Latest news with #All-IrelandSeniorChampionship
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Rory Grugan urges Armagh to push for more despite All-Ireland Championship quarter-final berth already secured
RORY GRUGAN reckons it is 'a bit bizarre' that Armagh are already into the All-Ireland last eight after just two group games. And the veteran captain conceded that 2 Armagh ace Rory Grugan urged his team-mates to kick on in the All-Ireland Championship 2 Armagh beat Dublin on Sunday in the All-Ireland Senior Championship Group 4 clash Grugan was man of the match in But the 34-year-old insists his side cannot relax against He said 'pride' would prevent them taking a backstep and pointed to the fact that they need to push for improvement. Grugan said: 'It's a bit bizarre. We are there with a game to go. It just means we have two weeks to get ready for Galway and see where that takes us. READ MORE ON GAA 'You know you are going to be back in Croke Park in four weeks for a quarter-final, which is where you want to be. 'But we need to improve. Did we hit our targets against Dublin? Not many of them. 'There's things you'd be pleased with, like fighting for break ball and winning scraps and stuff like that. 'But so much of what we did we wouldn't be happy with in terms of both our own possessions and the amount of chances we gave up. There were a lot of chances they missed. Most read in GAA Football 'Dublin could easily have been gone from us in the first half. There's so much we can improve on. That's not the worst way to be going into the next game.' Error-prone Dublin blasted 17 wides in Sunday's five-point loss to the Orchard. Tipperary GAA star 'had to do live apology on RTE' the day after cursing during All-Ireland interview - They also hit the post twice and dropped several attempts short. And Dessie Farrell's men gifted five points to Armagh from technical fouls. Throw in Armagh's own shortcomings and Grugan is glad just to have won without hitting enough of their 'key performance indicators'. He said: 'It was our highest turnover count all season. It's strange in a way to win a game knowing you didn't hit a lot of your KPIs, yet you are still coming out of Croke Park after beating Dublin. 'It's a good thing. It's a bit of a weird feeling but it's obviously a good one.' Grugan said that far from being a dead rubber for Armagh, the Galway game is a chance to chase those improvements. And he pointed to the value of momentum ahead of the quarter-finals. The Ballymacnab man said: 'I don't think at this level that taking a step back or having some sort of mindset of not being bothered about winning a game is a good thing. Momentum is a big thing. 'You have two weeks to Galway and two weeks then to an All-Ireland quarter-final. So we are going to be really going after the Galway game.' Grugan's strong form is a big boost to Armagh ahead of the business end of the campaign. On their All-Ireland win, he said: 'I was 33 at the time. There might be a perception on the outside that you'd walk away. It was honestly the opposite for me — you just wanted to go again."
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Donegal hammer Cavan by 19 as Michael Murphy and co run riot at Breffni
IT'S level pegging across Group 1 of the All-Ireland SFC round-robin, with Donegal running in a 19-point victory over Cavan at Breffni Park. For the fourth time in four, it was the visitors who picked up the points to leave 2 Donegal blew Cavan away in the All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 2 match at Kingspan Breffni Park 2 Donegal and Jim McGuinness are now on a collision course with Mayo That's ahead of the last series of fixtures takes the quartet on their travels to the neutral venues. Donegal hadn't it all their own way for spells to begin with, put things together to post a 19-point victory at Breffni Park, with goals from Finnbarr Roarty, Conor O'Donnell and Coalan McColgan. Now, Donegal are on a collision course with Mayo, whilst Cavan and Tyrone will both want to pick themselves up against one another. A swirly wind wasn't overly helpful for Donegal in the first half but an altercation between manager Jim McGuinness and READ MORE ONN GAA They