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Ryan scores 1-6 to help Oola see off Na Piarsaigh in 15 point win

Irish Examiner

3 days ago

Sport
Irish Examiner

Ryan scores 1-6 to help Oola see off Na Piarsaigh in 15 point win

Limerick SFC: Oola 4-15 (4-2-11) Na Piarsaigh 1-9 (1-1-7) Josh Ryan accounted for 1-6 of a winning total, as Oola recorded an opening round victory in the Limerick SFC over Na Piarsaigh. A fifteen point margin didn't flatter them at a sunny Caherconlish. The Limerick netminder returned outfield for his club, just five days after suffering a narrow defeat in the Tailteann Cup final. His place ball kicking, as well as healthy contributions from Jack Downey (1-4) and Tom Ryan (0-3) helped them over a disappointing Na Piarsaigh display. While the city club will not panic, having suffered a heavy defeat in the first round in 2025, they will have some way to go to match the effort of the last two seasons, where they reached the quarter-finals. A devastating opening third to this contest, which was closed by Paddy Downey's powerful goal, saw Oola open up a 1-6 to no score advantage and from here, they never looked back. Josh Ryan had the honour of scoring the first two pointer at the grade, after eight minutes after Jack Downey has opened the scoring. They looked much the sharper and Na Piarsaigh's shooting meant the game quickly got away from them. Evan Egan, on 25 minutes, landed a beautiful two-point free, to open the account of for the Caherdavin men. Things looked a bit brighter when sub Tommy Glynn pounced on a rebound to net, after Dean McLoughlin blasted off the crossbar. However, despite that late spurt it was 1-8 to 1-2 at the interval with wing-forward Tommy Ryan opening his account. He was fouled inside sixty seconds for a penalty, allowing Josh Ryan the chance to bury a penalty, despite Eoghain Sherlock getting a hand to the powerful effort. The inevitability about the result was clear, with Ryan adding another two pointer, before the Light Blues rallied and scores from Kieran Daly, Glynn and Eoghan Vukovic gave them something to cling to. Late goals from the returning Mikey O'Brien and Jack Downey added further to the Oola tally. This is a group featuring champions Adare, runners-up Fr. Casey's as well as clashes with Rathkeale and Monaleen – the two points will be welcomed for the men in red and white. Scorers for Oola: J Ryan (1-6; 1-0 pen; 2 tpf, 2f);T Ryan (0-3); J Downey (1-5); P Downey, M O'Brien (1-0); E Stokes 0-1. Scorers for Na Piarsaigh: K Daly (0-5; 1f, 1 45); T Glynn (1-1; 0-1f); E Egan (0-2; 1tpf); E Vukovic 0-1. OOLA: C McGrath; F Roche, N McCormack, F O'Grady ©; C O'Grady, E Fitzgibbon, P Downey; J O'Callaghan, A Macken; E Landers, J Ryan, T Ryan; J Downey, M O'Brien, S O'Grady. Subs: L Cummins for Roche (blood 14-20 & 58 – ft); D McGrath for O'Grady (57); E Stokes for Landers (47). NA PIARSAIGH: E Sherlock; A Jordan, J McCarthy, C McMullan; M Walsh, R Leonard, R Hoolihan; D Ó Conaill, J Daly; S Dike, G Brown, E Vuckovic; E Egan (C), D McLoughlin, K Daly. Subs: T Glynn for Leonard (inj – 20); P Hodnett for Dike (43). Referee: J Murphy (Ballylanders).

