Latest news with #ConOCallaghan
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Armagh through to All-Ireland quarter-finals with Dublin win
Holders Armagh progress to the All-Ireland quarter-finals after winning Group Four [Getty Images] All-Ireland champions Armagh booked their place in the quarter-finals of the competition with a 0-24 to 0-19 victory against Dublin in their second round-robin game at Croke Park. Playing for the first time at Croke Park since beating Galway in last year's decider, Armagh led 0-13 to 0-9 at the break after a strong end to the half. Advertisement The efficiency shown by the Orchard County going forward ultimately proved crucial in the second half as Dublin finished with 17 wides. The five-point victory helped the Sam Maguire holders to claim top spot in Group Four and progress straight through to the last eight at the end of June. Armagh finish first half strong Dublin were without influential captain Con O'Callaghan, who was injured in the victory against Galway last time out, but they made a bright start at Croke Park. Cormac Costello was key to them moving three points clear on 17 minutes after the sides had exchanged early scores. They lost their way midway through the half however due to their wastefulness in front of goal. Advertisement The Dubs had 19 shots in the first period but only nine points to show for it, while Armagh were much more clinical at the other end and scored five points from Dublin's kickout. Rory Grugan's two-pointer on 18 minutes brought Armagh back to within one point before a fine solo run and finish from Jarly Og Burns drew the holders level. Stephen Cluxton then made two good stops to deny Oisin Conaty and Andrew Murnin but Dublin went 11 minutes without scoring as the Orchard County took control. Grugan added a free while Rian O'Neill, on his second start of the season, nailed a super two-pointer as did Conor Turbitt to put Kieran McGeeney's side ahead for the first time. Advertisement Conaty, who was named player of the match in last year's final weaved his way through to fire over before a Costello free reduced the deficit to four ahead of half-time. Holders punish wasteful hosts Armagh did not relent after the break and O'Neill got his second two-pointer to extend their advantage. Dublin continued to be the architects of their own downfall as three times in a matter of minutes they were penalised for not keeping three players up in the other half, allowing Grugan to stroke home three easy frees. Costello missed a two-point free off the ground before making amends a few minutes later with a fine two-pointer to bring Dublin back within five. Advertisement Points from Ethan Rafferty and Darragh McMullan steadied Armagh, but another two-pointer from Sean Bugler kept the hosts believing they could fight back. Bugler, Costello and John Small were all guilty of adding to Dublin's wide count, with such misses proving costly in the end. Substitute Stefan Campbell tagged on a point while O'Neill got his third two-pointer by kicking a free off the ground to widen the gap further. Dublin kept coming back with another two-pointer, this time from Paddy Small again cutting the deficit. Another point from a substitute, this time Joe McElroy, kept the scoreboard ticking over and Dublin failed in a late push to get back in the game as Armagh saw out the win. McGeeney's side will face Galway in their final game while Dublin take on Derry on the weekend of 14/15 June, knowing a win would secure their passage to the next round.