carried that wave into a strong finish of the opening half and git the high gears in the second. Donegal went to Breffni Park as the only side in the group without a point, following Mayo's 2-17 to 1-14 victory against Tyrone in Omagh on Saturday night. As against Tyrone, Donegal goalkeeper Shaun Patton, who twisted his ankle in the Ulster final victory over Armagh, did the warm-up. But as against Tyrone, it was Gavin Mulreany who got the nod with Conor O'Donnell and Caolan McColgan also late changes, in place of Daire Ó Baoill and Oisin Gallen. Most read in GAA Football Cavan exited the Ulster SFC at the quarter-final stage, 1-24 to 0-20 against Tyrone. A 2-17 to 1-14 success in Castlebar and two weeks' preparation, compared to Donegal's one meant there was an air of optimism around Breffni Park. Tipperary GAA star 'had to do live apology on RTE' the day after cursing during All-Ireland interview - Whatever jitters Donegal might've possessed would've been ramped up a bit when Brian O'Connell squeezed home a 16th minute goal. Peadar Mogan got a block on Cormac O'Reilly's shot and it looked to be spinning wide only for the Cavan full-back to squeeze it in at the back post. It made the score 1-2 to 0-5, with Donegal having made a decent start, with a couple of Shane O'Donnell points and an effortless Michael Murphy two-pointer, albeit with whatever advantage there was to be had from the swirling breeze that rolled up from Cavan town. Cavan were keeping in touch through Cian Madden and O'Reilly, while Donegal were edging ahead with Caolan McColgan, Murphy and Conor O'Donnell. Seven minutes before the break, with Donegal 0-9 to 1-5 up, a lovely Ryan McHugh pass got Finnbarr Roarty in on goal, only for Liam Brady in the Cavan goal to save. Murphy slotted over the 45, his second of the half, bringing his total to five. Donegal passed up on a second goal chance when Michael Langan was played in by Shane O'Donnell but the shot was straight at Brady and Cavan survived again. The temperature rose sharply just before half-time when McGuinness made his way over to his opposite number, Galligan, to remonstrate after Dara McVeety, in the Donegal manager's opinion, went down too easily. Full of voice, both ended up in referee Fergal Kelly's book. The row did spark the crowd into life, with Donegal's travelling support to be heard in full voice and their decibel level went even higher when, after the hooter and in the last play of the half, Roarty made no mistake when he was given a second goal chance. Donegal moved it and moved it fast with Shane O'Donnell, Murphy, then McBrearty, laying off to Roarty, who planted past Liam Brady for a goal, which made for a lead of 1-12 to 1-5. Although Cavan had the wind, Donegal teams are never shy about moving it ball in hand and could take Oisin Gallen off the bench, to score three points. In all, 13 Donegal players got on the scoreboard as four wides early in the third quarter hit Cavan's hopes. Conor O'Donnell, like Roarty, almost got a goal before he actually did, when he palmed over a Mogan centre but the Carndonagh man placed a splendid second goal on 62 minutes to move Donegal 2-22 to 1-11 ahead. By then, eight minutes before, Murphy had left to a standing ovation. And like the first half, Donegal managed a goal when the hooter had gone. Caolan McColgan, with Cavan fans headed towards the exit, smashed high into the net with Shane O'Donnell providing the assist. Cavan 1-13 Donegal 3-26 Cavan scorers: C Madden 0-4 (2f), B O'Connell 1-0, D McVeety 0-3 (2m), C O'Reilly 0-2, G Smith 0-1, K Clarke 0-1, L Brady 0-1, J Smith 0-1 Donegal scorers: M Murphy 0-7 (2m, 2 '45, 1f), C O'Donnell 1-4, C McColgan 1-1, F Roarty 1-0, S O'Donnell 0-3, O Gallen 0-3, C Thompson 0-3 (2f), P Mogan 0-1, C Moore 0-1, R McHugh 0-1, J Brennan 0-1, P McBrearty 0-1 (1f) Donegal: G Mulreany; F Roarty, B McCole, P Mogan; R McHugh, E B Gallagher, C McColgan; H McFadden, M Langan; C Moore, C Thompson, S O'Donnell; P McBrearty, M Murphy, C O'Donnell Substitutes: O Gallen for P McBrearty (half-time), D Ó Baoill for M Murphy (54'), A Doherty for E B Gallagher (64'), S McMenamin for F Roarty (57'), J Brennan for P Mogan (63') Cavan: L Brady; N Carolan, B O'Connell, C Reilly; P Faulkner, C Brady, K Brady; E Crowe, O Kiernan; G Smith, D McVeety, C Madden; S McEvoy, R Donohoe, C O'Reilly Substitutes: P Lynch and J Smith for R Donohoe and S McEvoy (half-time), O Brady for C O'Reilly (50'), K Clarke for C Madden (53'), L Fortune for K Brady (57') Referee: F Kelly
