Conor Love's eight-point haul steers Fermanagh to Tailteann Cup win over Wexford
Conor Love's marvellous haul of eight points from play inspired Fermanagh to victory over Wexford in this Tailteann Cup Group 4 tie in Croke Park.
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Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
Sam McCartan powers Westmeath in Tailteann Cup quarter-finals as Lake County rout Laois
Westmeath emerged as very facile winners against a very off-colour Laois side in a one-sided Tailteann Cup preliminary quarter-final in Mullingar.
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Westmeath demolish Laois to advance to Tailteann Cup quarter-finals
Westmeath have advanced to the quarter-finals of the Tailteann Cup after a surprisingly facile win against an off-colour Laois side in Mullingar. Nigel Harte put the home team ahead after a mere 15 seconds and Robbie Forde soon doubled this lead from a free. Ronan Coffey halved the deficit from a free, before Matthew Whittaker's powerful shot at the other end came back off the crossbar in the sixth minute, but his side still led by 0-04 to 0-03 with 13 minutes on the clock. The outstanding Sam McCartan took centre stage at the midpoint of the first half when he scored a quickfire brace of quality two-pointers from play. Westmeath's defending was very good at this juncture and Justin McNulty's charges were struggling to get in for scores. A rapid-fire brace of points from Brian Byrne and Kevin Swayne had the visitors within four points of their hosts, but Dermot McCabe's men finished the first half very strongly. A foul on the hard-working Shane Allen gave the hitherto-anonymous Luke Loughlin who, in fairness, had received a lot of pre-match attention from the Westmeath masseur, the opportunity to open his account by superbly converting the ensuing spot kick in the 33rd minute. After a neat point from Stephen Smith the hooter sounded, but Westmeath sensed the opportunity to increase their advantage and duly did so when skipper Ronan Wallace finished off a great move by finding the net from point-blank range. Wind-assisted Westmeath led by 2-12 to 0-07 at the interval. Laois needed a good start upon the resumption, but they never really threatened to make it into a real contest. Indeed, Westmeath had extended their advantage to 14 points (2-16 to 0-08) when Whittaker atoned for his earlier goal miss by scoring a wonderful individual three-pointer in the 42nd minute. The Lake County men went on to lead by 3-22 to 0-09 at the end of the third quarter. The O'Moore County outfit had a brief purple patch when they scored five points without reply between the 58th and 64th minutes, including their only two-pointer of the match from a free taken by goalkeeper Killian Roche. However, two more points from the best player on show, Sam McCartan, either side of a neat score by Kevin O'Sullivan preceded the full-time hooter. Westmeath strangely opted to play on and when Loughlin's goal attempt was blocked, Laois got a consolation goal from sub Jonah Kelly to round off a bitterly disappointing display from their perspective. Westmeath: Conor McCormack; Jack Geoghegan, Sam Smyth, Jamie Gonoud; Joe Moran (0-01), Ronan Wallace (1-05, 1 2pt), Sam McCartan (0-08, 2 2pt); Brian Guerin, Shane Allen (0-01); Matthew Whittaker (1-01), Kevin O'Sullivan (0-02), Nigel Harte (0-01); Luke Loughlin (1-02, 1-0 pen, 2ptf), Stephen Smith (0-02, 0-01f), Robbie Forde (0-02, 0-01f). Subs: Danny Scahill for Gonoud (44), Tadhg Baker for Guerin (46), Danny McCartan (0-01) for Smith (46), Eoghan McCabe for Whittaker (53), Shane Ormsby for Wallace (60). Laois: Killian Roche (0-02, 2ptf); Ben Dempsey, Trevor Collins, Liam Knowles; Padraig Kirwan (0-02), Patrick O'Sullivan, Aaron McEvoy; Seamus Lacey, Damon Larkin (0-01); Mark Barry (0-03, 0-03f), Ronan Coffey (0-03, 0-02f), Conor Heffernan; Niall Corbet (0-01), Kevin Swayne (0-01), Brian Byrne (0-01). Subs: Michael Doran for McEvoy (h-t), Jake Darcy for Knowles (43), Cathal Lee (0-01) for Corbet (45), Jonah Kelly (1-00) for Coffey (55), John Brennan for Heffernan (63).
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Westmeath overcome Laois challenge to progress to Tailteann Cup quarters
Tailteann Cup Preliminary quarter-final: Westmeath 3-26 (3-4-18) Laois 1-15 (1-1-13) What's the best remedy when you've been on the wrong end of a litany of heroic comebacks and tense finishes over the course of a gruelling year? Westmeath answered that question in spectacular fashion this evening in Mullingar when they crushed Laois in a one-side midlands derby, marking themselves out as the form team in the Tailteann Cup heading into next weekend's quarter-finals. After six one-score league games yielded five defeats and one draw, followed up by a two-point loss to Kildare in Leinster and last week's 0-19 to 0-18 loss to Limerick in the Tailteann Cup, Westmeath made sure that there was no danger of another tight game when they took on Laois, as they dominated from start to finish. Even on a day when Trevor Collins put in a superb performance to curb dangerman Luke Loughlin, the rest of the Westmeath team stepped up with a superb all round performance. First among equals was midfielder Sam McCartan, who hoisted over two outstanding two-pointers in the first half and went on to score 0-8 from play in an outstanding effort. Team captain Ronan Wallace was also imperious, scoring 1-5, including goal after the first half hooter that came from a move that began with a McCartan turnover. Loughlin also found the net with a penalty, as Westmeath took a 2-12 to 0-7 lead into the dressing room that was the very least that they deserved. The third quarter was a landslide, with Matthew Whittaker adding a third goal with a superb finish, while McCartan and Wallace both kicked highlight reel scores in a 1-10 to 0-2 run. Laois were a broken team by the end, and Jonah Kelly's goal – also after the hooter – will be scant consolation at the end of a tough evening for Justin McNulty's side. It was a tough evening for the rest of the Tailteann Cup contenders too, particularly Kildare, Fermanagh and Wicklow, one of which will have to derail a runaway train next weekend. Scorers for Westmeath: S McCartan 0-8 (2tp), R Wallace 1-5 (1tp), L Loughlin 1-2 (1-0 pen, 1tpf), M Whittaker 1-1, R Forde 0-2 (0-1f), S Smith 0-2 (0-1f), K O'Sullivan 0-2, S Allen 0-1, N Harte 0-1, D McCartan 0-1, J Moran 0-1. Scorers for Laois: R Coffey 0-3 (0-2f), M Barry 0-3f, J Kelly 1-0, K Roche 0-2 (1tpf), P Kirwan 0-2, D Larkin 0-1, B Byrne 0-1, N Corbet 0-1, K Swayne 0-1, C Lee 0-1. WESTMEATH: C McCormack; J Gonoud, J Geoghegan, S Smyth; B Guerin, R Wallace, J Moran; S McCartan, K O'Sullivan; M Whittaker, N Harte, S Allen; L Loughlin, S Smith, R Forde. Subs: D Scahill for Gonoud (44), D McCartin for Smith (46), T Baker for Guerin (46), E McCabe for Whittaker (53), S Ormsby for Wallace (60). LAOIS: K Roche; L Knowles, B Dempsey, T Collins; P Kirwan, A McEvoy, P O'Sullivan; S Lacey, D Larkin; R Coffey, K Swayne, C Heffernan; N Corbet, M Barry, B Byrne. Subs: M Doran for McEvoy (half-time), J Darcy for Knowles (43), C Lee for Corbet (44), J Kelly for Coffey (55), J Brennan for Heffernan (63). Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan).
