Match Preview

The Group 1 encounter in the GAA Gaelic football championship features Derry facing Armagh. Both teams have experienced contrasting starts to their campaigns, setting the stage for an intriguing matchup. This would be a disastrous loss for Derry after such a great start to the season.

Live scores for Armagh v Derry 

Previous Encounters

Derry and Armagh last met in the championship in the 2023 Ulster final, which Derry won on penalties after extra-time. This game adds another chapter to their storied rivalry.

Championship Journey So Far

Derry

• Donegal 4-11 Derry 0-17 (Ulster quarter-final)
• Galway 2-14 Derry 0-15 (All-Ireland round robin)

Derry have struggled in their championship journey so far, suffering defeats to Donegal and Galway.

Top Scorers for Derry

• S McGuigan: 0-8 (0-4 frees)
• E Doherty: 0-5
• L Murray: 0-4
• B Rogers: 0-3
• P Cassidy: 0-3 (0-1 mark)

Armagh

• Armagh 3-11 Fermanagh 0-9 (Ulster quarter-final)
• Armagh 0-13 Down 2-6 (Ulster semi-final)
• Donegal 0-20 Armagh 0-20 aet: Donegal won on penalties (Ulster final)
• Armagh 0-16 Westmeath 0-11 (All-Ireland round robin)

Armagh have had a more balanced journey, with a notable victory over Westmeath in their first All-Ireland round robin game.

Top Scorers for Armagh

• R Grugan: 0-12 (0-8 frees)
• C Turbitt: 1-8 (0-2 frees)
• S Campbell: 1-4
• A Nugent: 0-6
• R O’Neill: 0-5 (0-1 free, 0-1 mark)

Recent Championship Meetings

• 2023: Derry 1-15 Armagh 0-18 aet – Derry won on penalties (Ulster final)
• 2020: Armagh 0-17 Derry 0-15 (Ulster quarter-final)
• 2011: Derry 3-14 Armagh 1-11 (Ulster semi-final)
• 2010: Armagh 1-10 Derry 1-7 (Ulster preliminary round)
• 2007: Derry 0-10 Armagh 0-9 (All-Ireland qualifiers – R1)

Key Insights

• This will be Armagh’s fifth game in the championship. They conceded two goals against Down but none against Fermanagh, Donegal, or Westmeath.
• Derry are having their third outing, having lost to Donegal and Galway by six and five points respectively.

Group 1 Table

Team News for Armagh v Derry

Derry: Odhran Lynch; Conor McCluskey, Chrissy McKaigue, Diarmuid Baker; Conor Doherty, Eoin McEvoy, Emmett Bradley; Conor Glass, Brendan Rogers; Ethan Doherty, Ciarán McFaul, Paul Cassidy; Niall Toner, Shane McGuigan, Lachlan Murray.

Subs: Ryan Scullion, Martin Bradley, Declan Cassidy, Mark Doherty, Shea Downey, Ruairi Forbes, Donncha Gilmore, Danny McDermott, Cahir McMonagle, Cormac Murphy, Eunan Mulholland.

Armagh: Blaine Hughes; Barry McCambridge, Aaron McKay, Peter McGrane; Joe McElroy, Ciarán Mackin, Aidan Forker; Rian O’Neill, Ben Crealey; Stefan Campbell, Rory Grugan, Tiernan Kelly; Oisín Conaty, Andrew Murnin, Conor Turbitt.

Subs: Ethan Rafferty, Connaire Mackin, Greg McCabe, Niall Grimley, Paddy Burns, Jason Duffy, Oisín O’Neill, Shane McPartlan, Aidan Nugent, Ross McQuillan, Jarly Óg Burns.

