Dominant Dublin Beat Carlow at Parnell Park

Picture Courtesy Matthew Lysaght

DUBLIN 2-29

CARLOW 3-17

A dominant first-half display proved telling as Dublin got the better of Carlow by nine points in Round 5 of the Allianz National Hurling League Division 1B at Parnell Park on Saturday evening.

Following their narrow defeats at the hands of Offaly and Waterford, this was a welcome return to the winner’s enclosure for the Dubs, who while pleased with their scoring return, will look to address the concession of three goals over the course of seventy minutes of entertaining but low-intensity hurling.

The first-half saw Dublin sparkle up front with goals from David Purcell and his Kilmacud Crokes club mate Brian Hayes helping build an eleven-point lead by the turnaround.

The standard dropped to a degree during an error-strewn second-half with a goal from Marty Kavanagh in the 69th minute arriving too late to spare Carlow their fate.

Neither side could establish any degree of control in the early stages as Ronan Hayes and Ted Joyce traded points early on with Donal Burke and Ciaran Whelan doing likewise from placed balls by the 5th minute.

An excellent Conor Burke point two minutes later edged the hosts ahead for the third time but Carlow responded once again as James Doyle matched Burke’s effort from distance to restore parity.

From the resultant puck-out, Chris Nolan seized on Seán Brennan’s under hit pass and raced through to fire to the net, despite the best efforts of the Dublin net minder.

Dublin’s reply to this setback was as instant as it was impressive as they reeled off four points on the bounce through Kevin Burke, Conor Burke, Brian Hayes and David Purcell to regain their narrow advantage.

A brace of Daire Gray scores saw the hosts edge further clear and they put daylight between the teams in the 21st minute as David Purcell’s decision to run at the Carlow defence was vindicated as his low shot sneaked through Brian Tracey in theCarlow goal.

Donal Burke and Purcell added to the Dublin lead as the half evolved and they pushed eleven points clear by the 26th minute as Brian Hayes embarked on a trademark run before cutting inside and netting past the unsighted Tracey.

While Paddy Boland replied with a Carlow goal two minutes later, two Conor Donohoe scores approaching half-time saw Dublin enter the break leading by 2-19 to 2-8.

Dublin struggled to replicate their enterprise in the third quarter as a trio of James Doyle frees brought the visitors to within seven points by the 46th minute.

From limited opportunities, the hosts added to their tally courtesy of two well-taken points from play by Donal Burke but their inability to secure possession inside was in marked contrast to their free-flowing display of the opening period.

They were indebted to Brennan in the 49th minute, who atoned for his earlier error when savingNolan’s penalty after Kevin Burke had fouled Boland when close to goal.

That score appeared to puncture any Carlow comeback prospects as Chris Crummey, Conor Burke and Donal Burke edged Dublin back into a more comfortable position with ten minutes remaining.

There was sufficient time for Carlow substitute Marty Kavanagh to chip in with 1-1 after his late introduction but Donal Burke’s nine points helped Dublin home with a fair degree of comfort.

Scorers – Dublin:D Burke 0-9 (6f); C Burke 0-5; B Hayes 1-2; D Purcell 1-1; C Donohoe ( 1 sideline), R Hayes 0-3 each; D Gray 0-2; K Burke, D Ó Dúlaing, C Crummey, F Whitely 0-1 a piece. Carlow:J Doyle 0-5 (3f); C Nolan, M Kavanagh 1-1 a piece; P Boland 1-0; C Whelan 0-3 (3f); K McDonald (f), C Kehoe, D Murphy, J Nolan, T Joyce, R Coady, E English 0-1 apiece.

Dublin: S Brennan; J Bellew, D Lucey, C McHugh; D Gray, C Crummey, K Burke; C Burke, C Donohoe; F Whitely, R Hayes, B Hayes; David Purcell, D Burke, D Ó Dúlaing. Subs:S Currie for Purcell (41),AJ Murphy for Ó Dúlaing (52), D Sutcliffe for R Hayes (52), P Smyth for Lucey (53),P O’Dea for Crummey (66).

Carlow: B Tracey; P Doyle, E Kealy, D Wall; J McCullagh, K McDonald, N Bolger; C Whelan, J Doyle; J Nolan, T Joyce, E English; P Boland, C Kehoe, C Nolan. Subs: F Fitzpatrick for Whelan (half-time), P O’Shea for Bolger (half-time), D Murphy for Kehoe (half-time), R Coady for English (53), M Kavanagh for Joyce (58).

Referee: Colm McDonald (Antrim).