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
Armagh through to All-Ireland quarter-finals with Dublin win
All-Ireland champions Armagh booked their place in the quarter-finals of the competition with a 0-24 to 0-19 victory against Dublin in their second round-robin game at Croke for the first time at Croke Park since beating Galway in last year's decider, Armagh led 0-13 to 0-9 at the break after a strong end to the efficiency shown by the Orchard County going forward ultimately proved crucial in the second half as Dublin finished with 17 five-point victory helped the Sam Maguire holders to claim top spot in Group Four and progress straight through to the last eight at the end of June. Armagh finish first half strong Dublin were without influential captain Con O'Callaghan, who was injured in the victory against Galway last time out, but they made a bright start at Croke Costello was key to them moving three points clear on 17 minutes after the sides had exchanged early lost their way midway through the half however due to their wastefulness in front of Dubs had 19 shots in the first period but only nine points to show for it, while Armagh were much more clinical at the other end and scored five points from Dublin's Grugan's two-pointer on 18 minutes brought Armagh back to within one point before a fine solo run and finish from Jarly Og Burns drew the holders Cluxton then made two good stops to deny Oisin Conaty and Andrew Murnin but Dublin went 11 minutes without scoring as the Orchard County took added a free while Rian O'Neill, on his second start of the season, nailed a super two-pointer as did Conor Turbitt to put Kieran McGeeney's side ahead for the first who was named player of the match in last year's final weaved his way through to fire over before a Costello free reduced the deficit to four ahead of half-time. Holders punish wasteful hosts Armagh did not relent after the break and O'Neill got his second two-pointer to extend their continued to be the architects of their own downfall as three times in a matter of minutes they were penalised for not keeping three players up in the other half, allowing Grugan to stroke home three easy missed a two-point free off the ground before making amends a few minutes later with a fine two-pointer to bring Dublin back within from Ethan Rafferty and Darragh McMullan steadied Armagh, but another two-pointer from Sean Bugler kept the hosts believing they could fight Costello and John Small were all guilty of adding to Dublin's wide count, with such misses proving costly in the Stefan Campbell tagged on a point while O'Neill got his third two-pointer by kicking a free off the ground to widen the gap kept coming back with another two-pointer, this time from Paddy Small again cutting the deficit. Another point from a substitute, this time Joe McElroy, kept the scoreboard ticking over and Dublin failed in a late push to get back in the game as Armagh saw out the side will face Galway in their final game while Dublin take on Derry on the weekend of 14/15 June, knowing a win would secure their passage to the next round.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Con O'Callaghan's loss highlights how long it's been since Dublin found a diamond
No Con . That's what they're telling us anyway. If Hamlet was a Central Council delegate, he'd point out that the rules around intercounty teams announcing their squads on a Friday – and, more to the point, sticking with them across the weekend – have been honoured more in the breach than the observance during this championship. But even so, it seems that this one is likely true. Dublin are about to play a significant championship match without Con O'Callaghan for the first time since Kerry beat them in 2023. When the squad for the weekend was announced late on Thursday night, his name was the first and last thing most people looked for. If you got sent a screenshot, it was the only comment worth making or worth receiving. No Con. For all the good Dublin would have taken out of nicking the win in Salthill a fortnight ago, suddenly Dessie Farrell's cupboard undeniably looks a little bare. Armagh are coming to HQ to face a Dublin squad – and again, we're taking it on trust here that the 26 Dessie Farrell has named is the 26 that will be fielded – in which no fewer than 10 players have never started a championship game in Croke Park. Eight of them have never played a minute of championship football there full-stop. With Con in the mix, that might get brushed over or feel like a kind of a statistical quirk. Dublin could rely on him to bang in a goal and pop over a few two-pointers and lay on a few more and generally just Be Con. As long as he's doing that, who really cares what names are filling out the bench? READ MORE Without Con, suddenly the humble Dub is shook. You mean to tell us that 40 per cent of the Dublin squad don't have their own bespoke ass groove in the Hogan Stand dressingroom nearest the Hill? That anything up to half a dozen of them might get their first taste of champo at Croker this weekend with the All-Ireland champions pawing the dirt and hunting for scalps? Isn't that sort of thing only supposed to happen to hayseeds and culchies? [ Darragh Ó Sé: Rian O'Neill being back for Armagh is good news for everyone, especially Rian O'Neill Opens in new window ] If nothing else, Con's absence this weekend will probably mean that the churn in the Dublin panel will become far more obvious to far more people than has heretofore been the case. Of the starting 15 who played Galway in last year's All-Ireland quarter-final, five have left the squad and two more are injured. That septet reads Mick Fitzsimons, Brian Fenton, James McCarthy, Paul Mannion, Jack McCaffrey, Eoin Murchan and now Con O'Callaghan. James McCarthy and Michael Fitzsimons after last year's All-Ireland quarter-final against Galway. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Widen it out and of the 26-man panel who suited up for that Galway game, only 15 are named this weekend. For the sake of comparison, look at Galway then and Galway now. Of the 26 named by Pádraic Joyce last June, 21 are in the panel this weekend. Thirteen of the starting 15 are named to start again. In and of itself, a bit of churn is no harm. It's to be welcomed, in fact. Keeps everyone pulling on the rope, trying to find the inches. It feels like no time at all since Bernard Brogan was spending a full season torturing himself at training just to make the match day 26 for an All-Ireland final replay. But of course that's six years ago now. A lifetime. It's so long in the past that some of the Dublin players who have come through to fill the gaps left by the immortals are already longer in the tooth than you think. Colm Basquel is 29, Paddy Small is 28, Seán Bugler and Seán MacMahon are both 27, Peadar Ó Coifigh Byrne is 26. The supporting cast in the times of plenty who are the officer class now – the likes of Davy Byrne, Cormac Costello and Niall Scully – are all either 31 or 32 this year. It won't be long until they start ageing out too. Now look. This is clearly a first-world problem. The Liffey will not dry up, Dublin will not run short on footballers. But equally, it's been obvious for a while that for all the demographic and financial advantages at their disposal, Dublin haven't been bringing through anything like the quality of player that was once routine. When the rest of the country wrung its hands over the idea of a permanent Dub empire, it was the annual injection of elite quality that really scared the horses. It started with McCarthy in 2011, Kilkenny and Dean Rock in 2012, Mannion and McCaffrey in 2013, Fenton and John Small in 2015, O'Callaghan in 2016, Murchan and Brian Howard in 2018. The key attribute they all shared wasn't just that they were so good, it was that they were so good so very quickly. Of those 10 players, eight were under 25 when they won their first All Star. Only Rock and Small had to wait until they were older than that and both had won multiple All-Irelands by then anyway and nobody doubted their worth. By contrast, of the 14 All Stars Dublin have won this decade, only two have gone to players under the age of 25. Con and Eoin Murchan were both 24 in 2020 – since then, the youngest Dub to win an All Star was then 27-year-old Basquel in 2023. The point is, it's a very long time since Dublin produced anyone that immediately got the Hill abuzz. Lee Gannon is probably the closest but he's been wracked by injuries since his debut season. Otherwise, it's been a lot of dutiful, solid, honest players who come in and do their job and keep the Dublin show rolling. As for the remaining all-timers, Stephen Cluxton is 107, John Small and Ciarán Kilkenny are 32 and O'Callaghan himself is 29. Dublin are going to need to source some stardust from somewhere in the coming years. Nothing will highlight that more than a weekend with no Con.
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
O'Callaghan not in Dublin squad for Armagh game
Dublin captain Con O'Callaghan has not been included in Dessie Farrell's squad for Sunday's All-Ireland round-robin contest against holders Armagh at Croke Park (16:00 BST). The three-time All-Star forward was forced off injured in Dublin's win over Galway on 17 May and has been replaced by Tom Lahiff. Armagh boss Kieran McGeeney has also been forced into a change with Oisin O'Neill replaced by Conor Turbitt in attack. Crossmaglen club-man O'Neill was withdrawn after just 11 minutes in the Orchard's opening Group Four win over Derry at the Athletic Grounds last week. Rian O'Neill - Oisin's brother - has been named to start at corner-forward after making his return against Derry. Having not featured since last year's All-Ireland final, O'Neill replaced Aidan Forker just prior to throw-in last week. Dublin: Stephen Cluxton; David Byrne, Theo Clancy, Sean MacMahon; Alex Gavin, Brian Howard, Tom Lahiff; Peadar O Cofaigh Byrne, Killian McGinnis; Ciaran Kilkenny, Lorcan O'Dell, Sean Bugler; Brian O'Leary, Cormac Costello, Colm Evan Comerford, Luke Breathnach, Nathan Doran, Lee Gannon, Davy Keogh, Greg McEneaney, Eoghan O'Donnell, Dan O'Leary, Niall Scully, John Small, Paddy Small. Armagh: Ethan Rafferty, Paddy Burns, Barry McCambridge, Peter McGrane; Ross McQuillan, Tiernan Kelly, Jarly Og Burns; Jason Duffy, Ben Crealey; Darragh McMullan, Rory Grugan, Oisin Kelly; Rian O'Neill, Andrew Murnin, Conor Blaine Hughes, Tomas McCormack, Greg McCabe, Connaire Mackin, Cian McConville, Joe McElroy, Niall Grimley, Callum O'Neill, Stefan Campbell, Shane McPartlan, Jemar Hall.
