Sweetest of homecomings for Exiles

London claimed their first ever Christy Ring Cup title at Croke Park this afternoon, while Armagh and Tyrone both earned their second Nicky Rackard and Lory Meagher Cup titles respectively.

Sat, 09 Jun, 2012 - 20:49

London claimed their first ever Christy Ring Cup title at Croke Park this afternoon, while Armagh and Tyrone both earned their second Nicky Rackard and Lory Meagher Cup titles respectively.

Goals were key for the Exiles in their 4-18 to 1-17 victory over Wicklow, with three-pointers from Martin Finn (1-5) and Tony Dunne (1-1) helping them take a 2-11 to 1-8 interval lead.

Wicklow's goal arrived in the 23rd minute from their captain Enan Glynn as an immediate response to Finn's goal.

The Garden County bounced back from a six-point interval deficit, with points from Jonathan O'Neill (0-11) and Glynn on the restart.

Wicklow were reliant on the scoring contributions of O'Neill during the second half, with the Gleneally sharpshooter hitting six points in the closing 35 minutes.

But four points was as close as Wicklow got to their opponents in the second half as London always had that extra edge.

Jonathan Maher (2-4) netted the first of his two second half goals in the 49th minute, and points from Finn, James Egan, Kevin Walsh and captain Colm Quinn kept London on top.

O'Neill worked hard to bring Wicklow back into contention but a late goal from Maher ensure a 10-point win in the end.

Meanwhile, Armagh romped to a 3-20 to 1-15 triumph over Louth to take their second Nicky Rackard Cup title in three years.

A first half hat-trick of goals laid the foundations for this victory. A brace from Declan Coulter and another from Conor Corvan helped the Orchard County move 3-13 to 0-8 ahead by half-time.

The sides shared six points equally in the third quarter, but Louth pushed Armagh hard late on.

The Wee County registered 1-2 without reply - including a Brian Corcoran goal - during a three-minute spell, but Armagh ran out deserving winners.

It was a second Lory Meagher Cup in four years for Tyrone, who backed up their win in the inaugural year of the competition in 2009 with a 2-24 to 3-20 extra-time victory over Fermanagh.

Late points from Justin Kelly (1-8) and Conor Grogan (0-4) were key in this third tier decider with Grogan claiming the match-winning score.

The Eire Óg clubman delivered under pressure with his last-gasp free forcing extra-time after a strong opening 70 minutes from Fermanagh.

The Ernesiders impressed in the opening half of normal time with a hat-trick of goals, as Sean Corrigan, Declan McGarry and Shea Curran all found the net.

But thanks to the hard work of midfielder Justin Kelly and goal scorer Sean Óg Grogan, Tyrone battled their way into a 1-12 to 3-4 interval lead.

Both sides impressed on the restart. Fermanagh looked like the silverware was theirs after John Duffy registered his fifth point of the second half. However, a late Grogan effort forced extra-time.

Fermanagh led by 3-17 to 1-21 at the end of the first period of extra-time, with the dismissal of half-forward Aidan Kelly seeing Tyrone reduced to 14 men.