The Irish Sun
20-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Niall Carolan shuts down Ryan O'Donoghue as Cavan stun Mayo in Castlebar
NIALL CAROLAN was more than happy to fulfil his mission of stopping Mayo marksman Ryan O'Donoghue on Sunday. The Breffni claimed a shock 2 Ryan O'Donoghue of Mayo punches the ball to a team-mate, under pressure from Niall Carolan of Cavan, during the All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 1 clash 2 Niall Carolan and Cavan shocked Mayo to earn a famous three-point triumph And they were helped in no small part by Carolan who kept sniper O'Donoghue scoreless. When the teams met at the same stage of competition last year, O'Donoghue scored seven points in a facile 0-20 to 1-8 win. But he had no luck this time out with Carolan disarming his threat. Carolan and his Breffni backline also held the READ MORE ON FOOTBALL And Cúchulainns clubman Carolan said: 'Ryan is quality. 'I've marked him a few times in college games and I knew it was going to be a tough task. 'But it's nice to know that you have a job going out to play. 'It's black and white, and once you do that, you give the team the best possible chance to win. Most read in GAA Football 'People might say that it's a burden. Limerick GAA fans troll RTE pundit Donal Og Cusack after win over Cork 'But you get that privilege to be trusted with that sort of a role and you just have to relish it. 'If you shy away from it, he won't be long kicking a few scores, so you have to get stuck in. 'I would have got one-on-one marking roles in the past and it's about devoting yourself to the role and making sure you do it. 'You need to be tuned in from the moment the ball is thrown up and you don't lose concentration. 'Ryan is so important to them and keeping him from scoring is very important.' But stopping O'Donoghue was only a small part of the Cavan masterplan in Castlebar. The Breffni wanted to start quickly to see if they could unsettle Kevin McStay's troops who were coming into the game after losing the Connacht SFC decider against Galway. And they did that by scoring the first two points through Cormac O'Reilly and Ciarán Brady. Mayo battled their way back into the game to lead at the break. But McStay's men were not at their best and Cavan punished them with a dominant second-half display. And Carolan, 23, explained: 'We went after the first ten minutes. 'We thought they might be hurting after the Connacht final. "We knew that if we got stuck into them early, maybe in the back of their heads, they would have been thinking that, 'We got over these easily last year and we'll do the same again'.' Cavan came from nowhere to ambush Mayo on Sunday. They were well beaten when they faced them in the Championship a year ago and were dismissed 1-24 to 0-20 by Tyrone in the Ulster SFC quarter-final last month. But Cavan were determined to atone for both of those defeats. Carolan said: 'The performance wasn't really there in Ulster. 'But we had it in our heads as a group to right the wrongs of Tyrone in a few weeks and Mayo after last year when we didn't come with the right intensity. That was brilliant on Sunday.' Cavan's will get a chance to exact revenge on Ulster rivals Tyrone next month. But Ray Galligan's side welcome provincial champs Donegal to Kingspan Breffni Park before that on June 1. Should they win that battle — even though they will go in as rank outsiders — they will all but secure their place in the knockout stages of the race for Sam Maguire. And Carolan hopes a big crowd descends on Breffni Park for Cavan's test against Jim McGuinness' Ulster kingpins. He said: 'We have the Ulster champions coming in a few weeks so we'll have to get back to work. 'We'll need to get everything right for that one. 'Hopefully we'll get a bit of support. Great credit to the crowd that came to Mayo — it's a long journey. 'We're thankful for that and hopefully we'll get a crowd in Breffni
