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Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Oisín O'Neill: They keep continuously changing the rules and as players, that's frustrating
A free for a foul on a player successfully claiming a kick-out mark will take place from where the infringement was made starting with this weekend's All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-finals and Tailteann Cup semi-finals. In an electronic vote prompted by the presentation of the Football Review Committee proposal at Central Council on Saturday, delegates voted 38 to one in favour of changing the experimental rule as it existed, which was a free brought forward 50 metres. Players fouled will have the option of taking a free from where the mark was awarded or a solo and go. That rule had caused major grievances for several inter-county managers including Kerry's Jack O'Connor and Cork's John Cleary. Counties had been utilising the option to bring the resultant free outside the 40m arc to kick two-point frees. However, Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney questioned the proposal on Saturday and Oisín O'Neill explained his manager's concern is the number of alterations to the list of experimental rules. 'I think Kieran's biggest issue with them is that they constantly change,' said the Crossmaglen Rangers man. Read More Jarlath Burns defends GAA's fixtures body in wake of Donegal criticism 'Half the league and then they changed and now they're talking about another change this week. Like, there's four rounds of championship left. 'He has no issue. It's more just that they keep continuously changing and as players, that's frustrating because your coach is working on one thing one week and then it might change. 'But look, whatever it is, it is and we'll be ready for the quarter-final in two weeks to do a massive rethink on what you're doing on some certain aspects.' At least Armagh will have that amount of time to adjust but this weekend's eight All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finalists will have half that period to respond. O'Neill recalls the previous amendments after Round 5 of the Allianz League. 'We probably had to tweak a few things that we've been working on and change certain things that we were trying to work on such as the mark. "You had to hold your hands up after going up and now you're being told you've five steps or whatever.'
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
GAA vote to do away with 50m penalty for kick-out mark fouls
A free for a foul on a player successfully claiming a kick-out mark will take place from where the infringement was made starting with this weekend's All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-finals and Tailteann Cup semi-finals. In an electronic vote prompted by the presentation of the proposal at Central Council on Saturday, delegates voted 39 to one in favour of changing the experimental rule as it existed, which was a free brought forward 50 metres. Players fouled will have the option of taking a free from where the mark was awarded or a solo and go. That rule had caused major grievances for several inter-county managers including Kerry's Jack O'Connor and Cork's John Cleary. Counties had been utilising the option to bring the resultant free outside the 40m arc to kick two-point frees. The likes of Meath boss Robbie Brennan and Armagh's 2024 All-Ireland winning manager Kieran McGeeney have questioned the change. 'What does that encourage, though?' said Brennan on Saturday. 'You're just going to foul the guy, aren't you? I presume that's what's going to happen. If someone catches, you're just going to foul him and knock that out of his way, so you're probably losing that advantage of going up and winning the mark. 'That rule used to be there, it was a 13-metre free. I don't know why it's still not 13 metre free if you're fouled but look if that's what they bring in, that's what they bring in. As usual, we will just work towards it and practice it.' Also on Saturday, McGeeney said some counties were influencing the changes. 'Some teams tell them to do something, I'd love that direct line. Whoever has that direct line into Jim (Gavin) and Eamonn (Fitzmaurice), I would love that.'
