Ballygunner are Waterford senior champions again, but Fourmilewater came agonisingly close to snapping the Gunners’ now 74-game Waterford championship unbeaten streak on Sunday afternoon.
The rank outsiders were appearing in their first-ever final and had never beaten Ballygunner in the championship, but led by three points with seven minutes remaining and were still a point ahead entering the final minute of normal time.
The All-Ireland champions only led once, briefly, across the 60 minutes, but a closing 1-4 streak ground down the challengers in stoppage time.
For the last 32 games of their unbeaten Déise streak, since the 2021 semi-final against Mount Sion, no team has come within one score of Ballygunner. That stat endures, even if this was no four-point game.
Maybe the gap will further narrow. Fourmilewater have a young team and an inside pair of Seán Walsh and Aaron Ryan who can cause any team problems.
Ballygunner and Fourmilewater players battle for possession. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Or maybe this was the chance. Ballygunner had to overcome an injury-disrupted preparation and while they had more missed goal chances, Fourmilewater also had big opportunities they didn’t convert.
The Gunners claimed their ninth minor county title in 10 years midweek. They have rising stars like Cormac Spain and Jack Power coming into their ranks. They won’t be getting any weaker. Others will have to rise to their level.
*****
2. Kobe returns as clubs receive AFL boost
Mayo All-Ireland winner Kobe McDonald is among three St Kilda players who have been granted permission to play in the GAA club championships during the AFL off-season.
The Irish Examiner reported on Monday that McDonald is set to play for Crossmolina Deel Rovers while Liam O’Connell can line out for Cork’s Ballincollig, and Éamonn Armstrong is available for Meath outfit Duleek-Bellewstown.
McDonald departed for Melbourne at the start of August after helping Mayo end a 75-year wait for the Sam Maguire.
But it’s the 18-year-old has returned to Ireland, and was among the Mayo players who joined The Saw Doctors on stage at the Electric Picnic festival in Stradbally on Sunday.
He would be a huge boost for Crossmolina, who face Mayo Gaels this Sunday where victory would send them into the knockout stages. O’Connell’s return is a boost to his club Ballincollig. With two losses so far, they need a win in the last round on 13 September against Clonakilty, to avoid getting dragged into a relegation fight.
Liam O'Connell in action for the Cork U20 footballers in 2023. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Armstrong’s Duleek-Bellewstown will be out again in Round 3 of the Meath IFC against Oldcastle on Thursday, 3 September with one win and one defeat so far.
*****
3. McShane masterclass with 1-18 in Tyrone
A personal tally of 1-18 for Cathal McShane was the outstanding performance in the first round matches of the Tyrone intermediate football championship at the weekend, as Owen Roes burned off Aghaloo in the middle of the second half.
Operating at a couple of levels beyond intermediate football, McShane looks to be fully recovered from the injury trouble that dogged the last few years of his Tyrone career.
Cathal McShane celebrating Tyrone's 2021 All-Ireland final win. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Against the same opposition in the opening day of the league season, he hit 1-8.
At Killyclogher, he clipped over four two-point frees, a two-point score from play, 1-5 from play and another five frees.
All that, and he had a fiercely struck penalty in the first half kept out by the strong hand of Aghaloo goalkeeper Jason Mulgrew.
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With a serious physical presence and looking very athletic, a Tyrone recall should not be out of the question.
*****
4. Clifford brothers hit 0-14 in Kerry intermediate quarter-final
Brothers David and Paudie Clifford pointed the way as Fossa progressed to a fourth straight intermediate football semi-final in Kerry. Post All-Ireland final disappointment, the pair are immersed in club action once more, Fossa scored 1-19 in their four-point win over Listowell Emmets, the Cliffords contributing 0-14.
Paudie scored both his points in the second half and was instrumental in directing their play throughout.
David signed off with 0-12 – a pair of two-pointers from play, one two-pointer from a free, one pointed free, and five singles from play. Clifford raiedlifting his first orange flag in the opening minute with a powerful shot off his left boot.
David Clifford makes no mistake with a high kick over the bar to get Fossa’s first 2-pointer of the game 👏 🏐
The Kerry star forward was also involved in Fossa’s only goal of the game in the closing minutes of the game. Clifford took a free from outside the arc which dropped short in the Listowel square, Emmet O’Shea struck the crossbar when he pounced on the loose ball, and Ted O’Gorman palmed the rebound to the net.