Betting

Armagh 13/8 Derry 4/7 Draw 8/1

Conclusion

The upcoming match between Derry and Armagh is poised to be a crucial encounter in Group 1. Armagh will be looking to continue their strong form, while Derry will be eager to bounce back from their recent setbacks. Fans can expect a highly competitive game as both teams vie for important points in the championship. Expect Derry another close encounter maybe the draw at 8/1

The post Armagh v Derry : Preview, Stats, Team News & Betting appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The first-time county champions were held at bay by Rory Kavanagh’s defensively sound Donegal outfit for the majority of the game but a mistake at the back was what brought them down, as Glen forward Danny Tallon kicked an easy free to win it in the dying moments.

Eunan’s were the better side for most of the game in what was initially a dour affair but a late penalty save from Shaun Patton and the even later winning free added excitement to the first game of this year’s Ulster Championship.

Watty Graham’s had the lion’s share of the possession throughout the game but Eunan’s goal after the first water break led to a period where both sides traded blows.

Tallon put the ball over the bar twice in the highest-scoring period of the game after the sole goal, coming close to replying to the Donegal side with a goal of his own.

However, the second half followed the same pattern of failing to excite as Eunan’s maintained their lead of two points until late.

Glen half-back Ciaran McFaul reduced the lead to one and the side went on the attack soon after in search of another score.

The uniform defence of the Donegal champions was burst open and Stevie O’Hara was one-on-one with Donegal number one Patton before being brought down.

Patton saved the resulting penalty but the defence was rattled and the Derry champions took advantage of this.

Michael Warnock knocked over the equaliser after being allowed a free shot by the nervous Eunan’s backline and a back pass after the following kick out allowed Danny Tallon to do what he does best, sealing the first-ever win for his club in the Ulster Senior Football Championship.

Tallon and co. will now progress to face Monaghan champions Scotstown in the quarter-final in two weeks time.

The post Glen earn first-ever Ulster SFC win to progress to quarter-finals appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Slaughtneil will face fellow Group C graduates Lavey in the first scheduled semi-final on Saturday, October 30 at 6:45 pm.

The Loup and Glen, winners of Group A and D respectively, will battle it out for the second spot in the final on Halloween – Sunday, October 31 at 2:45 pm.

Both matches will be held at Owenbeg.

Slaughtneil v Lavey

Defending champions Slaughtneil are attempting to win their second John McLaughlin Cup in a row and achieve such a feat for the second time since 2017.

Standing in their way of a second successive appearance in the final is Lavey, who topped their group previous to the start of the knockout phase and put two goals past The Robbies in a three-point win back in September.

Cailean O’Boyle and the Downeys, Enda, Shea, Matthew and Callum, have been effective in attack for the challengers as the young side bring the most momentum into the tie.

Slaughtneil, however, bring the champions mentality into the game and, with the nature of the match taken into account, it can be expected that they will aim to right the wrongs of September and take down possibly their biggest threat to a seventh Derry SFC title.

Shane McGuigan has led the side in attack with his free-taking but their defence has allowed a goal in every game since their loss to Lavey.

Lavey, on the other hand, have only conceded two goals in the championship thus far but both sides have conceded less than 45 points – Lavey have conceded 41 while the champions have allowed 42.

The Loup v Glen

The only survivors of Group A and D have made it to the semi-final stage and will face each other for a spot in the county final.

The winners of Group A, The Loup, have been firing on all cylinders in attack but leaking scores at the back.

The work of the likes of Anthony O’Neill, as well as Ciaran and Cormac Devlin has countered the defence that has allowed five goals in five games, leading to high-scoring matches throughout the Derry Championship.

Glen have a much more impressive defence that has kept opposition scores below ten in all games they have played bar one – Kilrea put 3-8 past the Glen defence but lost in a group game in September.

The side have conceded only 44 points after five games, with 17 of those coming from one game.

Impeccable attacking performances from the likes of Paul Gunning and Danny Tallon have given the side a potent attack that has scored 107 points in just five games – the strongest in Derry.

However, The Loup are only a point behind in their overall attacking output, making this an exciting matchup of the two best attacking sides in the Oak-Leaf County.

Where To Watch

The two semi-finals will be available to watch on live streams, which can be accessed through 247.tv for a fee.