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Gritty Royals put Kerry on the back foot
All-Ireland SFC: Meath 1-22 (1-4-18) Kerry 0-16 (0-1-15) A Kerry performance and a result that at any other time would demand a postmortem but there is no time for such an examination. Besides, and the next point is important, they aren't dead. Losing to a team that finished nine places below them in this year's Allianz League with their lowest points total in almost a year should hurt. Even if they began with arguably six, at a push seven first-team players, local Meath journalists rightly pointed out afterwards that their county were missing eight possible starters. That being said, only nine of the Kerry team that began last year's All-Ireland semi-final started in Tullamore. Seán O'Shea's withdrawal with a hamstring issue before the game deprived Kerry of a conduit in the half-forward line but more importantly a viable kick-out option. Necessity has meant Jack O'Connor has had to draw deeper from his resources this year but on the basis of this display there remain shortcomings in the panel. Diarmuid O'Connor's absence is bemoaned but Paudie Clifford's is lamented. Masses will be said for his safe return for the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final. Meath were ravenous, Kerry acted like their bellies were full. The greasy conditions lended to a game of breaking ball and the Munster champions were incredibly laborious in their efforts to retain the ball. 'We couldn't win our own kick-out,' lamented Jack O'Connor. 'That's the bottom line. If you don't have the ball, it doesn't matter what forwards you have. We just couldn't win the breaking ball, and it was mostly breaking ball.' But Kerry's attitude reeked too. 'It's a chastening experience,' O'Connor admitted. 'We were very flat, and lacking energy, so we have to figure out where that came from. 'Compared to the second half above in Cork, this was night and day. Meath had all the energy and the aggression, and we were passive. It's back to the drawing board. We won't be making those excuses. We were just way off it today, and Meath were deserving winners.' Robbie Brennan had no issue with Meath being written off before the game but some of the analysis or lack thereof was galling. On Today FM on Friday, the manner in which this game was dismissed as a foregone conclusion was insulting to Meath and the advances they have made this year. In fairness to Marc Ó Sé, he warned there could be a surprise in store but he was drowned out by claims he was resorting to 'yerra'. Meath sensed there was blood in the water and the performances of Ruairí Kinsella, Conor Duke and Ciarán Caulfield deserved to be winning ones. Minus the regular scoring threats of Matthew Costello and James Conlon, Kinsella and Duke each provided five points from play. 'You take James Conlon who kicked six (points) the last day and he's not in the team and people are saying, 'Where are the scores going to come from?' But they just come from other areas and a testament to the strength in the squad.' Twelve months ago, Meath may as well have rolled out the red carpet for Kerry. County officials acted like sycophants as they looked for selfies with David Clifford and management figures chatted and ambled before throw-in like old friends. Here, Meath, going with seven of the team beaten by 15 points by Kerry in Páirc Tailteann, offered no welcome to Leinster. They were gritty, aggressive and should have been further than six points ahead at half-time, 0-14 to 0-8. They kicked a couple of two-pointers in that period and Kinsella and Duke each landed another after Kerry had narrowed the gap to two points. The coup de grace came as early as the 57th minute when Bryan Menton finally beat Shane Ryan after the Kerry goalkeeper had earlier kept out Cathal Hickey and Adam O'Neill. The conspiracy theorists will make plenty of O'Connor's comment afterwards that an extra fixture next weekend is welcome. 'In many ways, we're glad to have a game next week because, if you were two weeks thinking about that performance, it wouldn't do anyone any good,' he said. 'That's the only road we have left now, so we have to travel on that one. Hopefully, we can lift it for next week, and we will have to lift it, substantially.' With some of their injury concerns alleviating, they should and Killarney should help too. As for Meath, a second two-week break will give Costello a chance of lining out in the county's first All-Ireland quarter-final in 15 years. After adding Kerry to Dublin in their list of scalps, Brennan was asked if his project is ahead of schedule. 'It probably looks that way but as the lads know we've just gone one game at a time or one training. session at a time. 'We've had no targets, we've had no 'let's get to here', 'let's get to there', so it doesn't feel like it for us because that's the way we approach it.' Scorers for Meath: E Frayne (3 frees, 1tp), C Duke (1 tp), R Kinsella (2 tps) (0-5 each); B Menton (1-0); J Morris (0-2, 1 free); K Curtis, B Hogan (45), D Keogan, S Coffey, C Caulfield (0-1 each). Scorers for Kerry: D Clifford (0-5, 1 tp, 1 free); D Geaney (0-4); K Spillane (0-3, 1 free); T Brosnan (0-2); M Burns, P Murphy (0-1 each). MEATH: B Hogan; S Lavin, S Rafferty, R Ryan; D Keogan, S Coffey, C Caulfield; B Menton, A O'Neill; C Duke, R Kinsella, C Hickey; J Morris, E Frayne (c), K Curtis. Subs for Meath: C McBride for O'Neill (h-t); E Harkin for Hickey (54); S Walsh for Frayne (59); J McEntee for Kinsella (68); D Moriarty for Rafferty (68). Black card: C Hickey (36-46). KERRY: S Ryan; J Foley, P Murphy, T O'Sullivan; T Morley, M Breen, G White (c); J O'Connor, M O'Shea; G O'Sullivan, T Brosnan, M Burns; D Clifford, K Spillane, D Geaney. Subs for Kerry: D Casey for Breen, R Murphy for Burns (both 48); S O'Brien for O'Shea, C Geaney for O'Sullivan (both 58); D Moynihan for Spillane (66). Referee: J McQuillan (Cavan).
