Serving Up Justice With The Guvnor

In a repeat of last year's final, Kerry got revenge as they defeated Derry to finish off their sensational, unbeaten league campaign.

Cork were just too strong for Monaghan and gave an impression that they will once again be serious contenders for the All-Ireland in the summer. Monaghan should not be too disheartened though, they had a very good campaign.

In what could be considered a bit of a shock, Tipperary were able to defeat Down to take the title by a single point. The match was so close that it ended up going into extra-time as a winner was unable to be found during the normal 70 minutes of play. Down will most certainly be disappointed to lose a big game that they should have won, but Tipperary's incredible season just keeps getting better.

Sligo probably would have been favourites before this match, but they needed 2 points in injury time to seal the win against Antrim. It sounded like a keenly contested game with both teams obviously wanting to pick up the win.

Friday, 24 April 2009

NFL Roundup - Week 10

As Division 4 has an extra team in it, they played out their final round of games this past week.

Division 4

Antrim had a win away at Waterford to top the table.

Sligo had a narrow win away at Wicklow, although they were already guaranteed a place in the final.

Kilkenny lost heavily yet again, this time to Carlow.

Clare had a very easy win against London, defeating them by triple scores.

Leitrim had the weekend off.

Friday, 17 April 2009

NFL Roundup - Week 9

Derry won to send them into the final, however this defeat got Donegal relegated.

Dublin produced a terrific performance to secure safety as they destroyed Westmeath by 27-points. This result meant that the visitors had lost all 7 of their matches.

Kerry were able to defeat Galway to end their campaign unbeaten. It was bad luck for Galway though as they miss out on the final due to points difference for the second year running.

A draw would have been enough to keep both Mayo & Tyrone in Division 1, so rather unsurprisingly they drew. For Tyrone, it would have to go down as a bit of a poor campaign to only secure safety in the very last match. The manager tried out over 35 players in the 7 games, but the disappointing thing is that not many of them showed the quality that has become synonymous with Tyrone over the past decade. Hopefully things pick up during the All-Ireland Championship in the summer.

Monaghan secured their promotion with as they went to Laois and hammered them by a massive scoreline.

Cork were very impressive against Armagh as they gained promotion with this win.

Meath and Kildare drew.

As did Wexford and Fermanagh and it was probably fairly unenjoyable for all involved as both sides had already been relegated.

Down had a narrow win away at Roscommon but it gained them promotion as they finished top of the table.

Louth had a narrow home win against Cavan.

Limerick lost at Louth which saw them relegated. Unluckily for them, 3 other teams had the same number of points as them, but they went down due to an inferior score difference.

Longford beat Tipperary, but it didn't make much difference as they had already been relegated.

Sligo picked up a home win against Waterford to guarantee them promotion and a place in the final.

Carlow came from behind to pick up a win at home against Wicklow in a high-scoring game.

Leitrim finished up their campaign with a victory against Clare.

London had an expected win against Kilkenny.

Antrim had the weekend off.

Friday, 3 April 2009

NFL Roundup - Week 8

I had the pleasure of attending Tyrone’s home victory over Derry in the Saturday evening game. It was probably our best performance since the opening game and it was a very exciting match, very cold mind you. Tyrone probably deserved the win and we even had the luxury of missing a penalty. Derry could have seen out the match though, and the referee was probably a bit more in their favour. Our penchant for strong finish continued as the scores were level but we got 3 points in the last 2 minutes to seal the win. So an enjoyable night overall and the job was done as our division 1 status is all but secured for another year.

Dublin drew at home against Kerry, but they really should have won as they threw away a 5-point lead as the game was coming towards the final stages.

Mayo produced a great victory as they won at local rival Galway by a single point.

Donegal won at Westmeath and in the process relegated the home side who have lost all 6 of their games so far.

Monaghan had a great and perhaps mildly surprising win against Cork as they handed the visitors their first defeat of the campaign.

Kildare had a very determined win away at Fermanagh, a result which relegated the Ulstermen.

