The opening men’s game of the day saw Tír na nÓg meet Éire Óg, with both teams searching for their first win of the season.
Captain Ollie Freaney lead the way for the Sky Blues scoring 1-4 of their 1-8 which was more than enough to eclipse the lacklustre Oranges. Ross Colley’s charges put in a dismal performance, with a lot of the team’s senior players completely misfiring in attack, managing only 1 point in total.
Cú Chulainns faced Magheracloone in the second men’s match. The Silvers were still missing key players through injury but were not short on heart, keeping within 1 point of the Pinks in a tight first half. Cú Chulainns greater firepower told in the second half, with ‘The Slender Assassin’ Alan Kelly kicking some excellent scores in a 7-point haul, helping his side to a 1-12 to 1-5 victory.
The next 2 teams in action on Sunday were Claremont and Na Fianna. The ‘Over 40’s’ have only played 2 games but there is already a pattern to their play – slow and possession focused. It may bring them results in some matches, but not in this one. The Yellows have an array of scoring forwards and they spread 8 scores amongst them here despite Shane Martin going off injured and Eoin Donohue going down roaring. 0-8 to 0-3 was the final score.
The flagship game of the day was the clash of 1st and 2nd in the league, Wolfe Tones and Gabriels. The Whites started brightly playing with a strong wind and opened up an early lead. However the loss of some key players to injury late in the first half, in addition with some excellent Reds defending, turned the game in Gabriels’ favour. Aengus Byrne cut loose for them in the second half, scoring 1-7, as they ran away to win 1-9 to 0-5, with Shane Cusack also to the fore on his return from injury.
The penultimate match of the weekend was between Shamrocks and The Heath. A depleted Maroon team built up a lead against the run of play with James Meehan, Oli Smith (2) and Jacobus Joubert all getting goals. Jerry Dee scored a rasping goal to try inspire a comeback for the Blacks, but they ultimately fell short by 3 points, losing 4-2 to 1-8.
Sunday’s last match was a face-off between Gaels, Western Gaels and Cavan Gaels. The game was dubbed a shootout between two of last season’s leading scorers the Green’s Conor Byrne and the Blues’ Martin Pacaud. So it proved – Pacaud bagged 2-1 but Byrne kicked 1-6, including a couple of clutch scores late on which were the winning of the game, the Greens winning 1-8 to 2-3.
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