AHL 1: Game of the week - Parnell’s v St. Vincents

ADULT HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

PARNELL’S: 0-16

ST VINCENT’S: 1-12

Lee Fogarty was scorer-in-chief at Chanel on Saturday evening, when Parnell’s secured their first victory in this year’s Adult Hurling League top-flight at the expense of St Vincent’s.

With Cian McBride and Tomas McGrane leading by example, Vinnie’s developed a eight-point interval cushion (1-8 to 0-3). However, with a strong breeze in their favour after the restart - and Fogarty in reliable form - Parnell’s fought back to ultimately record a slender triumph over their northside rivals.

Four straight defeats meant that Parnell’s started the weekend bottom of the Division One table, but although they were eager to get their account up and running, Vincent’s were also hoping to bring a losing run to an end.

They lost out to Crumlin and St Brigid’s in their most recent round of fixtures, and despite conceding an opening minute point to Parnell’s half-forward Fogarty, they edged in front with unanswered scores from Brian Bolger and ex-Dublin star McGrane. The visitors were taking their time to settle in a fiercely-contested opening to the action, but managed to create some daylight between themselves and Parnell’s in the 11th-minute.

A long delivery was gathered by McBride, and the energetic wing-forward burst through a crowded area to claim an excellent goal. Parnell’s responded to this set-back with another successful free by Fogarty, but as the half wore on, Vincent’s started to create numerous scoring opportunities.

Ronan Fallon (an All-Star nominee in 2008) lined out on the ’40’ for Vincent’s, and after making a sharp turn at the end of the first-quarter, he split the posts in clinical style. The impressive McBride was also on target with a 16th-minute point, and this was followed by similar efforts from McGrane (’65’), Bolger and Rory Pocock.

The evergreen McGrane added his third point at the beginning of first-half stoppage-time, before Parnell’s finally brought this scoring sequence to an end with another placed-ball contribution from Fogarty.

The home team were facing into a sizeable deficit when the action resumed, but they quickly fired themselves back into contention. Fogarty’s unerring accuracy continued with another free on 31 minutes, while Sean O’Connell (two) and full-forward Stephen Duffy released some of the scoring burden on the Parnell’s attacker with fine scores from play.

However, Fogarty remained a pivotal figure in his side’s third-quarter surge, and in addition to a Colm McDonald single, his 0-3 salvo incredibly brought Parnell’s back to level terms on the stroke of 40 minutes. Vincent’s eventually settled again with a close-range free by Fallon - who deputised for McGrane after his half-time withdrawal - and following swapped efforts between Fogarty and Fallon, they were two points to the good courtesy of another McBride point. Yet, just when it seemed like they had gotten to grips with their near neighbours, Parnell’s discovered another dimension to their attacking play.

Under severe pressure, Fogarty registered his first point from open play, and his subsequent free from a right-hand angle restored parity for the third time in the half. Momentum was now with Parnell’s moving into the final 10 minutes, and an outstanding point by goalkeeper Keith Byrne (from a free well inside his own half) restored the lead that they previously held at the very start of the proceedings.

Half-back Sean Geraghty also added his name to the scoresheet, and with clear-cut opportunities at a premium for Vincent’s, this placed Derek Brennan’s men in the driving seat. Vincent’s had introduced Steve McCarry, Franklin O’Sullivan, Oisin Lanigan and Willie Lowry from their substitutes bench by this point, though, and with McGrane re-entering the fray, they were searching for the one chance that would produce a dramatic win for the Marino outfit.

McBride did bring his personal tally up to 1-3 with a point five minutes into injury-time, but Parnell’s held on for a morale-boosting success. They will now aim to build on this performance when they make the short journey to Blunden Drive for a meeting with O’Toole’s on Wednesday week (June 21), while Vincent’s will entertain Na Fianna at Pairc Naomh Uinsionn on the same evening.

Scorers - Parnell’s: Lee Fogarty 0-10 (9f), Sean O’Connell 0-2, Keith Byrne (f), Sean Geraghty, Colm McDonald, Stephen Duffy 0-1 each. St Vincent’s: Cian McBride 1-3, Tomas McGrane (2f, 1 ’65’), Ronan Fallon (2f), 0-3 each, Brian Bolger 0-2, Rory Pocock 0-1.

PARNELL’S: Keith Byrne; Mick Gleeson, Phillip Reilly, Colm Looby; Sean Geraghty, Arron Hurley, Graham George; Carl Sammon, Jamie Sammon; Sean O’Connell, Phillip Dunne, Lee Fogarty; Colm McDonald, Stephen Duffy, Darren Creighton. Sub: Ross Mills for Creighton (60).

ST VINCENT’S: Cathal Billings; James Cooke, Jack Collins, Mark O’Keeffe; Sean McCaw, Chris O’Donovan, Ciaran Harney; Brian Bolger, Graeme Gilblin; Cian McBride, Ronan Fallon, Neal Billings; Rory Pocock, Tomas McGrane, Keith Connolly. Subs: Steve McCarry for Giblin (27), Franklin O’Sullivan for McGrane, Oisin Lanigan for Connolly (both half-time), Willie Lowry for Pocock (46), McGrane for Bulger (57).

Referee: Jason Buckley (Setanta).

Written by Daire Walsh