GAA club closure: Mannion to miss Crokes decider in Dublin

SOCCER

Kilmacud Crokes will face Na Fianna in the Go Ahead Dublin SFC final after beating Thomas Davis at Parnell Park, but they are likely to be without talismanic striker Paul Mannion for the foreseeable future.

Kiltipper Road’s men got off to a perfect start as Fionn Murray scored to push them four points clear. But Crokes then settled in and picked up the next eight points, with Shane Walsh scoring five of those, four from set balls.

The second half was a close affair with Davis adding just one more point as the Stillorgan giants did enough to get back to another final.

And manager Robbie Brennan told RTÉ’s Sunday Sport afterwards that recently returned Dublin footballer Mannion was unlikely to be fit for the final after undergoing ankle surgery this week.

“It’s not good unfortunately,” he said of Mannion’s prediction.

“We thought he wouldn’t be too bad because he was walking after the Cuala game and we thought it wouldn’t be too bad. But he had surgery last Thursday so he’s gone long term now.

“He is considering a rehabilitation programme. The operation went well, so he is sticking with it now. I think the recovery period is three months for an operation like that, for the ankle.

“We won’t try to rush him. He’s got a full inter-county season ahead of Dessie and the guys, and I’m sure that will be his focus going forward.”

Palatine beat Tinryland 2-08 to 2-06 in the day’s only senior football final at Carlow.

Knockmore’s reign as SFC Mayo champions is over after losing to Castlebar Mitchels by the narrowest margins. Castlebar led three at the break but the gap was reduced to a minimum after a pair of points from Aidan Orme.

Knockmore, above all, was never tied and found himself on three occasions with just under 10 minutes to play.

A free Peter Naughton again closed the gap to a minimum, but the 2020 and 2021 winners could not find the equalizer as Castlebar advanced.

Balina were comfortable quarter-final winners in the first game of the day, beating Claremorris 4-13 to 0-0 7 at Fr O’Hara Park.

Cillian O’Connor returned from injury and contributed 1-01 as a ballintubber beat Breaffy 2-11 to Castlebar 0-14. It was a hard-fought game with Ciarán Gavin’s late goal finally killing a second-half Breaffy comeback.

Last night, Westport were the first team to advance to the last four by beating Garrymore by two points on Saturday night.

At Tipperary, Upperchurch-Drombane dethroned champions Loughmore-Castliney to reach their first ever senior football final.

Church were two points clear at the break and held rival neighbors Mid Tipp by the minimum at the end, 1-15 to 1-14. Conor Fahey scored the winning goal.

They will face Clonmel Advertisements, who saw off Moyle Rovers with a big second half. The commercials trailed by a point at the break, but they had turned that into a five-point lead with 10 minutes to go.

Nemo Rangers are just one win away from a 23rd SFC Cork title after finishing strong to see off Ballingcollig at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. The match was in the crucible with just over 15 minutes remaining, before a Luke Connolly penalty brought the light of day between the sides.

Rangers finished strong from there to eventually emerge victorious 1-16 to 0-09.

There they will face the defending champions St. Finbarr’s which saw Castlehaven in a very entertaining encounter. The teams were tied no less than nine times in an end-to-end first half, with the Barrs finishing strong after Michael Hurley’s goal.

It was nip and tuck in the early stages of the second half before the Barrs moved on with a Steven Sherlock middle finger. Another goal from Brian Hayes pushed them further and Castlehaven couldn’t come back.

The two decider teams have shared Cork’s last five titles between them.

Bally Bay turned a two-point half-time deficit into a nine-point win as they beat Clontibret to book a place in the Monaghan SFC final.

Paul Finlay leveled the teams within seven minutes of the restart, and despite Conor McManus’ best efforts, they were able to pull away from it. Ballybay were already five points clear when Dessie Ward ended the game with a late goal.

They were joined by three in a row scotstown who beat Inniskeen 3-08 0-12 at Clones.

The game was close in the opening 30 minutes with goals from Darren Hughes – the game’s first scorer – and Damian McArdle giving Scotstown a slim one-point lead at the turnover.

The teams were tied five minutes into the second half, but Conor McCarthy pushed them into a lead they would never relinquish. Conor McCarthy’s goal – Scotstown’s third – put them out of sight for the final five minutes as the club’s run for a third consecutive county title continues.

In Cavan, Kilgarry secured their passage to a first final in 51 after beating Ramor United 2-07 to 1-09.

An early goal from Conor Smith put Kilgarry on their way but they scored on the break after Ado Cole found the back of the net for Ramor.

The pendulum swung again when Mattie McKenna scored for Kilgarry, while Ramor goalkeeper Liam Brady missed a late chance to equalize the sides as he shoved a free wide.

Next up for Kilgarry is a meeting with Gowna in the Decider in two weeks.

After a slow start in their Meath SFC semi-final, Ratoath comfortably saw off Na Fianna by 3-11 at 0-09. Cian Rogers, Bryan McMahon and Bobby O’Brien hit the back of the net as the 2019 and 2020 champions advanced to a third final in four years.

There they will meet summer hillafter ending Wolfe Tones’ reign as champion, Conor Frayne scoring the only goal in a 1-10 0-06 win.

LAUNCH

There were three county hurling finals today.

shinrone are champions of Offaly for the first time, Geoghegan Castle broke three games losing a streak in the Westmeath decider and Clough Ballacolla got three in a row at Laois.

James Stephens reached its first Kilkenny final since 2019 with a 2-18 1-18 win over Dicksboro.

The Village, who last won the title in 2011, have former Cats boss Brian Cody among their selections.

Five-man hunters Ballyhale Clovers advanced to the Kilkenny semi-finals with a 1-27, 0-15 double win over Clara.

County stars Adrian Mullen (1-06) and Eoin Cody (0-07) were front and center for Ballyhale while TJ Reid (0-06) and Colin Fennelly (0-03) also kept the scoreboard in walking.

Shamrocks will face Tullaroan next weekend for the right to face James Stephens in the final.

Ruairí Óg Cushendall booked their place in the Antrim hurling final with a 3-14, 2-16 win over record title holders Loughgeil Shamrocks at Ballycastle.

They will face the defending champions dunloywho had 22 points to lose against St John’s, 5-22 against 1-12.

from Middletown four-in-a-row ambitions remain on track after securing their place in the Armagh final with a comfortable 2-26 2-13 victory over Craobh Rua. Lamh Dhearg and Cuchulainn will play again after their semi-final ends 1-21 apiece.

Tommy Larkin qualified for the quarter-finals of Galway with a draw 1-18 against 0-21 with Cappataggle which also secured a preliminary QF spot for their opponents.

Craughwell took the other spot in the preliminary quarterfinals with a dominating 4-16 1-15 triumph over Gort

Loughrea finished the group stage with a 100% record by inflicting the fifth straight defeat at Kilconieron, 2-22 to 0-14.