There were wins for Dublin, Armagh and Cavan on a busy Saturday night of National Football League action.
Dublin 2-14 0-16 Mayo
Bernard Brogan was the star for Dublin during their high-scoring Division 1 tie with Mayo at Croke Park. Brogan hit a wonderful 1-10 to seal a four-point win for the Metropolitans. In a tight affair, Mayo were ahead by six points at one stage, but fell behind 1-08 to 0-08 points at half-time.
Although Stephen Cluxton missed a second-half penalty and Ger Brennan was sent off in the 42nd minute, Dublin were too strong in the second half and held on for a four-point win. Jason Doherty finished with six points for Mayo, three of which came from play.
Dublin: Stephen Cluxton (capt); Kevin O’Brien, Rory O’Carroll, Johnny Cooper; Darren Daly, Ger Brennan, Jack McCaffrey; Declan O’Mahony, Cian O’Sullivan (0-01); Paul Flynn, Tomas Brady, Ciaran Reddin; Paddy Andrews (0-02), Ciarán Kilkenny, Bernard Brogan (1-10, 0-05f, 0-01sl) .
Subs used: Kevin McManamon (1-01) for Brady (20 mins), Darragh Nelson for O’Carroll (half-time), Bryan Cullen for Reddin (52 mins), Paddy Quinn for Kilkenny (61), Nicky Devereux for McCaffrey (65).
Mayo: Kenneth O’Malley; Chris Barrett, Ger Cafferkey, Keith Higgins; Lee Keegan (0-03), Donal Vaughan, Colm Boyle; Jason Gibbons, Barry Moran; Kevin McLoughlin (0-03, 0-02f), Aidan O’Shea (0-01), Richie Feeney; Enda Varley (0-02), Jason Doherty (0-06, 0-03f), Michael Conroy (0-01).
Subs used: Cathal Carolan for Gibbons (45 mins), Seamus O’Shea for Moran (52), Tom Cunniffe for Feeney (61).
Armagh 3-08 2-09 Longford
Armagh put in a strong team performance to earn the first win of their 2013 National League campaign, beating Longford at the Athletic Grounds. The Orchard fended off a late Longford surge to win by just two points. The Orchard scored two early goals through the excellent Jamie Clarke and Stefan Forker. However, Francis McGee replied for Longford.
Three points separated the teams at half-time, with Armagh leading 2-05 to 1-05. Tony Kernan scored Armagh’s third goal in the 64th minute, before Mcgee struck for his second goal of the night to ensure a nervy finish. However, Paul Grimley’s side held on for a precious victory, the first of the new Armagh manger’s reign.
Armagh: P McEvoy, G McCooey, J Donnelly, S Finnegan, A Kernan (0-02, 0-02f), B Donaghy, C McKeever, J Lavery, S Harold, K Dyas (0-01), S Campbell, C Rafferty, J Clarke (1-02), J Hanratty, S Forker (1-02, 0-1f).
Subs used: J Morgan for Finnegan (26), D McKenna for McCooey (45), B Mallon for Hanratty (50), T Kernan (1-01,0-1) (’45) for Campbell (50)
Longford: D Sheridan, D Brady, B Gilleran, P Foy, M Quinn, K Diffley, S Mulligan, J Keegan, M Brady, B McElvanney, D McElligott, A Rowen, F McGee (2-02), P Barden, S McCormack (0-07, 0-06f).
Subs used: D Barden for P Barden (h-t), C Smith for Diffley (h-t), N Mulligan for Keegan (57)
Cavan 0-15 1-06 Meath
Cavan left Navan with their second win of the Division 3 league campaign, thanks to an excellent performance against Meath. Meath were left to rue a terrible first-half performance in which they registered just one point, a Michael Newman free.
David Givney, Cian Mackey (0-02) and Gearóid McKiernan (0-03) impressed for the Ulster men, as they led 0-10 to 0-01 at the break. An early Newman goal in the second-half gave the Royals a glimmer of hope, but Cavan’s first-half lead proved too big an obstacle for Mick O’ Dowd’s men. Cavan’s Neil McDermott was give his marching orders late on.
Saturday’s other results:
Antrim 2-09 1-12 Fermanagh
Limerick 0-08 0-06 Waterford
Laois 1-17 2-14 Louth
