THE ALLIANZ FOOTBALL League is beginning to take a little shape now with two and a half rounds of action under the belt.
Yesterday, along with a hard fought win for Dublin over Laois (which we brought you live), there was plenty of other action to keep us just about sated.
Kieran McGeeney and Seamus McEnaney once again pitted their wits against eachother in Navan.
This time they managed to avoid literally going head to head.
Though Meath’s goal-hungry forwards once again found sustenance, it was Kildare’s goal-shy attack which won the day on the narrowest of scorelines – 2-11 to 0-18.
The Lillywhites led 0-8 to 0-6 at half time and knocked over the bar 10 times in a ding-dong second half in which Meath led three times, partly thanks to goals from Paddy Gilsenan and substitute, Donnacha Tobin.
Eoghan O’Flaherty claimed a third of Kildare’s scores, but it was full back Ollie Lyons who grabbed the headlines with a late fisted point to give McGeeney’s Kildare their first win of the season.
There was no such drama in the other division two clash between Derry and Monaghan.
The Oak Leaf county held a commanding 0-9 to 0-3 lead at the break and so, didn’t need to keep the foot on the pedal much in the second period, holding on to the same margin at full time: a 0-14 to 0-08 win.
Lights out
Monaghan just never seemed to get out of the traps and had notched just a solitary score in the first half hour of play. Meanwhile, Paddy Bradley was shooting the lights out from frees.
Matthew McKenna’s red card before the turnaround extinguished any hope of a comeback.
In Division one, Mayo were deserved victors over a Crossmaglen-less Armagh and are now two wins from two.
Hope springs eternal for James Horan’s side, particularly when their full forward line is in this kind of form, sharing 1-08.
Andy Moran failed to point but nabbed the crucial early goal after a ’45 dropped short. Enda varley and half forward, Alan Freeman, each claimed four points from play.
Aidan Forker kept the score ticking upwards for the orchard county with five points from placed balls, but without the All-Ireland club finalists, Armagh will always be some way short of their best.
Division three saw a gratefully welcomed win for Cavan who will be glad to be in the news for something other than the protestations of their former captain.
Cavan were first out of the traps and caught Sligo cold in the first half and led 0-10 to 0-3 at the break.
Sligo carded an unanswered 1-3 in the second half with Colm McGee’s goal but the hosts held on, thanks in no small part to some timely scores from Kevin McKernan.
Division three’s other encounter saw Antrim run out comprehensive winners at home to Offaly. 2-14 to 1-8 is a scoreline which was swung by two incidents late in the first half.
The faithful county trailed by only two points close to the break, but after Paddy O’Sullivan found the back of the net, Shane O’Sullivan was dismissed on the stroke of half time and Antrim netted their second through Thomas McCann early in the second period.
