
FAI Cup: Longford Town edge Castlebar Celtic in nine-goal thriller
A big crowd at the Mayo venue witnessed six first-half goals.
Town's Daragh Murtagh bagged a hat-trick, while Mark Cunningham, Eoghan Hughes and former Sligo Rovers striker Jordan Loftus were on target for the home side to go in 3-3 at the break.
The Connacht side defended stoutly in the second period but Longford eventually broke them down in the final 15 minutes, scoring three times.
Dean George slid the ball under Stefan Hester on 75 minutes, while Francis Campbell hit a fifth in the final minute of normal time.

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Irish Examiner
17 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Injury-hit Castlelyons have enough in tank to fend off Bishopstown
Cork SAHC: Castlelyons 0-24 Bishopstown 0-17 Castlelyons had to show true resilience before securing maximum points against Bishopstown in a disappointing opening round of the Co-Op Superstores Senior A hurling championship at Blarney on Saturday. Not the greatest game that will be witnessed in the championship this season but Castlelyons will be relieved their injury-stricken side had enough in the tank to secure the points. Following their relegation last season Bishopstown were hoping to get this campaign off to a winning start but despite putting in a wholehearted first-half performance they simply went into meltdown in the second period. The opening exchanges were frantic with Bishopstown making a reasonable start with a classy David Quaid point edging them ahead. Indeed, the opening minutes were not kind to Castlelyons as they lost Barry Murphy in the opening minute and Eoin Maye was also replaced with an injury in the ninth minute. The first clear goal opportunity came Castlelyons' way but just as Dave Morris was about to pull the trigger, he was hooked by the Town corner back Michael Murphy. Eventually the Imokilly side got up and running with consecutive points from Alan Fenton and Anthony Spillane in the seventh and eighth minutes. In fairness Bishopstown were hooking and blocking and with the sides level midway through the half they were awarded a penalty. Up stepped James Scally and despite striking the resultant penalty well, the Castlelyons goalkeeper Jack Barry produced a wonderful save. The first half was lethargic with little spark shown by either side but for some strange reason in the second quarter Castlelyons were outbattled and saw Bishopstown surge into a two point lead in the 28th minute. In the closing minutes Anthony Cotter got in behind the Town defence but in truth his tame shot went straight at the goalkeeper, who cleared to safety with little fuss. Just when it looked that the teams would go in at the break on parity Conor Hegarty struck an outrageous point from an acute angle that gave Bishopstown a 0-11 to 0-10 lead. It was evident from the early exchanges of the restart the tempo had increased with the sides sharing six points in the opening five minutes. Suddenly Bishopstown lost their shape as Castlelyons began registering points for fun and, with the city side failing to score for 15 minutes, they trailed by seven points with nine remaining. The one negative for Castlelyons in this half was the straight card picked up by David Morrison after the contact he made with the Bishopstown keeper chasing a high ball left the match referee with few options. We then witnessed Bishopstown continuing to play with a sweeper against 14 men which looked strange in a game they were trailing. The closing ten minutes weren't easy on the eye as the standard of hurling usually associated in this grade was nowhere to be seen. The next round in this group will be interesting with Castlelyons facing Ballyhea and Bishopstown take on Inniscarra who will need a much-improved display to keep their interest in this championship. Scorers for Castlelyons: A Fenton 0-9 (0-7f), A Spillane 0-4, D Morrison 0-3, D Tobin 0-2, K O'Leary 0-2, S Cotter, A O'Sullivan, J Kearney, C McCarthy (0-1 each). Scorers for Bishopstown: J Scally 0-6 (0-5f), B Murray 0-4, C Hegarty 0-3, D Quaid, R Foley, H Grant, C Murray (0-1 each). Castlelyons: J Barry; N O'Leary, C Barry, D Spillane; S Moroney, A O'Sullivan, P Roche; J Kearney, C McCarthy; E Maye, B Murphy, L Doocey; D Morrison, A Spillane, A Fenton. Subs: D Tobin for B Murphy (inj 1), S Cotter for E Mawe (inj 10), K O'Leary for C McCarthy (50), C McCarthy for L Doocey (inj 54). Bishopstown: C O'Donoghue; M Murphy, K McFadden, G Murphy; D Lester, D Quaid, D Murray; B Murray, C Hegarty; C Murray, H Grant, C O'Hara; R Foley, J Scally, L O'Driscoll. Subs: D O'Donovan for L O'Driscoll (40), C O'Driscoll for K McFadden (47), B Cahill for H Grant (59). Referee: Brendan Barry Murphy (Aghabullogue).


The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Roisin Molloy shines with two goals and an assist as Athlone Town make dream start to Champions League vs Cardiff City
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Irish Independent
25-07-2025
- Irish Independent
Kerry FC will aim to maintain cup momentum in league tie with UCD
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