Leagues apart
The Schemozzle subscribes to the theory that league form is unreliable and that was the case over the opening championship weekend — kind of.
In the big game out west, Roscommon, who lost to Mayo on March 5th, turned it around to win. Clare also reversed a 10-point loss to Cork from the same afternoon.
The biggest outlier was Carlow and Kildare in the Joe McDonagh Cup. When the teams met on February 4th, Kildare won by 0-25 to 0-11. Exactly nine weeks later, Carlow were 5-23 to 0-19 victors for a 33-point turnaround.
Elsewhere, Sligo, who beat London by seven points in the league won by 14 on Saturday. Kerry hurlers beat Down by a point on March 19th and had 14 to spare this time.
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Of the other sides who met for a second time, Wicklow beat Carlow (drew in the league), Offaly beat Longford by a point (same result as round five) and Laois confirmed superiority over Wexford by four (the margin was five last time).
Local affair
Much was made of the Crossmaglen Clasico that was the Division Four league final, with club-mates Oisín McConville and Tony McEntee managing Wicklow and Sligo respectively.
There will now be (almost) a repeat in the Connacht semi-final as McEntee’s men meet New York, managed by Johnny McGeeney, a native of Culloville on the Armagh-Monaghan border.
McGeeney grew up a couple of miles from McEntee. He’s no relation to Orchard boss Kieran, who is just one of six Armagh men managing intercounty teams.
The others are Aidan O’Rourke (Donegal) and Paul McCormack, corner back in the opening round of Armagh’s 2002 odyssey and current manager of the Louth senior hurlers.
His team-mates from that side, Ronan Clarke (Armagh ladies) and Justin McNulty (Laois senior footballers) have also worn the bainisteoir bib at senior intercounty level.
Changing tribes
Some years ago, after a Ted Webb (Under-16) final between Galway City and West and Roscommon, a group of family and friends were taking a photograph with Galway goalkeeper Conor Carroll, some of them wearing Galway jerseys and some repping the Rossies.
Roscommon Under-20 manager Liam Tully relayed what happened next in yesterday’s match programme.
“I said, ‘I have a Roscommon jersey with me if you ever want to wear one’,” Tully recalled.
Carroll, who plays with Oranmore-Maree, replied: “Well, I wouldn’t mind wearing one.”
Tully took note and the rest is history. In 2021, Carroll, who had been part of successful Galway underage squads, switched allegiance to the Rossies, where his uncle Brian is county chairman, and made his SFC debut yesterday.
Breaking the duck
Offaly’s one-point victory over Longford yesterday remarkably was their first away win in the Leinster Championship since 1997, when they got the better of Westmeath in Cusack Park, Mullingar.
The faithful will hope it’s an omen. That year, they went on to win the Delaney Cup, having beaten Longford (5-17 to 0-13), Westmeath (1-14 to 0-7 in a replay), Wicklow (1-17 to 1-8), Louth (1-10 to 0-11) and, in the Leinster final, All-Ireland champions Meath (3-17 to 1-15).
In words
“I’m not sure about you, Emlyn, but I like when the goalkeeper just stays in the goals. This seems to be a growing trend.” — RTÉ commentator Darren Frehill is not a fan of the modern-day sweeper-keepers.
In numbers
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Leitrim’s return in the penalty shoot-out in Gaelic Park
