London scored a significant victory in their first championship in 11 years, much to the surprise of all, following the inauguration of the Tailteann Cup in 2022. The London-based team had a remarkable 14-point win over Offaly in Tullamore.
Reaching 0-8 at half-time, they had a two point lead over their rivals, thanks to the remarkable skills of Ciaran Diver, a Donegal-born player who ended the games with 1-5. Offaly struggled to make headway against London’s strong defence. The away team benefitted from fine plays by Stephen Dornan and Diver, who both scored goals, handing London its second victory of the season.
Meanwhile, last year’s finalists, Down, upheld their reputation with an impressive 1-20 to 1-6 victory over Limerick at Páirc Esler. In the league’s second-round match-up at the same venue, Down dominated just as they did here, beating Limerick by 16 points. Only one player, Peter Nash, managed to score against them – and that was a singular goal. Down had 13 individual scorers, with Daniel Guinness netting the goal.
Elsewhere, Fermanagh, another top seed, caught the eye with a 3-16 to 0-9 win over Wicklow at Brewster Park. Substitute Conor Love scored two goals in two minutes, providing an emphatic response to their recent heavy defeat by Armagh. Che Cullen, the full-back, scored a noteworthy point to give Fermanagh an early advantage. They led by four points at half-time and continued to dominate after the break, with Sean Cassidy adding another goal, comfortably beating a Wicklow team who had been performing well in Leinster.
Finally, Sligo, another promising team, narrowly missed out in the Connacht semi-final against Galway but bounced back with a 2-21 to 2-15 win over Wexford at Markievicz Park.
Sligo’s key scorers were Alan McLoughlin (1-5) and Sean Carrabine (0-6), but Wexford offered strong resistance. A goal from Dylan Furlong took them one ahead at half-time. Despite a late goal from Glen Malone and him hitting the crossbar, Sligo dominated in the end to secure a comfortable win.
Playing at Carrick-On-Shannon, Ryan O’Rourke managed to score 0-5 from the field, contributing massively to Leitrim’s narrow victory over Waterford, with a final scoreline of 0-17 to 0-12. Nevin O’Donnell, the goalie, scored 0-3 from fixed ball situations. Although leading by just a single point at half-time, Andy Moran’s team surged ahead, scoring five points in a row during the third quarter.
Meanwhile, Tipperary did not fare well, even with Conor Sweeney contributing 1-7 (0-5 from live play) to their score. They ended losing to Antrim 4-12 to 2-13, at Corrigan Park in Belfast. Twice Ruairi McCann added to Antrim’s advantage, but a penalty by Sweeney kept the last quarter competitive.
The final Tailteann match was a thrilling draw between Carlow and Laois. The early lead created by Laois, thanks to the goals from Rioghan Murphy and Mark Barry (penalty) didn’t last. Carlow made a dramatic comeback with late points from Conor Doyle, Eric Molloy and a goal from Aaron Amond. In the last minute of the extra time, another net leading to a tie, with Amond netting from the penalty spot to make the score 2-17 each.