Wexford’s terrible campaign got worse as they were comfortably beaten at home by Laois, a defeat that saw them relegated.

Armagh had a very tight home win against Meath.

Down had a very comfortable home win against Offaly, beating them by more than double scores.

Limerick had a decent win away at Longford, who ended up getting relegated by virtue of this loss.

Tipperary came from behind to win against Louth to secure an impressive and well deserved promotion up to Division 2 next year. This is Tipperary’s second promotion in 2 years which is an excellent achievement.

Cavan had a very good win against Roscommon.

Waterford continue to make strides in the right direction as they defeated Carlow.

Antrim made good use of home advantage as they had a fine win against Sligo.

Leitrim had a huge win at Kilkenny, triumphing by a margin of 27 points.

Wicklow had an expected home win against London.

Clare had the weekend off.

Friday, 27 March 2009

NFL Roundup - Week 7

Kerry kept their 100% record intact as they easily dispatched Westmeath.

Derry and Galway battled to an exciting draw.

Mayo needed a last minute point to secure a home draw with Dublin.

Donegal recorded a deserved home win against Tyrone, although the visitors had the chance to snatch a late draw as a shot came back off the goalpost.

Cork had a very comprehensive win at home to Wexford, who have yet to pick up any points this year.

Kildare missed a late penalty and it cost them dearly as they got beat at home by Armagh.

Meath and Monaghan played to a draw.

Laois won at home to Fermanagh in a high-scoring match.

6 unanswered points in a row helped Louth record a decent home win against Longford on a very windy pitch.

Tipperary had a very good win away at Roscommon, which sent them to the top of the table.

Limerick had a vital 1 point win over Down which helped them move off the bottom of the table.

Cavan will were left to rue a missed penalty as they lost away at Offaly.

Sligo maintained their maximum record with a home win against Carlow.

Waterford picked up a good home win against Leitrim.

Wicklow won at home to Clare.

Antrim destroyed London by a large margin.

Kilkenny had the weekend off.

Friday, 20 March 2009

NFL Roundup - Week 6

Division 1

Derry bounced back from last week's defeat to pick up a very fine win away at Dublin in a game that they completely dominated.

Kerry were too strong at home to Mayo, although they have a lot to thank forward Colm Cooper for as he scored 8 out of their 13 points.

Tyrone picked up a win at Westmeath thanks to a last-minute goal in a very dramatic TV game. It was especially heartbreaking for the home side as they thought they had won it with a goal only 2 minutes from time, but it was not to be. I'm not sad for them though as we needed a win, of any sorts, to at least temporarily ease any relegation fears. There is still plenty of room for improvement though.

Galway kept their winning record intact as they were able to get the better of Donegal.

Cork had a very comprehensive victory away at Laois as they beat them by double scores.

Armagh were able to pick up a 1 point victory when they visited Fermanagh.

A bit of a surprising result as Monaghan lost at home to Kildare, in what was a very exciting TV game on Sunday afternoon.

Meath had a good win against Wexford, although the home side were very wasteful and that cost them bad.

Cavan needed a very late point in order to pick up a home victory against Limerick.

Roscommon had a very respectable win away at Louth.

Tipperary had an impressive win as they beat Offaly.

Down had a handy enough victory as they came away from Longford with a win.

London made full use of home advantage to get a narrow win over Waterford.

Leitrim had a home win over Wicklow.

Antrim had an excellent win against Carlow and racked up a huge score in the process.

Kilkenny suffered another heavy loss as they were annihilated at Clare.

Sligo had the weekend off.

Friday, 13 March 2009

NFL Roundup - Week 5

Galway continued their 100% start to the league as they went up to Tyrone and won. This was the TV game on Saturday night but it was a terrible and for the most part boring match, as the conditions were atrocious. There was heavy rain earlier in the day and throughout the match and if the match had not been on TV, it may well have been called off. Credit to Galway though, they played the conditions better and on the whole deserved the win. A few alarm bells will start to ring for Tyrone as this is their second home loss in a row and again they did not turn up at all in the first half. We can not afford a slip-up in the next game otherwise we may get dragged into a relegation battle.