Clifford’s free drops short, and with the ball on the ground, O’Shea rattles the crossbar before Ted O’Gorman taps it in 🔥
Fossa have now progressed to the intermediate semi-finals in Kerry every year since they joined the grade in 2023. They now get set for a semi-final against Beaufort, who can call on county player Mike Breen but are without Sean O’Brien after his cruciate tear, while East Kerry rivals Glenflesk and Kilcummin meet in the other semi-final clash.
*****
5. Magpies defeated in Down but not out
Not since the disjointed first year of action after Covid restrictions, have Kilcoo been beaten in the Down senior football championship, that loss coming against Warrenpoint.
However, that record was shattered on Sunday when Carryduff, beaten finalists last year by a six-point margin, came through their Round 2 meeting as winners, 2-15 to 2-13.
On a day when they had many heroes, Joe McFlynn’s return of 2-9 was particularly impressive. But the game was essentially decided by goalkeeper Ronan Laverty who pushed a Paul Devlin penalty over the crossbar with his leg in the closing moments.
Kilcoo's Paul Devlin (file photo). Dan Clohessy / INPHO
Dan Clohessy / INPHO / INPHO
Yet while Kilcoo are downed, they are not out as their championship is organised in the same format as the current All-Ireland football championship. The champions have another go at Round 3 to get to the quarter-finals, where Carryduff are already waiting.
*****
6. Clare danger for Cratloe
The Clare championships have proved a graveyard for their recent champions.
In the hurling, three of the five clubs to win the Canon Hamilton Cup so far this decade – Sixmilebridge, Ballyea, and Feakle – were knocked out in the group stage. Now, in the football championship, 2023 champions Cratloe find themselves in relegation trouble.
Former Clare manager Colm Collins has been in charge of his club for 20 seasons, delivering one intermediate title, three senior crowns, and a couple of close calls in Munster finals, yet this year will rank among his toughest.
The recent Ennis heavyweights, Éire Óg and St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield, who contested last year’s county final, beat Cratloe in their opening games.
This weekend, it was the traditional western stronghold of Doonbeg who booked a first quarter-final appearance since 2019 and dispatched Cratloe into the relegation battle. Cratloe led entering the final quarter, but were wiped out by 3-4 to no score from there in a 4-13 to 2-7 defeat.
It won’t be easy for them to navigate their way out of trouble, either. Their 2023 county final opponents, St Breckan’s of Lisdoonvarna, also finished bottom of their group.
Kilmihil complete the three-way trapdoor battle. They are Collins’s native club, who he helped to win their only county title in 1980.
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Close to Waterford shock, McShane hits 1-18 in Tyrone, AFL stars return
1. Fourmilewater so close to Waterford shock
Ballygunner are Waterford senior champions again, but Fourmilewater came agonisingly close to snapping the Gunners’ now 74-game Waterford championship unbeaten streak on Sunday afternoon.
The rank outsiders were appearing in their first-ever final and had never beaten Ballygunner in the championship, but led by three points with seven minutes remaining and were still a point ahead entering the final minute of normal time.
The All-Ireland champions only led once, briefly, across the 60 minutes, but a closing 1-4 streak ground down the challengers in stoppage time.
For the last 32 games of their unbeaten Déise streak, since the 2021 semi-final against Mount Sion, no team has come within one score of Ballygunner. That stat endures, even if this was no four-point game.
Maybe the gap will further narrow. Fourmilewater have a young team and an inside pair of Seán Walsh and Aaron Ryan who can cause any team problems.
Or maybe this was the chance. Ballygunner had to overcome an injury-disrupted preparation and while they had more missed goal chances, Fourmilewater also had big opportunities they didn’t convert.
The Gunners claimed their ninth minor county title in 10 years midweek. They have rising stars like Cormac Spain and Jack Power coming into their ranks. They won’t be getting any weaker. Others will have to rise to their level.
*****
2. Kobe returns as clubs receive AFL boost
Mayo All-Ireland winner Kobe McDonald is among three St Kilda players who have been granted permission to play in the GAA club championships during the AFL off-season.
The Irish Examiner reported on Monday that McDonald is set to play for Crossmolina Deel Rovers while Liam O’Connell can line out for Cork’s Ballincollig, and Éamonn Armstrong is available for Meath outfit Duleek-Bellewstown.
McDonald departed for Melbourne at the start of August after helping Mayo end a 75-year wait for the Sam Maguire.
But it’s the 18-year-old has returned to Ireland, and was among the Mayo players who joined The Saw Doctors on stage at the Electric Picnic festival in Stradbally on Sunday.