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Cork Hurling League round up: Champions Sarsfields secure place in Division 1 final
There will be plenty of drama in the final round of Divison 1 of the Red FM Cork Hurling League in two weeks' time after the penultimate round was played out over the weekend. Reigning champions Sarsfields secured their place in the final with Douglas, St Finbarr's, Glen Rovers and Charleville all in contention to join them. At the other end of affairs, Kanturk and Carrigaline have been relegated. Sars booked their place in the decider with a 0-24 to 0-21 win over Blackrock in Church Road on Thursday. They were boosted by the availability of their Cork men, Jack O'Connor, Cathal McCarthy and Daniel Hogan who shot 0-7, 0-4 and 0-2 respectively. Colm McCarthy also hit 0-7 for Sars and Bryan Murphy clipped 0-2. Robbie Cotter played for the Rockies and helped himself to 0-7, Gavin Connolly and Michael O'Halloran both scored 0-3 while Tadhg Deasy hit 0-2. Douglas are a point behind Sars after they beat Fr O'Neill's by 1-21 to 1-17 on Sunday morning. Alan Cadogan showed his class for Douglas by hitting 0-9, Conor O'Donovan fired 0-6 from full-forward and Niall Hartnett bagged the goal. Kevin O'Sullivan scored 0-11 for O'Neill's, Mikey Wall raised the green flag and Rob Cullinane clipped 0-2. St Finbarr's remained in contention to make the final after they bested Carrigaline by 1-26 to 0-16. Ethan Twomey and William Buckley were in form for the Barrs, with Buckley hitting 1-12 with 1-7 coming from play. Cathal Crowley and Scott Callanan both fired 0-3 for the Barrs and Colm Keane landed 0-2. Brian Kelleher shot 0-9 for Carrig but other results confimed their return to the second tier. Charleville kept their hopes of reaching back-to-back finals alive by beating Kanturk by 1-22 to 1-18 on Sunday morning. David Forde and Zack Biggane led the way for Charleville, with both men clipping 0-6, Rob Carroll fired 1-2 and Andrew Cagney delivered 0-3. Ronan Sheahan had 0-9 for Kanturk, Ian Walsh struck for 1-2 and Brian O'Sullivan contributed 0-4 but it wasn't enough to save them from the trapdoor. Glen Rovers also gave themselves a chance of making the final when they played out a 3-15 to 1-21 draw with Carrigtwohill on Sunday night. In a game that was level on six occasions, Dean Brosnan hit 1-3 for the Glen, Luke O'Connor bagged 1-2 and Stephen Lynam hit 1-1 from the bench. Sean Walsh hit 1-10 for Carrig, Mark O'Connor pilfered 0-3 while Jay Horgan was outstanding in defence. The race for promotion from Division 2 will go down to the final day with Erin's Own and Midleton locked on fourteen points and Killeagh two behind. The Magpies will play Killeagh in the final round in a fortnight. Midleton kept their fate in their own hands when they beat Ballymartle by 1-21 to 0-13 last Tuesday. Brion Saunderson manned the posts for the Magpies, Cormac Beausang fired 0-7 and Pa White clipped 1-2. Ryan Deasy scored 0-5 for Ballymartle and Luke O'Callaghan scored 0-4. Erin's Own joined them on top of the pile when they beat Ballincollig by 2-18 to 0-18 on Thursday. Conor Lenihan hit 1-6 for the Caherlag based side, Cian O'Callaghan bagged the other goal and Finn O'Brien fired 0-4. Brian Keating led the way for Ballincollig with 0-6, while Mark Oldham and Cian O'Driscoll both hit 0-4. Killeagh kept in touch with the top two with a 2-15 to 1-15 win over Valley Rovers on Sunday morning. Ryan McCarthy