Meath march on in Close Encounter

GAA Football All-Ireland Qualifiers Round 2
Meath 0-11 Galway 0-10

Meath are through to Round 3 of the GAA Football Qualifiers, but they were very lucky to overcome Galway at Páirc Tailteann on Saturday night.

After Galway had staged a second half comeback, the Royals were trailing going into added time before Brian Farrell levelled the game and Stephen Bray then won it for the home side at the death.

There was massive relief for Seamus McEnaney’s side who were in massive difficulty and looked to be on the verge of a Championship exit when Johnny Duane had given Galway the lead at the end of normal time.

Ultimately, though, it was Tomás Ó Flatharta’s Galway side whose summer ended with a second defeat in a row.

The Tribesmen trailed by 0-8 to 0-4 at half-time, with Pádraic Joyce scoring three of their points until Cormac Bane became only the second Galway player to get on the scoresheet with a point just before the break.

Galway were also dealt a blow when Michael Meehan was forced off in the first half with a hand injury.

Bane added another point on the restart and with Matthew Clancy and Finian Hanley in superb form, the Tribesmen forced their way back into the game and led late on by a point.

However, their luck ran out in the end and there was huge relief amongst the home supporters as Farrell and Bray got the Royals out of jail at the death.

===

GAA Football All-Ireland Qualifiers Round 2
London 0-13 Waterford 1-17

Two sending offs and an early goal ended the fairytale journey for London as they fought an uphill battle right from the first whistle.

The Exiles’ Paul Geraghty and Ciaran McCallion were dismissed for their second bookable offences, one in each half, as they fought against the elements as well.

The ball had just been thrown in and London were first to draw blood with a free from Eoin O’Neill. But Waterford were not long in getting their first score on three minutes and the visitors scored their goal through Gary Hurney.

Paul Geraghty responded for the home side but John Owens' side began to take full advantage of the breeze in the first half. Three points on the bounce extended Waterford’s lead and they looked like they could upset London’s dream journey in the Qualifiers.

Hurney, who lined out at midfield, was playing at full forward and was causing all sorts of trouble for the London full back Michael Maloney.

It got worse for the home side as Geraghty received his second yellow card of the game. Whyte continued to add to the visitors' lead and helped Waterford go into the break with a 0-5 to 1-10 lead.

Paul Coggins' side manage to mount a mini revival but that was all ended when Ciaran McCallion lunged in on Waterford skipper Tony Grey and received his marching orders.

The points kept on coming from Whyte and was Waterford’s lead doubled they looked to be running away with it. McVeigh and Gottsche replied for London but it was too little too late as Waterford broke their duck in the Qualifiers with a fine performance away from home.

===

GAA Football All-Ireland Qualifiers Round 2

Longford 0-15 Tyrone 1-17

Longford did manage to put up a battling performance but it just was not good enough as Tyrone ran out eventual winners at the end of a hard fought five-point win.

Tyrone's victory  was largely because of a second half goal from Mark Donnelly and the performance of Peter Harte, who finished with a total of 0-7 points helping the Red Hand County to progress.

The home side did, however, have a slender lead at the break as they started the brighter of the two teams. Seán McCormack racked up an impressive four points in the first half for Longford with the help of a strong wind at their backs.

Harte was central to keeping Tyrone alive in the first with the three points he managed to score and was involved in most attacking plays produced by the visitors. There was only the one point that separated the sides at the break with the score at 0-8 to 0-7.

But the introduction of Brian Dooher at the interval was key to Tyrone's victory. Only three minutes after the break and Tyrone managed to score 1-2 and set them on their way with Donnelly getting the goal.

Seán Cavanagh immediately followed up the goal with a fine score that looked to have Tyrone in motion but there was still fight left in Longford.

Francis McGee and Brian Kavanagh scored a point each for Longford that brought them within touching distance of Tyrone but as much as they tried, they were unable to break down their opponents’ defence.

Tyrone kicked late points to make sure they would be going through and are still to be considered All-Ireland contenders while Longford may take heart from their spirited performance.