Longford had a deserved four point win over their neighbours Westmeath in Mullingar and in doing so boosted their chances of staying up, while Fermanagh followed up their win away to Longford with six point win over Laois in an impressive display in Enniskillen.
The talismanic Sean Quigley lead the line for Fermanagh with Darragh McGurn in excellent form in a win that moves them up the table and in the promotion mix.
Westmeath 0-10 Longford 0-14
Longford recorded their first win of the campaign and put a dent in Westmeath’s promotion hopes and also boost their chances of survival. It was a deserved win for Billy O’Loughlin’s side with Darren Gallagher in inspirational form with captain Mickey Quinn very influential.
Quinn had been sent off against Fermanagh but appealed his harsh red card and was available to tog out for Longford. Both sides were guilty of some poor shot selection but Longford showed great hunger and desire in picking up this vital win.
With 17 minutes gone on the clock Westmeath held a 0-5 to 0-1 lead but soon Longford got into their groove with Quinn and Gallagher leading the charges. Joseph Hagan, Gallagher and Dylan Farrell hit points as Longford held a one point lead at the break 0-8 to 0-7.
Westmeath’s John Heslin had a penalty saved by Longford keeper Paddy Collum. Although the Lake County drew with Longford they were unable to edge ahead. Longford kicked six unanswered points as Westmeath crumbled. Westmeath sub TJ Cox kicked over the final point of the game. Division 3 top and bottom has got very interesting.
Fermanagh 3-15 Laois 3-9
Fermanagh got their second win in a row when they defeated Laois in Enniskillen. The scoreline could’ve been a lot more had they not gift Laois a goal in each half. This win sees Fermanagh move up to third in the table, with three teams on 5 points while Laois are just ahead of Longford and bottom side Wicklow.
Once again Sean Quigley was the main man for the Erne County; scoring 1-04. Ciaran Corrigan and Darragh McGurn got the other goals while Evan O’Carroll and Mark Barry (2) replied for Laois.
Such was Fermanagh’s dominance they were ahead by eight points at one stage. Laois tried to stage a late comeback but never really looked like troubling Fermanagh.
Fermanagh were just ahead by one point on 25 minutes, but some fine finishing saw them extend the lead to six going in at half-time.
When Barry scored a goal there was just three points in the game but Fermanagh responded well. Barry scored a second goal but it was too little too late.
Deniese O'Flaherty
Deniese is a freelance sports journalist/broadcaster. She has worked for several local and national media outlets. GAA and soccer are her great loves and she also follows rugby league and snooker. She's a big supporter of her local clubs St. Mary's GAA Granard and Longford Town. She also follows Celtic, Liverpool and Leeds Rhinos. She presented and produced a popular sports podcast last year where she interviewed Ray Houghton, Chris Kamara and John Hartson. Deniese is currently Head of Communications for Boccia Ireland