Kerry had a fine win up in Derry and they could even afford the luxury of missing a penalty. Kerry have gotten off to an excellent start and also have maximum points from the 3 games played so far.

Dublin had a very good, and much-needed result as they came away from Donegal with a win. This sort of victory was exactly what they needed and the team will now be looking to kick on into another gear.

Mayo had a handy enough victory when they hosted Westmeath.

In the early match, Meath had an expected win at home to Laois. It was so comfortable that the they could get away with not even scoring a single point in the second half. Laois were said to be poor though, as none of their points came from open play.

Monaghan had an excellent win at Armagh and that victory leaves them as the only team win a 100% record in this division.

Cork defeated Fermanagh in a result that many would have predicted.

Kildare had a very comprehensive and deserved victory against Wexford. And this also means that the visitors have yet to pick up a single point so they need to turn things around fast.

There was a bit of a surprise result on Saturday evening when Down lost at home to Cavan. This is a poor result for Down as they would have been expected to win this game and they had home advantage too, plus this is a bit of a blow to their chances of getting promoted.

Tipperary needed a late penalty to pick up the win, but it is a very fine victory away at Limerick who seem to be regressing.

Roscommon made full use of home advantage as they saw off Longford with 2 points to spare.

Offaly won by a single point at home to Louth to pick up their first win and will be using this as a boost to move in the right direction.

Sligo had a decent enough win over in London to make it 4 wins from 4.

Wicklow absolutely annihilated Kilkenny in a game where they were always going to win, but probably not by a margin of 42 points. To make the result seem all the more worse, Kilkenny were the home team.

Leitrim and Antrim battled to a cagey draw, although the Ulster side will probably be the happier of the two teams.

Waterford had a very good win away at Clare and seem to be getting more confident with each passing game.

Carlow had the weekend off.

Friday, 27 February 2009

NFL Roundup - Week 4

There were no scheduled fixtures this past weekend, but it allowed 2 teams to catch up on their postponed game from a few weeks back.

Division 4

Leitrim had a comfortable enough victory at home against Carlow.

Tuesday, 17 February 2009

NFL Roundup - Week 3

The Saturday evening game saw a very thrilling draw between Donegal and Mayo, although the home side can be somewhat disappointed that they let a 9-point lead slip and ended up conceding 2 goals in the second half. Mayo had a bit of a poor year last time around and so will be using this league to build themselves up to the levels of years gone by, and on this evidence they are on the right tracks.

It really was a game of 2 halves up in Omagh as Tyrone, the home side, only managed 3 points in the first half, yet in the second period Kerry only got 2 points. I caught this game on the television and Kerry came racing out of the traps as they were most likely keen to avenge their All-Ireland loss in September and at times they were simply excellent. Both of their goals were very well taken and they could have had more if the Tyrone keeper had not made some great saves. Tyrone looked like a completely different team in the second half though as they picked themselves up for a very unlikely comeback and you felt that if there had of been 5 extra minutes then they probably would have won the game, they had that much momentum. While yes it was disappointing to lose at home, they will take some heart from earning back some respectability.

Galway had a very good win over Dublin and this also made for an enjoyable TV game, even if the 3 goals in the first half kind of killed the game as a contest. The goals themselves were great as they just sliced the Dublin defence open and one of them was a very well taken penalty. Dublin to their credit did not give up but it was just too big of a mountain to climb.

Derry had a very comfortable home win against Westmeath, but that was expected.

Division 2

Laois had a bit of a surprise win in Armagh and this result will do them a world of good.

And again in a bit of a shock, Fermanagh won down in Meath albeit by a single point. Fermanagh are a very hard-working and likeable team who always seem to put in maximum effort and it paid off greatly for them here.

There was a draw between Kildare and Cork, a very enjoyable one it seems based of the reports. Although Cork will probably be relieved with a point, deep down they know that this is a game they probably should have won.

Monaghan had a very good win at home to Wexford, racking in a huge score in the process.

