Search Results for 'Brian Kavanagh'

Armagh are no world beaters, but they are division three league champions, having also been promoted to division two for next season. They beat Fermanagh in the division three final by 0-16 to 0-11.

Facilities at Ballinrobe Racecourse are in line for a €500,000 redevelopment, which will see the renovation of the existing stable yard, a new main entrance, a new playground, machinery shed and a balcony extension.

Longford:1-12

Three weeks on from the being beaten by Sligo in the preliminary round of the Connacht Championship, Mayo will roll up to the midlands for the first round of the All Ireland qualifiers. The first round of the backdoor competition, while not quite uncharted territory, is one that is still not too familiar to Mayo players and supporters. In fact Mayo have only entered the qualifier system at this stage once before, also under the tutelage of O’Mahony in 2007. That year a comfortable win over Cavan in McHale Park was followed up with a humbling inside the city walls of Derry by the Oak Leaf county in the second round.

Balla

I always find it exciting when waiting to see what teams are paired against each other from the qualifier draw. I watched it live last weekend and once it was decided it would be Longford a good lively discussion took place about Mayo’s chances of progress. Most felt Mayo would be capable of beating Longford, a team that had a very mediocre season to date. When it was clarified later that evening that Longford had been awarded the home advantage for the match on Saturday June 26 (information that was not to hand when the discussion took place earlier), the task looked that little bit more difficult. I suggested in this column last week that it might be better for all if Mayo were drawn against a top tier side. Armagh, Derry, Kildare, or Donegal immediately spring to mind. Had we been drawn against any one of these teams and managed a victory, I feel the team could redeem itself and could certainly give us some hope for a reasonably good run through the qualifiers. However a match against Longford in Pearse Park just doesn’t set the pulse racing for me and I hope this particular clash gets the team a little more excited than I feel about it right now. I watched Longford play Louth in the Leinster Championship two weeks ago. It was a game they could so easily have won and they played without their star man, Brian Kavanagh. Their other star forward, Paul Barden, did play that evening, but was not 100 per cent fit. Both apparently are back training and will start against Mayo. Also in recent years I have attended the compact Longford venue and witnessed the home side frighten the lives out of very formidable opposition. I recall in 2006 a Dublin team looking mightily relieved to leave the midlands after scraping a two point victory over the home side. Longford sent Derry packing the year before in a qualifier game. Most of you will recall Kerry really struggling to beat them last year. So when their manager Glen Ryan suggested last week that he didn’t care who his side were drawn against as long as they had a home draw, you can fully understand where he was coming from.

Clonmore 3-11

We all remember different defeats with more emotion than others. Some leave a very raw scar that takes a long time to heal. It may be from a game that annoyed you intensely, or 60 minutes you would love to have re-lived again.

We all remember different defeats with more emotion than others. Some leave a very raw scar that takes a long time to heal.

Éire Óg's journey through this year's provincial club championship came to an abrupt end at the semi final stage on Sunday last in Dr Cullen Park. Turlough O'Connor's men were soundly beaten by an impressive showing from Offaly champions Rhode. Éire Óg can have no complaints overall with the result with the only dispute being the awarding of a first half penalty against them for a foul by Vinny Kavanagh on Pascal Kellaghan which looked to have occurred outside the large square.