The post Derry SFC semi-finals – Previews, Where To Watch appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Tyrone’s camogie team missed out on silverware for the county while their Men’s football side went one step closer to the Sam Maguire.

The goals were crucial with two of them coming from Ciara Delaney, having been set up by player of the match Áine Charlton. Captain Helen O’Malley also raised a green flag but Tyrone almost pulled off a spectacular comeback, getting to within one of the westerners having trailed by 11 but they just could not get over the line.

Mayo led by 2-6 to 0-4 at half-time thanks to Delaney and O’Malley’s majors, the latter part of a run of 1-5 without reply as Tyrone failed to score in the second quarter. When Delaney finished after another strong run by Charlton 15 seconds after the restart, it seemed like curtains.

But with Reagan Fay in inspired form and bringing her tally to eight points, the Red Hand women rallied. Niamh McNulty’s goal after an excellent catch was a real boost but when it seemed like momentum was in their favour, Mayo dug deep and Orla Hession pointed to leave Tyrone needing a goal that they couldn’t get.

Meanwhile, champions Armagh, who beat Clare in their semi-final by 2-13 to 1-6 on Saturday, will play Wexford in the All-Ireland premier junior final at Croke Park on September 12, as a result of the Yellowbellies’ 3-18 to 0-8 victory over Roscommon.

Roscommon had two early chances but two wides resulted and once Wexford got to grips with the excellent opposition sweeper, Rachel Fitzmaurice by playing the wings, they began to make hay.

Megan Cullen got an eighth-minute goal and it was 1-2 to 0-0 at the water break. On the resumption, all the Wexford inside forwards, Emma Tompkins, Emma Codd and Lisa Firman registered points and  Ailis Neville scored to make it 2-7 to 0-1 at half-time.

The Roscommon point came from a long-distance free by Shauna Fallon just before the short whistle.

The Connacht side were awarded a penalty early in the second half but Fallon’s shot was too central and goalkeeper Lara O’Shea was able to make the stop.

With that, any hope of a spectacular comeback dissipated.

When Roscommon removed Fitzmaurice from her sweeping role as they needed to chase the game, it opened space and Wexford profited. Chloe Cashe, who had been kept to a point in the first half, got a goal at the end of an excellent move on 41 minutes and finished with 1-8.

Fitzmaurice and Niamh Watson tried hard for Roscommon but it was all about Wexford, Clodagh Jackman, Aideen Brennan, Cashe, Neville and Cullen among those to shine.

Elsewhere, the talented Áine Magill completed 24 hours she won’t forget in a hurry as she played for Antrim in the intermediate semi-final against Galway and then against Laois in the Tesco All-Ireland B semi final.

She up a star outing for Antrim in their win over Galway by scoring 1-3 from midfield as the Saffrons’ minors as they came out on top of a thriller against Laois by 3-19 to 3-12 to reach the Tesco All-Ireland B final.

Antrim will face Offaly in the final, who defeated Derry by 4-12 to 1-8 in the other semi-final.

The post Mayo Win Nancy Murray Cup After Two-Point Victory Over Tyrone appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE SCORES ON LOUTH v OFFALY

Both sides come into this year’s Leinster SFC after successful National Football League campaigns that saw the two sides win promotion.

Offaly finished as runners-up in Division Three while Louth beat Carlow by eight points to confirm their spot in next year’s Division Three.

Offaly weathered storms from opposition to reach the Division Three final before being swept aside by winners Derry.

Defensive errors were not unfamiliar to John Maughan’s side before the final.

Half-back John Moloney gifted Wicklow a goal early on in the season opener.

Mickey Harte’s Louth will want to force errors like these and have a penchant for goals.

Star player Sam Mulroy has been the biggest danger in attack for Harte’s men and nabbed four goals for the Wee County in their promotion push.

Ciarán Keenan has also impressed in the forward line under Mickey Harte.

The pair will be a handful for Offaly’s defence.

Offaly’s attack has often looked stagnant in periods, in contrast to Louth, and the side has relied on their substitutes on more than one occasion to get them over the line.

