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GALWAY HURLING: One of Galway's most promising forwards looks set to miss most of the All-Ireland hurling championship because…

Mon Jun 05 2006 - 01:00

GALWAY HURLING: One of Galway's most promising forwards looks set to miss most of the All-Ireland hurling championship because of a wrist injury.

Aonghus Callanan, centre forward on the victorious Galway under-21 team last year and a substitute on the senior side defeated by Cork, is due to go for surgery this week.

The Liam Mellows clubman has damaged the scaphoid bone in his wrist and it could be two to three months before he is back playing.

"The important thing at this stage is that Aonghus gets the injury sorted out and makes a full recovery," said Galway selector Gerry Dempsey.

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KERRY FOOTBALL: William Kirby has returned to training with the Kerry senior squad and a recent string of fine displays with his club Austin Stacks may well see him playing some part in the championship this summer.

Michael McCarthy is doubtful ahead of the Saturday's Munster semi-final against Tipperary in Killarney because of injury while Tomás Ó Sé may be fit to play. Last year's Kerry minor star Paul O'Connor is poised to wear number 15 with team captain Declan O'Sullivan moving to the half-forward line.

CHRISTY RING CUP: The first round of the second tier of the hurling championship took place on Saturday with Carlow being held by Wicklow in Arklow and Kildare beating Kerry in Tralee.

Wicklow held an unlikely 1-4 to 0-6 lead at half-time with John Keogh scoring the goal. The game remained tight in the second half before a Dennis Moran goal extended the home team's lead. Carlow kept their composure, however, and a Damien Roberts goal kept them in contention and an injury-time point from substitute Aaron Cox was enough ensure a share of the spoils in the Group B fixture, with the final score of Wicklow 2-8, Carlow 1-11.

Kildare pulled off an expected 1-16 to 2-12 win in the other Group B match with Billy White scoring a personal tally of nine points.

The Leinster side dominated much of the first half and by half-time had a 0-10 to 0-7 lead, thanks mainly to White's accuracy from frees. Their goal came six minutes into the second half through David Harney.

Kerry rallied in the closing stages and substitute Mikey Boyle netted a couple of goals to put a more respectable look on the scoreboard. They failed, however, to get the score that would have earned them a draw.

SCORERS - Wicklow: J Keogh 1-4, D Moran 1-0, T McGrath 0-1, G Doran 0-1; A O'Brien 0-1, D Hyland 0-1. Carlow: D Roberts 1-1, R Dunbar 0-4, P Cody 0-2, C Hughes 0-1, P Kehoe 0-1, B Lawler 0-1, B Cox 0-1. Kildare: B White 0-9, D Harney 1-3, C Buggy 0-2, C Divilly 0-1, O Lynch 0-1. Kerry: M Conway 0-6, J Egan 0-5, JM Dooley 0-1, M Boyle 2-0.

ULSTER UNDER-21 HURLING SHIELD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL REPLAY: Monaghan, who snatched a late equaliser in extra-time injury time to force a replay against Donegal, put in a vastly improved performance to win by 2-16 to 1-10 to retain their title at Brewster Park on Saturday.

Monaghan got off to much the better start and, in contrast to the drawn game, they excelled and carried the match to their opponents from the off. They led by four points to nil after six minutes and by the end of the first quarter they had extended that lead to seven points thanks in large part to a goal by Stephen Lambe.

Donegal opened through Kevin Campbell in the 16th minute but Monaghan continued to dominate and a second goal, scored by Brian McGuigan, on the half hour helped them to a 2-10 to 0-1 lead at the half-time break.

Donegal started the second half well and five unanswered points between the fifth and 10th minutes hinted at a closer contest.

That, however, did not materialise as Monaghan reasserted themselves to frustrate Donegal's game plan while picking off good points on counter attacks. They managed to pull back a late consolation goal but Monaghan had the game well wrapped up at that stage.

SCORERS - Monaghan: S Lambe 1-4, M Lennon 0-5, B McGuigan 1-0, N Morgan 0-2, G Gilsenan 0-2, B O'Brien 0-1, R Meegan 0-1, B Naughton 0-1, Donegal: D Cullen 1-2, K Campbell 0-5, B McGee 0-2, M Bonner 0-1.

ULSTER SFC: Both semi-finals of the Ulster senior football championship will be played in Clones. The decision was taken at a special meeting of the Activities of the Council in Enniskillen on Saturday. The first semi-final between Armagh and Fermanagh will be played in Clones next Sunday with the second play-off between Derry and Donegal taking place on the following Sunday, June 18th.