kicked the first four points of the second half. The home side were reeled in and then retook the lead through Alan McLoughlin and Niall Murphy, all before Seán Carrabine’s 70th minute goal crowned their victory.
Ruairí McCann of Aghagallon crowned his return to the Antrim starting team after a long layoff with a crucial goal in what turned out to be a straight relegation shootout at Corrigan Park this afternoon. A win for Wicklow would have seen Oisín McConville’s side stay up, and while Antrim started well to move into a three-point lead, the Garden County grew into the game and were back within a point when McCann leapt highest to meet a Eunan Walsh delivery and find the net just before half time.
Wicklow again rallied with the first two points of the second half, but Patrick McBride came up trumps for the home side, on his home club pitch, when he kicked three second half points from play to keep the Saffrons’ noses in front and ensure that they preserved their Division Three status.
Already-relegated Limerick caused Offaly huge problems for long spells of this afternoon’s game at Glenisk O’Connor Park, as they forced a series of turnovers and poor shots from the home side in the first half and were full value for their 0-6 to 0-4 interval lead, with Barry Coleman and Cathal Downes on target with good scores.
It looked like Offaly turned the corner after half time when the impressive Dylan Hyland drew them level with his third of five points from play, and that was followed by Cathal Flynn dispossessing Limerick goalkeeper Josh Ryan and firing in the game’s only goal.
However Limerick rallied with the next three scores to level, before Hyland and Nathan Poland got the scores that saw Offaly through a tempestuous ten minutes of additional time in which Hyland and Nigel Dunne each received red cards.
In Division 4, Leitrim secured promotion as they accounted for Tipperary with Darragh Rooney and Ryan O’Rourke combining for 0-13 of Leitrim’s 0-15.
Andy Moran’s side were one point in front at the break before expanding their lead to four points coming into the final 15 minutes. Tipperary began to drift out of the contest in the concluding stages as O’Rourke continued to find his range in a six-point victory.
Wexford enjoyed a comprehensive win over Longford in Wexford Park which was not enough in the end to secure promotion. The hosts raced into a four-point lead in the opening 10 minutes while Longford had to wait until the 15th minute for their opening score from Daniel Mimnagh. That seemed to breathe life into the Longford charge, as Mimnagh struck again for the opening goal to bring the sides level.
However, the Wexford response was comprehensive as Mark Rossiter converted a penalty while Glen Malone also scored a goal to help push Wexford into a 2-10 to 1-3 half-time lead. Longford were unable to recover in the second half, while Wexford were denied a promotion spot as a result of the head-to-head with Leitrim.
Laois, who missed out on sealing promotion last week, put five goals past Waterford to put their place in Division 3 beyond doubt. Mark Barry finished the tie with 2-3 while Evan O’Carroll and Paul Kingston both pocketed 1-3 each. Substitute Rioghan Murphy provided the fifth goal for the winners.
Carlow finished fifth in Division 4 after a seven-point victory against London at home. The hosts were five points ahead at the interval before a Colm Hulton goal in the second half elevated them into a commanding 10-point lead. Shane Clarke was also on form as he finished the tie with three points.
London battled throughout and found the net late on through Ruairí Rafferty.
Division 3 Results
- Down 3-15 Clare 1-11
- Sligo 1-14 Westmeath 0-11
- Antrim 1-14 Wicklow 0-14
- Offaly 1-10 Limerick 0-12
Division 4 Results
- Leitrim 0-15 Tipperary 0-9
- Wexford 2-18 Longford 2-9
- Laois 5-19 Waterford 0-9
- Carlow 1-17 London 1-10
With reporting by Sinéad Farrell
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