Tailteann Cup round-up: Form guide holds as Sligo, Wexford, Offaly and Westmeath advance

Irish Times

8 hours ago

Sligo, Wexford, Offaly and Westmeath are all in Monday morning's draw for the quarter-finals of the
Tailteann Cup
after coming through their respective knock-out ties at the weekend.
The form guide held as all four teams that finished second after the group stages won at home to advance to the last eight, joining the four group winners Kildare, Wicklow, Fermanagh and Limerick.
The closest contest of the weekend's games came at Kilcoyne Park in Tubbercurry, as Sligo earned a hard-fought five-point victory over Carlow, 1-27 to 2-19.
The Yeats men were dealt an early blow when centre back Darragh Cummins was injured in the warm-up, but they never trailed in the game, despite Carlow staying competitive throughout.
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The first five points were shared as Sligo took the early advantage, and Tony McEntee's side had a purple patch after that, with Alan McLoughlin, Shane Deignan and Niall Murphy pushing them 9-2 clear before Conor Doyle added Carlow's third score.
Ross Dunphy, Kevin Murphy, Paddy McDonnell and Seán Murphy pointed as Carlow brought it back to a three-point game, but McLoughlin's goal for Sligo on 27 minutes gave them breathing room again and they turned around with a five-point lead at the break, 1-15 to 0-13.
Two quick-fire goals from McDonnell had Sligo in real trouble and the gap down to just a point early in the second half. A two-pointer from Patrick O'Connor rallied the home side, and further scores from Canice Mulligan, Deignan and Alan Reilly pushed them back into a lead that they wouldn't relinquish.
At Wexford Park, 11 points separated the hosts from their visitors Antrim in a high-scoring affair.
The Saffrons were 22 points behind at one stage in the second half but battled back late on to put some respectability on the final scoreboard, which read Wexford 5-23 Antrim 2-21.
Wexford were in scintillating form in the opening half, and goals from Seán Nolan and Ben Brosnan capped an impressive showing that had them 2-14 to 0-7 in front at the break.
Nolan's second goal 17 minutes into the second period left Antrim facing an uphill battle, and they found themselves 4-10 to 0-11 behind when Brosnan hit the second of his brace three minutes later.
Antrim finally got a goal they had been threatening through substitute Patrick Finnegan and a second soon after from Dominic McEnhill reminded the home fans that they were in a knock-out contest.
But Robbie Brooks added a fifth Wexford goal late on to safeguard their passage to the next round.
On Saturday, New York's hopes of an unlikely championship double never ignited as they exited at the first hurdle.
A week after their hurlers claimed the Lory Meagher Cup at Croke Park, their footballers found the going tough against a free-scoring Offaly in Tullamore.
The Faithful County's Dylan Hyland matched New York's scoring on his own with a tally of 1-12, as Offaly hit 2-25 in total.
The visitors hit two of the first three points against the breeze to give themselves a bright start, but Offaly took charge for the remainder of the half, and Hyland's goal approaching the break meant they were 1-14 to 0-2 clear by half-time.
Ruairí McNamee rattled home a second goal early in the second half to kill the game as a contest, though New York were much more competitive with the wind at their backs, and scored a memorable goal through full forward Bobby O'Regan.
Saturday's other tie proved equally one-sided, with Westmeath emerging with a 17-point win over Leinster rivals Laois – 3-26 to 1-15 the final score in Mullingar.
Two Westmeath goals late in the first half saw the home side take a significant 11-point lead into the break, 2-12 to 0-7.
The first was fired home from the penalty spot by Luke Loughlin, before Ronan Wallace provided the finishing touch to an incisive team move at the half-time hooter.
A third Westmeath goal, scored by Matthew Whittaker, pushed the home side into a 22-point lead approaching the midpoint of the second half.
Jonah Kelly got a Laois goal with the last play of the game, but it was scant consolation for Justin McNulty's side as their season came to a disappointing end.