By Frank Shouldice

LETTERKENNY provided a scenic backdrop for Donegal’s continued success in Division 1A, seeing off the All-Ireland champions with another powerful display. In registering their fifth consecutive victory Brian McIvor will realize they also got most of the breaks. Gooch Cooper did not start for Kerry and target man Kieran Donaghy went off after 20 minutes with a shoulder injury.

Dara Ó Sé lorded midfield early on, kicking two magnificent points but as Donegal found their rhythm they knocked on Diarmuid Murphy’s goal four times, beating him just once when Kevin Cassidy launched a missle to the net. Murphy was in brilliant form, but Cassidy’s strike meant Donegal were just a point behind by halftime.

Donaghy’s departure disrupted Kerry, but they regrouped well with exquisite scores by Declan Quill and Tomás Ó Sé. The home side then put together some great moves and Brendan Devenney nailed four points from play, including two beauties from the left wing.

Crucially, Tomás Ó Sé went off with a hamstring injury and in the closing ten minutes Donegal exploited any weakness with quality points from Michael Hegarty, Colm McFadden and Ciaran Bonnar.

Losing manager Pat O’Shea didn’t look for any excuses. “They scored 1-15 and any day you concede 1-15 you don’t deserve to win,” he said.

Kildare 0-14 Louth 2-7

ANOTHER close call for Louth and another virtuoso display by John Doyle, yielding four points from play and as many again from frees. However Louth only have themselves to blame, amassing 18 wides and scoring just two points through the entire first half.

Darren Clarke and John O’Brien narrowed the gap but further waste enabled Kildare to stretch ahead. Shane Lennon converted a penalty and hit a late consolation goal but for Doyle and Louth this boiled down to the winners taking their chances.

Armagh 1-9

Down 0-10

ARMAGH needed to win this, and they eased their relegation worries with a tight win over Down at Crossmaglen. Steven McDonnell (1-6) proved the difference although Paul McGrane was a tower of strength at midfield.

Down led 0-6 to 0-5 at the interval, but McDonnell hit three quick points and then struck for a 69th minute goal to overturn Down’s spirited fightback.

Derry 1-11

Laois 1-11

CONLETH Gilligan landed an injury time point to wrap it all square at Celtic Park. With Paul Lawlor (1-2) lively at full-forward Laois started well to open up a seven-point lead.

However, Enda Muldoon switched to midfield to win some ball for Derry and Paddy Bradley (1-4) raced through for a goal in the second quarter.

Derry nudged ahead in tight exchanges and Barry Brennan might have struck a decisive goal only for Kevin McCloy to make a great block. Padraig McMahon then gave Laois a one-point advantage only for Gilligan to level it at the death.

Westmeath 0-10 Galway 1-10

MATTHEW Clancy’s appearance after 28 minutes injected life into Galway’s forward line and his goal in the last quarter effectively knocked Westmeath off their perch in Division 1B.

For a team that have shown well this season Westmeath’s second half performance was something of a mystery. They had even taken the lead after the break through Fergus Wilson and Dessie Dolan but failed to score after the 51st minute and were outplayed by Galway’s late show.

Dublin 3-15 Fermanagh 0-7

CONAL Keaney got the ball rolling on a night when everything went right for Dublin while Fermanagh collapsed to their fifth consecutive defeat. Tomás Quinn struck Dublin’s first goal and they were seven points up by halftime.

Kevin Bonner fisted a second after 57 minutes and Diarmuid Connolly pounced for a third. Paul Caffrey’s side were so superior that they were not flattered by the 17-point margin.

For Charlie Mulgrew however, it’s been a disastrous start to the year and poor preparation for this year’s championship.

Limerick 0-9 Tyrone 1-8

DESPITE hitting 17 wides Limerick were in with a shout at the end of a dour contest at the Gaelic Grounds.

Davy Harte sent Niall Gormley through for the game’s only goal after 23 minutes while Limerick failed to score from play for the entire first half.

Late points by Michael Reidy and Mike Crowley narrowed the gap but with Limerick chasing a goal, sub Colm McCullagh nailed Tyrone’s last score.

Cork 2-8

Mayo 1-12

MAYO conceded two goals in the first half to Michael Cussen and Kevin O’Sullivan but fought back with a wonderful display after the break that provided a series of memorable scores.

David Heaney started the comeback with a long-range point but when Conor Mortimer flashed a shot to the net at the end of a six-man move it was the kind of goal to illuminate any occasion.

James Masters pushed Cork back in front but his three points were cancelled out by Mortimer and Marty McNicholas before Aidan Kilcoyne broke Cork hearts with a last-gasp winner.

Roscommon 0-15 Longford 0-12

GER Heneghan led Roscommon’s attack and they used a strong wind in the second half to take full points at Dr. Hyde Park. Ros are chasing second spot in Division 2A and this win opened daylight between them, Longford and Offaly . . .

CLARE thought they were on course for a win in Tullamore when Rory Donnelly converted a penalty six minutes from time. It gave the Banner a two-point cushion but Niall McNamee burst that balloon with a remarkable scoring spree that bagged him five points in-a-row to give Offaly a key 0-16 to 1-10 win . . .

