Republic of Ireland U21 ace Mark O'Mahony joins Reading on loan as Noel Hunt backs Brighton star to fire in League One
The 19-year-old Cork City academy product spent last year on loan at
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Ireland U21 star Mark O'Mahony has joined Noel Hunt's Reading side on a season-long loan
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Reading boss Noel Hunt was thrilled to get a deal over the line
But having made his
Reading boss Hunt was thrilled to land his fellow Irish man who he believes can play a key role as the Royals look to win promotion from League One.
Hunt said: 'Mark is a young hungry striker who wants to come in and develop at our club.
'He's young and he wants to learn his trade after having a successful loan deal last year at Portsmouth in the Championship.
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'He learnt plenty whilst playing at that level, which will stand him in good stead for the upcoming season.
'He's another player who has come through a really strong Academy, and will be a great addition to our squad.'
Elsewhere, Ex-Ireland star Aaron Connolly has sealed a move to Leyton Orient.
has agreed a
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And
Wellens said: 'I tried to sign Aaron when I was at Swindon a few years ago, but he then scored a hat-trick against MK Dons in the EFL Trophy. Everyone was in for him after that.
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'He's talented, quick, good on the ball and skilful. He's got an eye for goal, and he scored twice on his Premier League debut for Brighton.
'The ability is all there, and when I met him recently I got a really good vibe off him. I sense that there is a burning desire for him to do well
'If we can get Aaron firing, I have absolutely no doubt in his abilities.'
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Irish Times
39 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Donegal open the throttle to book date with Kerry and leave Meath gasping in the dust
All-Ireland SFC semi-final: Donegal 3-26 Meath 0-15 It was a weekend of slightly disappointing irony at Croke Park. The most exciting football championship in years served for its penultimate course two underwhelming All-Ireland semi-finals. Big crowds were in attendance. Sunday saw a capacity crowd turn up for the clash of Ulster champions Donegal and the season's mold breakers, Meath. If only it could have been left suspended in time with everyone in anticipation of perhaps another surprise scalp on the Leinster finalists' belt or at least a pulsating contest. Instead, the winners ran up a margin unseen at this stage of the championship for 32 years since Cork beat Mayo. The reality that intruded on romance was however of such awesome destructiveness that it at least sets up a titanic encounter for this year's All-Ireland final between Donegal and Kerry. There might have been more apprehension at half-time about the prospects for Sunday's second half had everyone grasped the difficulty of scoring into the Hill end. A tricky, swirling breeze narrowed the window of scoring considerably and there was maybe something ominous about how Donegal built a five-point interval lead, 0-13 to 0-8 in the face of the elements. READ MORE First, though, it should be acknowledged that Meath set about the task with energy and determination. Within 15 seconds, Seán Coffey, raiding from the throw-in, burst through but blasted his shot wide off the post. It set an unfortunate trend for the team, who finished the half with nine wides and two dropped short, as they attempted to harness the elements and put a sizable gap on the scoreboard, as they had, when ambushing Dublin in April. There were signs that they were perhaps forcing it a bit, as seven efforts at two-pointers either went wide or dropped short. This was in addition to the two, scored by Eoghan Frayne and Ruairí Kinsella. Donegal's Ciaran Moore scores a goal against Meath in Croke Park yesterday. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho Meath were also combative in defence, turning over Donegal at one point in successive attacks and successful in making Shaun Patton pay for a sequence of wayward restarts. The dynamic of the plucky underdogs wore off as the first half progressed. Meath needed more product on the scoreboard at the break. The downside was also obvious. Donegal were hugely efficient in the first quarter. Michael Murphy steered a two-point free over from a couple of metres beyond the arc – it was the team's only enhanced score of the afternoon. If Jim McGuinness's team became a bit trigger happy before half-time, they were also discovering where the bodies were buried in the opposition defence. Ominously, in light of what was to come, there were three goal-scoring opportunities that came to nothing. Donal Keogan cleared Conor O'Donnell's shot off the line in the 31st minute, followed by Billy Hogan saving a point-blank shot from Hugh McFadden and finally, Murphy doing everything right by taking a step, in front of goal and drilling it high - but it cleared the bar for a point. Meath's misfortune with injuries continued when in the 21st minute centrefielder Bryan Menton had to go off after a collision with Michael Langan, who then proceeded to dominate the sector, as Donegal won about half a dozen consecutive kickouts. For the third match running, Donegal unleashed hell in the second half. Their ability to counter-attack from turnover ball at serious pace is astonishing in its relentlessness. Make allowances for a game but outgunned opposition and yet the sustained tempo was furious. Donegal's Michael Murphy and Adam O'Neill of Meath compete for possession. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho Murphy was replaced on 45 minutes, having done his job, calming everything down in the early stages and – literally, at times – directing play. There were so many stand-out displays. Finbarr Roarty was the tv MOTM, one of his defensive interventions leading to the second goal and his constant movement, either shadowing attackers or breaking out like a forest fire devastatingly effective. Brendan McCole did another fine man-marking job, this time on Meath's MOTM against Galway, Jordan Morris, who was comprehensively frustrated as the slick counter-attacks that had undone the Connacht champions never achieved lift-off. Oisín Gallen, after a slow start, kicked 1-2 – the goal, exceptionally well taken after he had stepped out to make space for his shot after a Caolan McColgan assist. Ryan McHugh was another withdrawn early and also made sharp interceptions and clever runs from the back. He played a pivotal role in the second goal, taking the pass from Shane O'Donnell and popping the ball into the fast raiding Ciarán Moore who placed his shot in the net. Langan, having taken hold at centrefield played a threatening, advanced role to finish with 0-4. Meath players dejected after the final whistle at Croke Park. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho The best of the three goals came from a move as goldenly pieced together as a Fabergé egg. Patrick McBrearty, who again made a big impact off the bench with 0-3 from play, attacked and played in Jason McGee, who checked and kicked back across the goal for Conor O'Donnell who cut back and finished. Meath by now were like dogs chasing cars, exhausted and bewildered. They tried to make the scoreboard more respectable, but the Northern End was not hospitable and chances went wide. Seán Rafferty, who had been defiant all day, came up from the back and kicked their first in 11 minutes but it was little more than a reminder they were still there. There was a sense that if two disappointing semi-finals is the price we pay for an epic final, so be it. It will be the second time Kerry have played Donegal in an All-Ireland final, 11 years on from the first. Fourteen/ more sleeps. Donegal: S Patton (0-0-1, 45); F Roarty, C McColgan, B McCole; R McHugh (0-0-1), EB Gallagher, P Mogan (0-0-1); H McFadden, M Langan (0-0-4); C Moore (1-0-1), C Thompson (0-0-2), S O'Donnell (0-0-1); C O'Donnell (1-0-3), M Murphy (6: 0-1f-4, 1f), O Gallen (1-0-2). Subs: P McBrearty (0-0-3) for Murphy (45 mins), J McGee for McFadden (50 mins), D Ó Baoill (0-0-1) for McHugh (55 mins), O McFadden-Ferry for Mogan (59 mins). Meath: B Hogan; S Rafferty (0-0-1), S Lavin, R Ryan; D Keogan, S Coffey, C Caulfield; B Menton, A O'Neill; M Costello (0-0-1f), R Kinsella (3: 0-1-1), C Duke (0-0-1); J Morris (0-0-1), K Curtis (0-0-3), E Frayne (5: 0-1-3). Subs: C Gray for Menton (21 mins), E Harkin for O'Neill (46 mins), J McEntee for Lavin (51 mins), B O'Halloran for Curtis (57 mins), S Walsh for Kinsella (62 mins). Referee: P Faloon (Down).