Namely, Niall McNamee has underlined his importance to the side.

The veteran forward kicked eight points as a substitute across their league campaign.

However, Offaly’s inability to score from play against Derry may be an omen for the future.

Joe Maher and Bernard Allen offer scoring threats in the starting 15 but it has not been enough this year so far.

Louth’s defence has kept many of their Division Four rivals in check with one exception of Antrim, the side promoted with Louth.

They conceded only 63 points across four games, the least in Division Three North – Sligo and Leitirm conceded more in just three games.

It will be a big test for the impressive Louth defence but if they can hold off the newly-promoted Division Two side, this season will be a huge success.

Team News

Louth

C Lynch, D Corcoran, D Campbell, D McKenny, E Carolan, A Williams, E Callaghan, B Duffy, C Byrne, L Jackson, S Mulroy, C Downey, C Keenan, C Grimes, R Burns

Offaly

P Duncan, J Lalor, E Rigney, N Darby, C Doyle, C Stewart, D Dempsey, P Cunningham, J Hayes, B Carroll, S Horan, A Sullivan, B Allen, C Farrell, R McNamee

Predicted Winner: Louth by 3.

Betting

Offaly 8/11

Draw 15/2

Louth 11/8

The post Leinster Preview, Live Scores & Team News : Louth v Offaly appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The final will be held at Croke Park on Saturday, 19th June at 5:00 pm.

It will be the only National Football League final played before the Championship begins, unless there are any changes.

The fixture will be part of the Government’s pilot testing programme and 2,400 spectators will benefit from that.

Analysis

The two sides have already earned promotions to Division Two after their impressive seasons in Division Three North and South respectively.

Derry capped off an impressive second league campaign under former Fermanagh boss Rory Gallagher with a win over Limerick.

Offaly completed the same feat with their victory over Fermanagh.

Derry will come into the game as favourites after dominating Division Three North, registering a points difference of +41 over their four games.

Their defending has looked well-instructed and orderly.

Furthermore, the pace of Ethan and Conor Doherty troubled opposition defences and will be something to keep an eye on this weekend.

Full-forward Shane McGuigan will be another threat that the Offaly defence will have to deal with.

A 2-26 (32) haul in his first four games of 2021 paints a picture of a man on a mission.

Half-forward Niall Loughlin offers a quality second option for Derry in the final third.

Derry’s blistering attack will go up against an Offaly defence that allowed 59 points across their four games.

Prone to error, the Offaly backs will have their work cut out for them if they are to contain the Derry forwards.

Their lapses in concentration against sides such as Wicklow are examples of the holes Derry can expose on Saturday evening.

Joe Maher and veteran Niall McNamee are serviceable scoring options for Faithful County.

The latter has been Offaly’s go-to off the bench and has got some important scores for the side.

However, Offaly’s chances are more reliant on their defence’s concentration.

They could find it to be a step too far against a Derry side firing on all cylinders.

Prediction: Derry by 5.

Odds

Derry 2/5

Draw 8/1

Offaly 5/2

A Twitter List by IrishScoresGAA

The post Preview: Offaly and Derry Battle For Division Three Glory appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Goals from Sean Murray and Jordan Flores contributed to a Dundalk victory as they kept their (slim) title hopes alive. This evening’s game was the Lilywhites’ final preparation for their European tie against Molde on Thursday. They’ll be hoping they can produce a similarly professional performance against the Norwegian league champions.

Dundalk were the first to strike after an early goal from Sean Murray to make it 1-0. Murray unleashed a rocket into the top right corner with 7 minutes on the clock after good build up down the left. It was only Murray’s fourth league start this season, but he certainly made an impression this evening which will give his manager a selection headache come Thursday.