Division 3

Down enjoyed a very tight win over Louth to go top of the table at this early stage. Down are probably favourites to take this league.

Limerick beat Roscommon with the very last kick of the match, which just goes to show that you have to concentrate right to the very end.

Cavan endured a very disappointing loss at home to Tipperary.

Offaly also needed a last-minute point but it could only snatch a draw at home to Longford. Offaly will rue that they missed a penalty though, it could have saved them all sorts of problems and would have helped them win.

Antrim had a good home win over Clare in the Saturday night match.

Sligo had a massive win over Leitrim in a game that really should have been a lot closer given these two sides are round about the same level.

Waterford easily beat Kilkenny in what must have been a bizarre match as both these counties prefer hurling.

Carlow had an expected home win against London.

Wicklow had the weekend off.

Wednesday, 11 February 2009

NFL Roundup - Week 2

The only teams in action were the ones from Division 4, presumably because there are 9 teams in that division compared with 8 in the rest and therefore they need an extra weekend to run through all their fixtures.

Division 4

Waterford, who are mainly a hurling county, can be very happy with their draw away at Wicklow. They were winning too coming into the final stages of the game and this result will give them a massive boost. Poor display by Wicklow though.

Kilkenny getting hammered by Antrim was very much expected.

Sligo had a narrow win at Clare, but a good one nonetheless.

The game between Leitrim and Carlow got called off due to the bad weather.

London had the weekend off.

Tuesday, 3 February 2009

NFL Roundup - Week 1

No, not that NFL. This is the Gaelic football National Football League that fills the gap between pre-season and the beginning of the All-Ireland Championship at the start of the summer. The league has taken on greater significance in the last few years as many teams use it to sort out what will be more or less their final squads and to analyse the fitness of their top stars as well to see how youngsters have fitted into the team. Also the teams in Division 4 are forbidden from taking part in the latter stages of the Championship, unless they pull off some spectacular results when those games come around. So there is an emphasis to do well for all the teams involved.

Division 1

The first game was on Saturday night down in Croke Park where Dublin hosted reigning All-Ireland Champions, Tyrone. This also coincided with the 125th Anniversary of the GAA and there were video packages and fireworks after the game. I caught the second half of the match and it was a really good game. The tempo was of a very high pace as both sides wanted to get off to a good start and perhaps get a mental edge as there is a good chance that these two sides could meet again later on in the year as the Championship draws to a close. Dublin scored a good goal but Owen Mulligan scored an even better one. They were trading scores at one stage before Dublin had a 1-point lead in injury time, however Tyrone knocked over 3 in a row to win. The Tyrone forwards were absolutely sensational which was simply a joy to watch. The whole package of the match and celebrations afterwards were just superb and a fantastic way to kick things off.

Galway won as expected away at Westmeath.

As did Kerry, but what a disappointing and long journey home for Donegal as they would have had to travel practically from the bottom to the top of Ireland.

Derry produced a shock in winning at Mayo. It’ll be interesting to see if they can keep this up, but if they do then Ulster will be all the more competitive later in the year.

Cork’s win over Meath was perhaps a bigger win than some may have expected. But Meath are going through a transitional stage and on the basis of this result, they have not settled on a strong enough team yet.

Monaghan are a team that seem to be improving each year and their win at Fermanagh would be testament to that. It sounded like a great game too.

Armagh racking up a huge score will probably silence the doubters, at least for a bit, who seem to write that side off as being too old. Wexford only scored 1 point in the second half is simply disgraceful, and they were the home team too. I wouldn’t have liked to have been in the dressing room after that one.

Laois are a team that seem to have regressed in recent years and their loss at home to Kildare would surely have hurt.

Roscommon winning handily enough against Offaly was expected.

Cavan’s loss at Longford was possibly a bit of a surprise. Cavan are a steely enough team who on their day can pose a stern challenge to anyone, but obviously this wasn’t their day.

Down's victory at Tipperary was a good one and they will probably be up near the top of this division; they are too good for it.

Limerick had a disaster at Louth, but they are more of a hurling county. And Louth on their day can give a real good account of themselves.