RTÉ News
39 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Paddy McBrearty: 'We've massively underachieved since '14... Jim has raised standards'
Donegal are back in an All-Ireland SFC final for the first time since 2014, the final year of Jim McGuinness's unforgettable and transformative first reign in charge. Paddy McBrearty is one of the veterans of that campaign, alongside Ryan McHugh and the returning Michael Murphy. He readily admits he didn't ever think it would take over a decade to get back to the showpiece game. In the wake of their chaotic annus horribilis of 2023, McBrearty was one of the prominent players beating a path to McGuinness's front door in an attempt to convince him to return to the manager's post. Two years later, Donegal have won back-to-back Ulster titles and have reached a decider in the second year of his second coming, a sequence which follows a near identical path to his first stint. Donegal did win two Ulster titles during the long decade between McGuinness's two terms but failed badly beyond that, with none of those campaigns even yielding a semi-final appearance. "When we left here 2014, I didn't think it would be 2024 until we reached our next semi-final," McBrearty admits, seated alongside his manager in Sunday's post-match press conference. "We massively, massively underachieved from '14 to '24, in our eyes. "When Jim came back, standards were raised back to where they were and we're just delighted to be back here. "But you know they were a barren couple of years. We were winning Ulsters, teams were tipping us to go on and win All-Irelands and we couldn't do it on the big days. "Getting this man (McGuinness) back obviously (was key) and getting back to days like this final in two weeks is gonna be massive." Twelve months ago, his manager had cut a frustrated figure after their semi-final loss to Galway, after a game in which Donegal faded in the final quarter. Reflecting on the year since, McGuinness stressed the importance of adding depth to their squad, with 2012 captain and erstwhile FRC rule-maker Michael Murphy obviously the most high-profile and surprising addition. "The number one thing on the list there would be depth," says McGuinness. "We didn't know at that stage the rule changes that were coming down the line and the physical demands of the rule changes, but certainly, we new that we needed people to come in and give us more depth and strengthen. "(Odhrán) McFadden-Ferry came into the team in the second half, Eoin McHugh has come back in, Michael (Murphy) has come back in and Eoin McGettigan. "We knew we had to be stronger and build the energy within the group." While the rule changes have seen the game enter a new era, Donegal's gameplan has had a familar feel, being heavily based around hard running and rapid hand-passing. Notably, they showed little interest in scoring two-pointers with the breeze in the second half - a marked contrast to Meath in the opening half - though this was partly conditioned by their healthy lead at that stage. McGuinness, a believer in the importance of embracing his county's footballing DNA, has stuck firm to their principles amid all the changes. The game's second goal, which began with Finbarr Roarty turning over the ball and ended with Ciaran Moore firing home after a sweeping handpassing move, typified the way they want to play. "There's a good bit of commentary, I suppose, about how we play sometimes. "And maybe it is a wee bit different than other teams. But that's who we are at this stage of the game, you know. "We know what we want to do and it's been in our blood for a long, long time and we just try to tap into that. "I think it was Finnbarr that turned that one over. A brilliant turnover and and we we got we got all the way up the pitch and made it count." In McGuinness's estimation, the two teams who meet in the All-Ireland final are sides who haven't over-reacted to the new rules. "Listen, the game has changed dramatically over the last number of months," says McGuinness. "We just felt that it was important to see how those changes would grow, if you like, and then bring our own template to how we want to play the game to that. "And it's served us well. I think Kerry have done the exact same thing. "I think there was a lot of commentary maybe throughout the league that ourselves and Kerry were the only two teams that weren't embracing the twos (two-pointers). "I don't think Kerry have done a huge amount differently, you know. They have their own way of playing as well. "They play with their head up, they're looking for dink balls, they're looking for third-man runners, they're looking to support. "In the same way we support off the shoulder, they're looking to do it the exact same way only with a kick-pass beforehand or whatever. "Everybody's got their own principles and how they see the game. For me, it's important just to keep what it is to be from your county very close to the centre, and then move with the rules, and I think we've done quite a good job on that front." McGuinness's first stint in charge concluded with Donegal's first ever All-Ireland final defeat - in three appearances - after they were out-manouvered by Eamonn Fitzmaurice's Kerry in a drab enough decider. The Munster champions had been written off in the middle of that campaign, as they famously were earlier this year. Though they've dramatically recovered their form in Croke Park, with comfortable wins over Aramgh and Tyrone. "You all watching it no more than ourselves like," McGuinness says of yesterday's semi-final. "They've just a lot of quality, they have a lot of a lot of skill level, they're playing for each other. "You can see that they're very united and they're very together. I thought their interviews were very balanced and very controlled and they're on a bit of a mission themselves. "They're so confident about what they do. And there's a rite of passage there almost in terms of winning All-Irelands, so that's the first thing we're going to have to meet head on.
