Kavanagh returns to drive Longford to win

Brian Kavanagh was back in county colours this afternoon to inspire Longford to a 2-16 to 0-10 O'Byrne Shield competition defeat of UCD.

Kavanagh, who missed Longford's O'Byrne Cup exit at the hands of DIT last weekend, tallied up 0-10 (6f) to to steer Luke Dempsey's men to their first win of the season.

With the wintry weather conditions hitting crowd numbers - the attendance at Pearse Park was less than 200 - Kavanagh's scoring touch proved the highlight on an otherwise forgettable afternoon.

The Ardagh St. Patrick's attacker fired over seven first half points to help Longford lead 1-12 to 0-3 at the break.

The hosts' goal had a good deal of fortune about it as UCD goalkeeper Stephen Gallagher misjudged the flight of Noel Farrell's ninth-minute shot and the ball squirmed over the goal line.

Former Longford Town soccer star Gary Murphy, who was making his senior inter-county debut at right corner forward, netted an excellent second goal for Dempsey's side on 48 minutes.

UCD had the wind at their backs for the second period but struggled with their shooting and only hit three points from play - Peter McNulty (0-5, 4f), James Brogan (0-2) and Cathal O'Dwyer (0-3, 3f) were their scorers.

In the only other O'Byrne Shield tie played today, Kildare scored a 3-9 to 1-11 win over Meath, with the Lilywhites rifling home three first half goals.

O'BYRNE SHIELD:

FIRST ROUND -

Longford 2-16 UCD 0-10, Ballymahon

Kildare 3-9 Meath 1-11, Newbridge

Athlone IT v DCU, Athlone IT (Athlone IT score a walkover win)