What a finish from Murray

GOAL | @derrycityfc 0-1 @DundalkFC

7 | Brilliant football from the Lilywhites and Murray fires the ball home

WATCH LIVE | https://t.co/IBZkINEa20#WATCHLOI | 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯 pic.twitter.com/IlXLmsmBlF

— SSE Airtricity League (@SSEAirtricityLg) OCTOBER 19, 2020

It wasn’t long afterwards in the 14^th minute that Dundalk got their second. Conor Clifford won’t want to watch the goal back as it was his mistake that led to the opportunity. A poor back pass from the midfielder handed Jordan Flores an opportunity he couldn’t miss as he tapped in from close range. Flores has scored some spectacular goals this season but this one certainly won’t make any goal of the season compilation. Still though, a goal’s a goal and it helped Dundalk come out on top in the end.

Derry struck back on 18 minutes with a Darren Cole header after an inswinging free kick from Adam Hammill. Cole has made a habit of scoring against Dundalk since joining Derry, he’s now scored 3 goals against the Lilywhites after he netted this evening.

The next chance of the game fell to Dundalk. Sean Murray produced some good play down the right before crossing into Sean Murray, but the former Watford man failed to get his second of the night as he shot wide.

Derry could have got the equaliser after 36 minutes when Meite was afforded a chance after some good high pressing from Derry, but he shot safely into Aaron McCarey’s hands.

Not long after Derry had another opportunity. This time is was Walter Figueira who struck a venomous shot but McCarey got down well once again as he palmed the ball away. Figueira was arguably Derry’s best player of the first half as he consistently caused problems for Dundalk with his pace and close control, but unfortunately for him his threatening play didn’t end with the ball in the back of the net. Figueira’s chance was the last opportunity of the first half.

After a turbulent first half – particularly in the first 20 minutes – the second half failed to live up to expectations.

It was a drab affair as both teams struggled to fashion any opportunities.

Derry were the most threatening side in the second half as they consistently tried to break down the Dundalk defence, but to little avail. They had two half chances with 80 minutes played but Aaron McCarey produced two good saves to keep out Clifford and Malone.

Dundalk had one opportunity from a free kick in the 91^st minute to seal their victory but McEleney failed to get enough power on the shot to trouble the keeper.

The match finished 2-1 to Dundalk after a unremarkable second half.

Full-time here at the Brandywell and #DundalkFC take all three points with a 2-1 win!

— DundalkFC (@DundalkFC) OCTOBER 19, 2020

Here were the teams on the night:

Dundalk: McCarey; Gannon, Cleary, Boyle, Leahy; Murray (Mountney), Flores (Hoban), Colovic (McEleney), Sloggett, Duffy (Dummigan); McMillan (Shields).

Derry: Cherrie; Coll, Cole (Horgan), Harkin, Toal; Hammill, Clifford, Malone (Thomson), McJannet, Figueira; Meite (Bruna).

The post Review: Dundalk defeat Derry at the Brandywell appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Sky Sports report that the four teams will include, Dundalk, Shamrock Rovers, Derry City and Bohemians. These four teams qualified for European competitions. It is also expected these 4 teams will return to training on June 8th with games then to take place after June 20th. Sky Sports also report that the games will likely be held in the Aviva Stadium.

Speaking to FAI TV, Alan Byrne, who is the FAI Medical Director said, The idea behind it is to try and to create a template for the safe return of football”. Byrne confirmed the news that training for the four teams can commence on June 8th stating, “We’ll start off training on the 8th of June, but we’ll have tested the players with the co-operation of the medical staff and the coaching staff in the four clubs”. The remaining league of Ireland clubs will be allowed return to training on June 29th according to RTE.

He also said that if you are a player that you simply have to be tested for your own sake and your families sake. He said, “If you’re a player… you need to be tested for your family’s sake, for your sake, for your overall safety and your colleague’s safety as well.”

Derry City have come out and supported the idea saying the four team tournament is “a good template”. Director of Derry City, Sean Barrett said, “I think it’s a good idea. I think the concept of trying something out, if they are going to go to regionalised venues later on, then this is a good example to get it started”.

He continued and said it will be good for all four clubs involved. “I don’t know much about it yet. It’ll be great for Dundalk, Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers and also good for all the other clubs to have a look at it to see how things will be done”.

I fully expect to see more news on this in the coming days.

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