Eight Gaelic football championship observations: David Clifford has mastered sport's new hat-trick

Irish Examiner

4 days ago

Sport
Irish Examiner

Eight Gaelic football championship observations: David Clifford has mastered sport's new hat-trick

A bounce of the ball. With the last kick of the game, Rory O'Brien went for goal with a chance to leave the sides level. Brian Byrne managed to block it, but the shot continued towards the posts. It looped over. Heartbreak. It was a fitting finale for a fiercely dramatic Tailteann Cup decider. Kildare withstood an intense fightback. Cian Burke's initial save was terrific, Byrne's defensive dive was clutch. The Kildare corner-back is not one to rest on his laurels either. 24 hours later he came on for his club Naas in their Kildare SHC opener. This is exclusive subscriber content. Already a subscriber? Sign in Take us with you this summer. Annual €130€65 Best value Monthly €12€6 / month

Fermanagh make two changes for Tailteann Cup semi-final

Yahoo

5 days ago

Sport
Yahoo

Fermanagh make two changes for Tailteann Cup semi-final

Fermanagh boss Kieran Donnelly has made two alterations for their Tailteann Cup semi-final against Kildare on Sunday. The Ernesiders have reached the last four for the first time after beating Sligo in the quarter-finals. Advertisement Luke Flanagan and Jonathan Cassidy come in for Che Cullen and Conor McKee. Kildare are unchanged from the side that beat Meath in the last eight and are boosted by the return of Callum Bolton to the bench although Ben McCormack is out. Fermanagh: Sean McNally; Luke Flanagan, Lee Cullen, Oisin Smyth; Shane McGullion, Declan McCusker, Jonathan Cassidy; Joe McDade, Darragh McGurn; Fionan O'Brien, Ryan Lyons, Ronan McCaffrey; Josh Largo Ellis, Garvan Jones, Conor Love. Subs: Ross Bogue, Che Cullen, Sean Cassidy, Diarmuid Owens, Glenn Treacy, Aogan Kelm, Jack Largo Ellis, Oisin Murphy, Conor McKee, Brandon Horan, Paul Breen. Advertisement Kildare: Cian Burke; Harry O'Neill, Mark Dempsey, Ryan Burke; Brian Byrne, David Hyland; James McGrath Kevin Feely, Brendan Gibbons; Tommy Gill, Alex Beirne Colm Dalton; Ryan Sinkey, Darragh Kirwin, Daniel Flynn. Subs: Didier Cordonnier, Jack McKevitt, Mick O'Grady, Kevin Flynn, Callum Bolton, Aaron Masterson, Paddy McDermott, Darragh Swords, Brian McLoughlin, Niall Kelly, Eoin Cully.

