Winners: Ciara O’Sullivan, David Clifford, Ciarán Clarke and Gráinne Egan.

Source: SPORTSFILE.

Click Here: Celtic soccer tracksuit

KERRY, CORK, OFFALY and Antrim stars have scooped May’s Player of the Month awards in their respective Gaelic games codes.

Cork footballer Ciara O’Sullivan and Offaly’s Gráinne Egan are the first-ever winners of the new PwC GPA Women’s Player of the Month awards, with Kerry ace David Clifford and Antrim hurler Ciarán Clarke landing the PwC GAA/GPA men’s equivalent. 

• Ciara O’Sullivan (Cork) – PwC GPA Women’s Player of the Month for May in football
• Gráine Egan (Offaly) – PwC GPA Women’s Player of the Month for May in camogie
• David Clifford (Kerry) — PwC GAA / GPA Player of the Month in Football
• Ciaran Clarke (Antrim) — PwC GAA / GPA Player of the Month in Hurling

O’Sullivan has consistently starred for the Rebels; the Mourneabbey forward hitting 2-8 across three games to steer them into this weekend’s league semi-finals, where they now face Donegal.

Dual star Egan shone for Offaly’s football and camogie teams during May and on one memorable weekend, she racked up a combined tally of 4-13, helping the Faithful County to two big wins. 

Clifford again underlined his class with a string of high-quality performances for Kerry through the month of May, scoring a remarkable 3-6 against Galway and 1-6 against Dublin.

And Clarke has been central through Antrim’s return to Division 1 hurling, particularly catching the eye when he chipped in with 1-11 (1-1 from play) as the Saffron recorded a massive opening day win over Clare.

The new ladies football and camogie monthly awards come after PwC agreed a new sponsorship deal with the Gaelic Players Association [GPA] to benefit female inter-county players.

The monthly awards scheme recognises outstanding individual achievements in both codes, and were presented for the first time alongside their male equivalents with equal prizes on offer.

Award winners across all four codes are voted for by the GPA’s membership.

Cork 5-10
Donegal 3-13

By Anthony Newman 

CORK AND DONEGAL a feast of goals at Tuam Stadium as defending champions Cork held on to advance to the Lidl National Football League Division 1 final after a hard-fought win.

Six goals in the first-half saw the sides even at the break, with Donegal much the happier of the two sides having played against the strong wind.

Winners from 2019, Cork got off to the perfect start and struck for 2-2 in the opening four minutes with Brid and Ciara O’Sullivan shooting to the net.

But Donegal responded in style, with two goals of their own within 30 seconds of each other.

The first arrived from Katy Herron after some good play from Niamh McLaughlin and Karen Guthrie. From the restart, Guthrie regained possession and coolly finished past Martina O’Brien, to make it 2-2 to 2-0 with eight minutes played.

The goals continued to flow with Cork working the ball down the other end, and Máire O’Callaghan applied the finishing touch. Ciara O’Sullivan and Finn added points for Cork, before Donegal got their third goal, with Guthrie scoring her second of the half.

But Donegal finished the half the stronger of the two, with frees from Geraldine McLaughlin and Guthrie helping to put one between the sides. Geraldine McLaughlin pointed on the half-time whistle to see the teams level at the break, 3-5 to 3-5.

Guthrie got the first score of the second-half with half-time substitute Eimear Scally replying for the Munster side. Geraldine McLaughlin put Donegal back in front, but once more Finn, levelled matters at the other end.

With 38 minutes gone, Hannah Looney picked up the ball for Cork, played it to Melissa Duggan and her pass was palmed to the net by Finn, which gave Cork a crucial one-goal cushion.

Ciara O’Sullivan of Cork in action against Róisín Rodgers of Donegal.

Finn added a point from the restart, with Guthrie raising the white flag at the other end. The fifth Cork goal came just before the water break when Meabh Cahalane intercepted a Donegal pass, played it to Sadhbh O’Leary who burst forward and found Brid O’Sullivan. O’Leary accepted the return pass and she blasted to the back of the net.

Geraldine McLaughlin pulled a point back for Donegal before a double save denied them what looked like a certain goal. First, O’Brien denied Niamh McLaughlin and when Guthrie picked up the rebound, she looked like finding the net, only to be denied by Roisin Phelan.

Two points from Finn saw Cork lead 5-10 to 3-12 with time running out but Donegal with Kate McClenaghan’s shot narrowly clearing the bar, the full-time whistle was a welcome blast as Cork move on to the final.

Geraldine McLaughlin of Donegal in action against Erika O’Shea of Cork.

Source: Harry Murphy/SPORTSFILE.

Scorers for Cork: O Finn 1-8 (4f), C O’Sullivan 1-1, M O’Callaghan 1-0, B O’Sullivan 1-0, S O’Leary 1-0, E Scally 0-1.

Click Here: Sweden soccer tracksuit

Scorers for Donegal: K Gutherie 2-3 (3f), K Herron 1-1, G McLaughlin 0-8 (4f), K McClenaghan 0-1.

CORK: M O’Brien; S Kelly, R Phelan, E Meaney; E O’Shea, A Hutchings, M Duggan; M O’Callaghan, H Looney; O Finn, C O’Sullivan, E Spillane; S O’Leary, B O’Sullivan, L Coppinger.