He would be a huge boost for Crossmolina, who face Mayo Gaels this Sunday where victory would send them into the knockout stages. O’Connell’s return is a boost to his club Ballincollig. With two losses so far, they need a win in the last round on 13 September against Clonakilty, to avoid getting dragged into a relegation fight.
Armstrong’s Duleek-Bellewstown will be out again in Round 3 of the Meath IFC against Oldcastle on Thursday, 3 September with one win and one defeat so far.
*****
3. McShane masterclass with 1-18 in Tyrone
A personal tally of 1-18 for Cathal McShane was the outstanding performance in the first round matches of the Tyrone intermediate football championship at the weekend, as Owen Roes burned off Aghaloo in the middle of the second half.
Operating at a couple of levels beyond intermediate football, McShane looks to be fully recovered from the injury trouble that dogged the last few years of his Tyrone career.
Against the same opposition in the opening day of the league season, he hit 1-8.
At Killyclogher, he clipped over four two-point frees, a two-point score from play, 1-5 from play and another five frees.
All that, and he had a fiercely struck penalty in the first half kept out by the strong hand of Aghaloo goalkeeper Jason Mulgrew.
With a serious physical presence and looking very athletic, a Tyrone recall should not be out of the question.
*****
4. Clifford brothers hit 0-14 in Kerry intermediate quarter-final
Brothers David and Paudie Clifford pointed the way as Fossa progressed to a fourth straight intermediate football semi-final in Kerry. Post All-Ireland final disappointment, the pair are immersed in club action once more, Fossa scored 1-19 in their four-point win over Listowell Emmets, the Cliffords contributing 0-14.
Paudie scored both his points in the second half and was instrumental in directing their play throughout.
David signed off with 0-12 – a pair of two-pointers from play, one two-pointer from a free, one pointed free, and five singles from play. Clifford raiedlifting his first orange flag in the opening minute with a powerful shot off his left boot.
The Kerry star forward was also involved in Fossa’s only goal of the game in the closing minutes of the game. Clifford took a free from outside the arc which dropped short in the Listowel square, Emmet O’Shea struck the crossbar when he pounced on the loose ball, and Ted O’Gorman palmed the rebound to the net.
Fossa have now progressed to the intermediate semi-finals in Kerry every year since they joined the grade in 2023. They now get set for a semi-final against Beaufort, who can call on county player Mike Breen but are without Sean O’Brien after his cruciate tear, while East Kerry rivals Glenflesk and Kilcummin meet in the other semi-final clash.
*****
5. Magpies defeated in Down but not out
Not since the disjointed first year of action after Covid restrictions, have Kilcoo been beaten in the Down senior football championship, that loss coming against Warrenpoint.
However, that record was shattered on Sunday when Carryduff, beaten finalists last year by a six-point margin, came through their Round 2 meeting as winners, 2-15 to 2-13.
On a day when they had many heroes, Joe McFlynn’s return of 2-9 was particularly impressive. But the game was essentially decided by goalkeeper Ronan Laverty who pushed a Paul Devlin penalty over the crossbar with his leg in the closing moments.
Yet while Kilcoo are downed, they are not out as their championship is organised in the same format as the current All-Ireland football championship. The champions have another go at Round 3 to get to the quarter-finals, where Carryduff are already waiting.
*****
6. Clare danger for Cratloe
The Clare championships have proved a graveyard for their recent champions.
In the hurling, three of the five clubs to win the Canon Hamilton Cup so far this decade – Sixmilebridge, Ballyea, and Feakle – were knocked out in the group stage. Now, in the football championship, 2023 champions Cratloe find themselves in relegation trouble.
Former Clare manager Colm Collins has been in charge of his club for 20 seasons, delivering one intermediate title, three senior crowns, and a couple of close calls in Munster finals, yet this year will rank among his toughest.
The recent Ennis heavyweights, Éire Óg and St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield, who contested last year’s county final, beat Cratloe in their opening games.
This weekend, it was the traditional western stronghold of Doonbeg who booked a first quarter-final appearance since 2019 and dispatched Cratloe into the relegation battle. Cratloe led entering the final quarter, but were wiped out by 3-4 to no score from there in a 4-13 to 2-7 defeat.
It won’t be easy for them to navigate their way out of trouble, either. Their 2023 county final opponents, St Breckan’s of Lisdoonvarna, also finished bottom of their group.
Kilmihil complete the three-way trapdoor battle. They are Collins’s native club, who he helped to win their only county title in 1980.
*****
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