LEITRIM mauled Carlow by 3-15 to 1-7 at Cloone, turning it on in the second half, while MONAGHAN overcame London by 0-16 to 1-5 at Ruislip.

Antrim 0-15 Cavan 3-10

CAVAN stay top of Division 2B thanks to a comprehensive win in Casement Park on Saturday night. Goals by Jason Reilly and Marc McKeever put them on track but it took a late penalty by Dermot McCabe to make it safe . . .

STEPHEN Bray’s second half goal gave Meath a narrow 1-12 to 0-12 win over Wicklow. Bray’s strike leveled a game which Wicklow started well but fell away when Anthony Moyles and Mark Ward took control at midfield . . .

WEXFORD had to work hard to get past Sligo (2-10 to 1-10) while Tipperary recorded their first win of the season, beating Waterford by 3-10 to 0-12.

Limerick 1-15 Dublin 0-22

DUBLIN hurlers laid down another notable marker by picking up both NHL points in Limerick. The win means the metropolitans remain unbeaten, and should they beat Antrim on Wednesday night they will top Division 1B after four very impressive performances. They achieved Sunday’s victory without three first choice players -– David Curtin, Liam Ryan and John McCaffrey -– and significantly, nine players got on the scoresheet.

Sean O’Connor hit a first half goal for Limerick, but his side squandered a number of clear-cut chances that would have really tested Dublin. Instead, Tommy Naughton’s team rode their luck and began picking off lovely points through Padraig O’Driscoll and the placed-ball expertise of Kevin O’Reilly, whose seven-point tally included two sideline cuts and a ‘65’.

Dublin led 0-13 to 1-8 at the break, and although Pat Tobin narrowed the gap Limerick never managed to get level. In the closing minutes Limerick were forced to look for a goal.

They were denied by strong defending and sharp stick work and Dublin secured victory with late points by O’Reilly and John Kelly.

Galway 0-26 Tipperary 3-13

EUGENE Cloonan converted 10 frees and Galway added 16 points from play to eradicate memories of last week’s defeat at Parnell Park.

Tipperary also contributed to a high scoring game but and it will please Babs Keating that his charges ran up 3-13 despite losing Eamonn Corcoran to injury and only introducing ace forward Eoin Kelly at halftime.

Galway fans were surprised to see Damien Hayes switched to midfield to partner Alan Kerins. The duo got through a lot of work and centre-back John Lee and center-forward Mark Kerins added strength to the team spine.

However, it will bother Ger Loughnane that Galway conceded three goals, Paul Kelly twice punishing indecision on the square and Eoin Kelly skinning Shane Kavanagh for a wonderful solo goal.

“Today we played the quality we expect to play,” mused Loughnane. “But we never threatened their goalkeeper. He didn’t have a save to make in 74 minutes. And we gave away three goals, two of which were juvenile mistakes in defense. The lack of aggression in the full-back line is very worrying.”

Offaly 1-16

Clare 1-16

BARRY Nugent grabbed a late equalizer for Clare to earn a draw in a competitive encoun-ter at St. Brendan’s Park in Birr. The sides were level on five occasions but Offaly will look at their tally of 13 wides and reflect that this was a game they should have won. Their early advantage was wiped out by a fine Bernard Gaffney goal and when Fergal Lynch and Tony Carmody found their range the Banner went into the break leading by 1-8 to 0-7.

Offaly restarted with the breeze and hit the first three points before Derek Molloy struck for a goal. Clare tied it up again and each time Offaly edged ahead Clare hauled them back. Rory Hanniffy’s injury-time score might have decided it but Nugent had other ideas, giving the visitors due reward for refusing to lie down.

Cork 1-17 Wexford 0-18

A ROUSING comeback by Wexford forced Cork’s hand at Páirc Uí Chaoimh and it took a point by sub Cathal Naughton to settle Rebel nerves.

It was Naughton’s second important intervention -– earlier he fired home Cork’s goal after good work by Tom Kenny. By the time Pat Cronin landed a 43rd minute point Cork were cruising. Wexford labored nine points adrift but they took their cue from Declan Ruth and hit seven points on-the-trot. Barry Lambert and Rory Jacob began to run at Cork’s defense, but the home side finally stopped the rot and edged it by two points.

Waterford 4-27 Down 1-7

ANOTHER day to question the value of Down participating in Division 1A. Even with outstanding talents like Brendan McGourty and Paddy Coulter the outcome was all too predictable. Stephen Molumphy helped himself to 2-2 while Jamie Nagle and Ken McGrath also grabbed a goal apiece. Emmet Trainor got in for Down’s goal but nothing could prevent this 29-point drubbing . . .

ANTRIM boss Dominic McKinley may be asking the same question. He described his team’s 0-11 to 2-21 defeat by Kilkenny as “demoralizing.” Martin Comerford’s first minute goal set the tone and with Eddie Brennan showing very well on the ‘40’ the opening match at new grounds in Ballycastle was an occasion to forget.