Subs: E Scally for Coppinger (h-t), D Kiely for Spillane (h-t), M Cahalane for Meaney (h-t), C O’Shea for Kelly (45).

DONEGAL: A McColgan; N Carr, E McGinley, E Gallagher; A.M. Logue, Nicole McLaughlin, R Rodgers; K Herron, S Twohig; B McLaughlin, Niamh McLaughlin, N Boyle; N Hegarty, K Guthrie, G McLaughlin.

Subs: T Jenkins for Logue (40), K Keaney for Boyle (42), K McClenaghan for B McLaughlin (49).

Referee: Garryowen McMahon (Mayo).

THE FATHER OF exiled Republic of Ireland Women’s midfielder Tyler Toland has called on the FAI to intervene in a simmering row that is threatening the international career of his daughter.

Maurice Toland says an independent mediator should be brought in following a series of allegations by Ireland Vera Pauw on Friday.

Pauw said that she had been subjected to “harassment and intimidation” by the Donegal man over his daughter’s absence from the Irish squad, claims he vehemently denies.

Toland, capped 13 times at senior level, has not been selected since she was an unused substitute for a game against Greece in November 2019.

Two months later, Toland’s services were sought for the Republic of Ireland under-19s ahead of a double-header against Russia in Marbella in March 2020. Despite the player’s willingness to travel, she wasn’t selected for the trip.

“The only conversation I have ever had with Vera Pauw was in January 2020, but to say that I harassed or intimidated her during that call is ludicrous,” he said.

“I texted Vera and asked when was convenient for her to speak. She called me and we spoke for around half-an-hour.

“I felt that if Tyler wasn’t in the plans for the senior team, it would have been good for her development and for game time to get with the under-19s. And the under-19 manager has contacted me asking about her availability, so this wasn’t me trying to influence or get Tyler selected.”

• Ireland boss Pauw: ‘Tyler needs to call me. Maybe a bit of guts would help her’

An email to the player’s father from Ruud Dokter, the FAI’s High Performance Director, in February 2020 acknowledged: ‘It is important that Tyler and Vera have a conversation shortly regarding Tyler’s future with international football.’

“Really, this should have been addressed 18 months ago,” Maurice Toland said.

“From that day to this, Tyler hasn’t been selected on an Ireland squad. Tyler has never declined the chance to play for Ireland and has never said that she would not play for Ireland under Vera.

“Tyler has always given what she can for Ireland. The comment that she needed to show ‘guts’ was below the belt. Remember, three years ago Tyler – she had just turned 17 – played almost an hour of a qualifier against Northern Ireland with two fractures on a knee.

“The FAI should step in here and do something. We know there is a big Dutch influence at the FAI and Irish coaches are afraid to speak up in case their own jobs come under threat.

“Someone has to step in here and get to the bottom of this. Allegations have been made against me — but at the end of the day my daughter and her future is the most important thing here.

Click Here: south sydney rabbitohs rugby store

“She’s only 18, but has played under Lorraine Counihane, Sharon Boyle, Sean Byrne, Dave Bell, Dave Connell, Colin Bell and Tom O’Connor for Ireland teams.

“Alan Mahon, a former Irish international, was her manager at Man City for a while. All of those people I think would stand over Tyler’s character, which has been savaged by Vera’s comments on Friday.

“The goalposts have been moved so often. At first, Vera said Tyler wasn’t getting enough game time at Man City; then she said the move to Man City wasn’t working out, that Tyler wasn’t the player she was; Tyler went on loan to Glasgow and all of a sudden it wasn’t about game time; now, she has come out and made it about me.”

Pauw attending a Women’s National League [WNL] game at the weekend.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Toland sent the Irish manager a text on 14 April in which she conveyed her wish for a ‘fresh start’, saying: “I feel I have a lot to give. I’m really working hard on my game and I am willing to do whatever it takes to play with you and get back in your team.” At the time of writing, a response had not been received.

Toland made her Irish debut in 2017, becoming the country’s youngest senior player in history. The midfielder had just signed for Manchester City before scoring in a player of the match display against Montenegro.

Pauw was among the attendance at Tallaght when Ireland beat Montenegro, a day before her unveiling as the new Ireland manager.

Toland — now on loan at Glasgow City — was left on the bench for games against Ukraine and Greece in 2019, when certain comments the manager is alleged to have made have been questioned by the player’s father.

Maurice Toland said: “One of the first things Vera said to Tyler came during a physio appointment. She said to her: ‘You think that you have made it? You have a long way to go.’ Tyler acknowledged that; she knew she had, and still has, a long way to go in the game.

“Vera told Tyler that she looked ‘too leggy’, that her legs had got 10cm bigger since she moved to City and suggested that she would pick up an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury ‘by the second week in November’ if she maintained the training she was doing.

“In Athens, Tyler asked for a meeting. Vera said, ‘Not tonight,’ as she was going sightseeing and the following day at breakfast, in front of a large group. After that, Vera questioned Tyler:’ Why aren’t you on my team? I was told that you were the first name on the team-sheet’.

“Tyler felt that she was ‘one of the sharpest’ players at training in that camp, but Vera’s response was: ‘I don’t care how sharp you are in training, you’re not paying me enough respect’.”