Championship round-up: The first meaningful games in the Championship saw victories for Galway, Donegal, Louth, Limerick and Longford. Galway and Limerick eased into the next rounds and Donegal were efficient in their disposal of Cavan. Louth and Longford on the other hand both relied on late scores to see off Westmeath and Laois respectively. .
Galway must now have designs on the Connacht championship after they annihilated a disappointing Roscommon team at Dr Hyde Park.
Despite assertions from Galway manager Alan Mulholland in the aftermath that his side were, ‘edgy’ in the build-up they showed little signs of nervousness as they ruthlessly dispatched of an insipid Roscommon team with zeal.
The teams were level until Galway’s first goal on 10 minutes but by half-time the visiting side held a commanding 2-8 to 0-6 lead, the goals coming from Conroy and Hehir. The second half never really presented Roscommon fans with any reason to hope that a comeback was possible and a third goal scored by Gary Sice killed the game off completely.
Galway had the luxury of introducing Michael Meehan and Padraig Joyce in the latter stages which gave Galway an additional lift they never really needed.
Things weren’t quite as straightforward for Ulster champions Donegal but Jim McGuinness’s side never really came under serious threat from an inexperienced Cavan team. The opening stages were even but a Colm McFadden penalty ensured Dongal held a commanding seven-point lead at the break. Cavan huffed and puffed in the second half but to little avail as Donegal’s passage to the next round was sealed in relative comfort.
The result of the day was Longford’s victory over Laois, a shock that was all the more unlikely give the half-time score. Laois led by six points but should have been ahead by much more. Their 10 first-half wides came back to haunt them as Longford staged a remarkable comeback.
Paul Barden capped his man-of-the-match display with the goal that brought Longford back into contention. The momentum garnered from that goal gave Glenn Ryan’s side the initiative in the final stages and a memorable victory was secured. They will now play Wexford in the next round.
The other game in Leinster produced a similarly close affair from which Louth emerged victorious. It now means Louth will play Dublin in the next round. The winning goal came five minutes into injury time. Westmeath appeared to have done enough by hitting five unanswered points during a particularly productive second-half period but Danny O’Connor’s last-minute strike gave Louth the win which will serve as a boost as they look to overcome the reigning All-Ireland champions next.
There were no late dramatics in Munster as Limerick cruised past Waterford as expected. Ian Ryan was Limerick’s talisman and his personal tally of 1-8 was enough to quash any Waterford uprising. As it was Limerick strolled to a 2-12 to 0-7 final.
Connacht Senior Football Championship
Roscommon 0-10 Galway 3-15
Ulster Senior Football Championship
Cavan 1-10 Donegal 1-16
Leinster Senior Football Championship
Westmeath 0-14 Louth 2-9
Longford 1-10 Laois 0-12
Munster Senior Football Championship
Limerick 2-12 Waterford 0-7