Irish Daily Mirror
43 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Colm Boyle: Meath's strength became their weakness in stroll for Donegal
My fear that this All-Ireland semi-final might get ugly for Meath unfortunately became a reality for them. Donegal were playing football from a different planet to them and it sets up a fascinating final against Kerry in two weeks. The Ulster champions were absolutely electric in the second half and once Oisín Gallen cracked home their first goal, they sprinted for home, outscoring Meath 2-12 to 0-5 in the process. One of Meath's biggest strengths in the lead up to the All-Ireland semi-final was their two-point shooting, but in the first half it became a huge weakness. With the wind at their backs the game plan was clear: don't bring the ball into Donegal's zonal defensive system and get your shots off from outside the arc. It's great when it comes off, but converting only two from seven two-point attempts completely sucked the life out of them. The more they missed, the more Donegal became comfortable with letting them shoot from distance. Donegal, on the other hand, were red hot in the opening stages, scoring their first six from seven shots into a tricky breeze at the Hill 16 end although their shot efficiency did drop off for the rest of the half. Leading by five points at half-time and with the wind at their backs, I didn't think there was any way that they would not win the game and the second half proved a stroll in the park. Michael Murphy coming off so early in the second half was interesting; he didn't seem to be moving particularly well despite scoring an early second half point. But Jim McGuiness will be delighted that he didn't have to exert himself too much. One of Donegal's greatest strengths is that they regularly hit double digits in terms of scorers - different players raised a flag this time and it's something that Jack O'Connor is going to find very difficult to plan for in two weeks. For Meath, it's definitely an anti-climax to what has been a great season for them and was eerily similar to Cork's dismantling of Dublin in the hurling semi-final eight days earlier. The loss of Bryan Menton after 20 minutes coincided with Donegal completely taking over around the middle third. Donegal just never let Jordan Morris and Mathew Costello in particular have any sort of influence on the game. But with injured players such as James Conlon to come back into the mix next year it will be interesting to see how much more this team can improve and develop. It's all about Donegal, however, and they and Kerry have proven themselves to be the top two sides in the country with their displays over the weekend. One thing that is for certain ahead of the final is that David Clifford will not be afforded the same space that he got against Tyrone, which is just one aspect of what should be a fascinating tactical battle. The impact of the benches could be vital too, and Paddy McBrearty followed up his big performance off the bench against Monaghan with another sharp display this time. All told, the semi-final weekend was a bit of a letdown as a brilliant summer of football winds down. Here's hoping we get the thrilling final that this Championship deserves. ====== Pádraig Hampsey was handed the hardest task in Gaelic football on Saturday on David Clifford and Tyrone's back-up plan failed badly. Taking on Clifford in the wide-open spaces of Croke Park in sweltering conditions is incredibly difficult but, still, it's a job that Hampsey would have been much better able to tackle three or four years ago, before he was wracked by injuries. He just didn't look like he had it in the legs at this stage and Clifford was in near unstoppable form. In the circumstances, he needed greater support around him but the plan to get Ben McDonnell back as extra cover didn't work out. McDonnell struggled to get into a position that affected the ball getting to Clifford. When Clifford left Hampsey for dead on the run in for his goal, it was McDonnell that came across but he offered little to no resistance to Clifford, who finished expertly to the net. McDonnell dropping also allowed the Kerry half-back line to carry loads of ball and I thought Gavin White, Mike Breen and Brian Ó Beaglaioch all had brilliant games. Seán O'Shea and Paudie Clifford weren't at their blistering best but were still hugely influential in the game. They will both feel that they can up it a few gears in the final. But one man who seems to be doing just that with every game is Joe O'Connor. He gave a powerhouse of a performance again on Saturday. His appetite for work is infectious. He has got himself into incredible physical shape. He was fouled for two scores in the first half and drove right through the heart of the Tyrone defence for two scores of his own in the second half. Malachy O'Rourke will be scratching his head at how his team fell away so badly after Darragh Canavan made it a one-point game in the 42nd minute. His team didn't score again for another 20 minutes and had eight missed attempts at the posts in the meantime. It completely sucked the life out of them on an evening when scores give you the oxygen you need to survive in such blistering heat, with Kerry rattling off nine points without reply to finish the game as a contest. Relief must be the overriding emotion for Brian Flanagan as his Kildare side survived a huge scare against Limerick in the Tailteann Cup final. Winning the competition isn't what Flanagan's term as Kildare manager will be judged on, but had they lost it could have been a mortal blow to what he hopes to achieve going forward. Win it they did, however, and they had to survive a last minute Limerick onslaught for a goal as Brian Byrne made a heroic block to force a goalbound Rory O'Brien shot over the bar. Kildare are often a team that get criticised for their inability to win big games and, in many ways, this could be a great platform for them to build from because when Killian Ryan crashed in a brilliant second half goal for Limerick it looked like it was going to be Jimmy Lee's side's day. But Darragh Kirwan in particular was exceptional in the closing stages to dig out the result for Kildare. Lee simply could not have asked any more from his team and they looked as exhausted as they were devastated at the end. But what a year it's been for them. The big question for Kildare is whether this can be a springboard to greater things for them now. It's a start but, on the evidence of this display, they have a hell of a long way to go.