hit 1-8 for Killeagh, Richie Long clipped 1-1 and Evan Lane fired 0-2 while Matthew Woods raised the green flag for the Rovers. Éire Óg keep their survival hopes alive with a 1-25 to 1-13 win over Fermoy. Eoin Kelleher fired 0-14 for the Ovens men, Mark Kelleher bagged the goal while Johnny Galvin, Lar Considine and Jerome Kelleher all contributed. The result condemned Fermoy to relegation. Finally, Newtownshandrum ensured that they will finish in fourth spot after they beat Na Piarsaigh by 2-18 to 0-21 on Saturday. Eoin O'Mahony and Conor Twomey had the goals for Newtown, Jamie Coughlan hit 0-6 and Bill Collins clipped 0-4. For Na Piarsaigh Keith Buckley hurled well in defence while Daire Connery and Cian Hogan did well in attack.
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Fuming Jack O'Connor doesn't pull any punches while assessing Kerry's shock loss to Meath as Galway test awaits
KERRY boss Jack O'Connor admitted they were subjected to 'a chastening experience' as their status as the last remaining unbeaten team in the Championship was wiped out by Meath. The Kingdom had to settle for second place in All-Ireland SFC Group 2 after Advertisement 2 His team were beaten 1-22 to 0-16 at Glenisk O'Connor Park 2 The Kingdom didn't live up to their billing as All-Ireland contenders O'Connor's men made the trip to Tullamore on the back of a resounding win over Cork that saw them fire 0-21 after the break. But on this display against the Royals, the gaffer fumed: 'Very flat and lacking energy so we have to figure out where that came from. 'Compared to the second half against Cork, it was night and day. Meath had all the energy and aggression and we were passive. Back to the drawing board.' Despite facing a Kerry side who were odds-on favourites, Meath defied the absence of star forward Mathew Costello to claim the result that allows them to bypass next weekend's preliminary quarter-finals. Advertisement Read More On GAA It is their second monumental Championship win since Robbie Brennan took the reins, having Brennan said: 'People writing us off, that's fair enough. It's Kerry and we're still at the early stages of our journey. I wouldn't have any complaints about people thinking we had no chance. 'But we did and I suppose that's the most important thing. We had a plan, we were hoping to execute it and we did for the most part.' Meath's stranglehold in the middle third gave them a platform to record their first Championship triumph over Kerry since the 2001 All-Ireland semi-final. Advertisement Most read in GAA Football Comment Six points adrift at the break, the Munster champions cut the gap to two. But Meath killed the game off when two-pointers from Ruairí Kinsella and Conor Duke were followed by a Bryan Menton goal. GAA fans 'loved seeing and hearing' the late Micheal O Muircheartaigh as he features in RTE documentary Hell for Leather O'Connor said: 'We pushed on for maybe 15, 20 minutes of the second half but we just couldn't get to grips with the kickouts. That's where the game was won and lost.' While Meath's place in the Sam Maguire last eight is secure, Kerry must regroup for a home preliminary quarter-final next weekend. Advertisement Injuries ruled out Seán O'Shea, Paudie Clifford, Paul Geaney, Brian Ó Beaglaioch, Barry Dan O'Sullivan and Diarmuid O'Connor. But the Kerry chief insisted: 'We won't be making those excuses. We were just way off it today and Meath were deserving winners.'