How two point supersharpshooters have transformed Gaelic football

RTÉ News

6 days ago

Sport
RTÉ News

How two point supersharpshooters have transformed Gaelic football

Analysis: Kerry and Donegal have demonstrated exceptional shooting efficiency this year, particularly when it comes to vital two-point scores The introduction of the two-point arc has transformed Gaelic football. Teams can now quickly open or close gaps on the scoreboard with these long-range efforts, altering game momentum in moments. Although riskier, the double reward makes them a vital scoring weapon during periods of dominance. Ahead of the All-Ireland semi-finals this weekend involving Kerry, Tyrone, Meath and Donegal, quarter-final performances revealed contrasting approaches to this new rule. Using a statistical model based on over 4,000 inter-county shots, we can measure how effectively elite teams convert scoring opportunities, including two-point attempts. From RTÉ GAA Podcast, Tomás Ó Sé and Ciarán Whelan join Jacqui Hurley to preview the All-Ireland SFC semi-finals and Tailteann Cup final. The model predicts shot success by factoring in team level, shot location, whether it's a free or from open play, defensive pressure, and wind conditions. This produces an Expected Points (xP) value showing the average points each shot should yield, reflecting its difficulty. For example, a two-point free by a top team from 40m has an 80% success rate, so 10 such shots would on average yield 8 scores for 16 points, giving an xP value of 1.6 points. If a team scored 9 of 10 such frees, their efficiency would be 18 points compared to the expected 16, yielding an efficiency of 1.1, or 10% above average. Similarly, a two-point shot from play at 40m under low pressure from opponents has an xP of 0.98, dropping to 0.66 under high pressure. Speculative open-play attempts from 50m under high pressure yield xP of just 0.39. Elite teams build attacks to create shots with an xP of at least 0.4. Of the 267 shots taken in the quarter-finals, only 10 had an xP below 0.4, with just three of these scored. Donegal's ruthless efficiency Donegal beat Monaghan with a perfect two-point record, scoring all three attempts. Each was taken from open play within 45m, with a total xP of 2.4 points. The six-point return gave them an exceptional efficiency of 2.5 which is 150% above the average value of 1, and the highest of all semi-finalists. While the number of two-point shots created was low, Donegal will certainly aim to create more such opportunities, as their efficiency proves they will punish any defence that allows them these long-range efforts. Tyrone' high volume and solid returns Tyrone attempted the most two-point shots, scoring five of nine against Dublin with an impressive six different players shooting. Their shots shown below had a total xP of 6.8. Notably, Niall Morgan's successful dead-ball attempt from 56m had an xP of just 0.4, illustrating his long-range mastery. The ten-point haul gave the team an efficiency of 1.5, giving them a shooting efficiency roughly 50% above the average for two-point attempts. In contrast, Dublin missed both their low-difficulty two-point attempts, giving an efficiency of 0 and highlighting their failure to exploit the new scoring rules. Meath are all about the goals Meath missed both their two-point attempts against Galway but compensated with goals to win. They created five goal-scoring opportunities, the most of any of the semi-finalists, resulting in two goals and a point at an impressive efficiency of 1.3, based on a total xP of 5.5. To challenge Donegal in the semi-final, they will look to both continue their accuracy in front of goal and also to create and convert more long-range opportunities. Kerry's two-pointers from the big two Jack O'Connor's side overcame Armagh with impressive shooting, particularly from distance. Kerry attempted eight two-point shots (xP=5.9), scoring five for an efficiency of 1.7, second only to Donegal. Sean O'Shea landed all three of his attempts at an outstanding efficiency of 2.6 – two and a half times the inter-county average. From RTÉ Sport, highlights of Kerry's quarter-final win over Armagh David Clifford scored two from three. Importantly, he was forced further out and placed under much higher defensive pressure, resulting in his three two-point shots having a lower combined xP of 1.8, compared to Sean's three shots with an xP of 2.3 points. Unsurprisingly, Clifford still delivered an excellent efficiency of 2.3. Opponents must reduce Kerry's two-point chances and increase defensive pressure on Kerry's two key long-range shooters to curtail their threat. Scoring bursts determine games All four quarter-finals involved decisive scoring bursts. The clearest was Kerry's second-half blitz against Armagh, where they scored 14 points from 13 shots, including two of three two-point efforts, between the 6th and 20th minutes. All shots in this period had an xP of 0.5 or higher, indicating high-quality build up play, combined with a ruthless efficiency of 1.8. Armagh failed to respond, missing both their shots in this period. Ruthless efficiency was the theme of Kerry's play throughout the entire quarter-final. Examining all shots in the game, Kerry's total xP was 22.5, but they scored 32 points, giving them an outstanding efficiency of 1.4. Armagh actually did very well in general play with a total xP of 23.0, marginally higher than Kerry, but their average efficiency of just over 1 effectively cost them the game. Donegal's match showed a similar pattern. Shane O'Donnell's score ten minutes into the second half sparked a 15-point streak including a goal and a two-point score from 15 shots with an xP of 10.9, yielding an excellent efficiency of 1.4. While they finished with an excellent two-pointer from David Garland, Monaghan scored just one of their 11 shots during Donegal's purple patch. This was despite these having a total xP of 7.75, meaning average shooting would have kept them in contention. Overall, Monaghan had a total xP of 22.4 compared to Donegal's 19.8, underlining how efficiency rather than chance creation proved decisive. So who is going to win? While favourites to progress to the final, Kerry and Donegal have relied less on overall dominance of play in the creation of shooting opportunities, and more on excellent shooting efficiency, particularly for two-point attempts. This weekend will reveal whether they can maintain this exceptional shooting standard in their drive for All-Ireland glory, or if Tyrone and Meath can put the shackles on them and upset the odds.

RTÉ GAA Podcast: Kerry and Donegal set up Sam Maguire showdown, Kildare back in the big time