The shadow boxing of the subsidiary competitions came to an end over the weekend, but there were some useful pointers to be got ahead of the start of the Football Leagues. Here's our football team of the week ...

1. Mark Donnellan (Kildare)

Kept a clean sheet against Dublin in Newbridge and pulled off a fine save to deny Kevin McManamon in extra-time.

2. Michael Fitzsimons (Dublin)

As per usual, the Cuala clubman went about his business with the minimum amount of fuss and was hugely effective against Kildare.

3. Rory Dunne (Cavan)

Dunne's personal duel with Sean Cavanagh was one of the highlights of the McKenna Cup decider and the Breffni defender gave as good as he got.

4. Neil Collins (Roscommon)

The Roscommon forwards grabbed all the headlines following their four goal exploits against Galway but Collins & Co kept things tight at the back.

5. Ronan McNabb (Tyrone)

McNabb put in a useful shift in the Tyrone half-back line as they seized control during the second-half of the McKenna Cup final and held Cavan scoreless for 35 minutes.

6. Maurice O'Gorman (Waterford)

Saturday was a day that O'Gorman and his Waterford team-mates won't forget in a hurry, he roamed forward to net a goal against UCC.

7. Tadgh O hUallachain (Waterford)

Like his half-back colleague O'Gorman, O hUallachain caught the eye for Tom McGlinchey's charges.

8. Fiontan O Curraoin (Galway)

One of the few positives from Galway manager Kevin Walsh's point of view was the performance of midfielder O Curraoin in Kiltoom.

9. Padraig McNulty (Tyrone)

The Red Hand newcomer had his hands full in the first-half against Cavan but grew in prominence after the resumption as Mickey Harte's charges retained the McKenna Cup.

10. Eamonn Callaghan (Kildare)

The experienced Lilywhites attacker was on target with three points from play in Newbridge.

11. Dean Rock (Dublin)

The Ballymun man did his chances of making Dublin's starting 15 for next weekend's league opener against Cork no harm at all with an impressive O'Byrne Cup showing.

12. Enda Smith (Roscommon)

The hard-working half-forward with an eye for the goalposts played a pivotal role in Roscommon's first ever FBD League success.

13. Darren McCurry (Tyrone)

Made a huge contribution to the Red Hand County's fourth McKenna Cup success in-a-row when registering four points, two from play, following his half-time introduction.

14. Diarmuid Murtagh (Roscommon)

Galway failed to keep tabs on exciting talent Murtagh who underlined his worth to the Rossies' cause when shooting 1-3.

15. Kevin McManamon (Dublin)

Was a constant thorn in the side of the Kildare defence, scoring four points, and walked away with the 'man-of-the-match' accolade.

Tweet

Most Read Stories