Dublin U21 Hurling Championship Roundup

Lucan Sarsfields progressed to the final of the Dublin Under 21 ‘A’ Hurling Championship following their comprehensive 3-22 to 1-13 victory over Raheny in St Anne’s Park on Saturday afternoon.

The visitors raced into an early five-point lead thanks largely to the free-taking of Sean Harkness and they remained in control of matters as Hugh Cuffe, Liam Garrigan and Matt Coogan all added to the Sarsfields tally.

A Harkness goal, following up after Cuffe’s shot had been blocked pushed Lucan into an eight-point advantage but points from the influential Brian Dunne allowed the hosts to claw their way back into contention.

Raheny resumed on the front to reduce their arrears to just two points but they were dealt a body blow at the end of the third quarter as Harkness netted for the second time.

The visitors plundered 1-3 from that juncture, with David Mulqueen raising their third green flag, and pulled away to ease into next week’s decider against Faughs in O’Toole Park next Saturday.

The Under ‘B’ final will see Commercials face Naomh Barróg after their semi-final victories against Ballinteer St John’s and Clontarf respectively.

In Marley Park, Commercials pulled away in the final quarter on their way to an impressive 1-23 to 3-5 win over Ballinteer.

The foundation for their victory lay in defence with the likes of Neil Lawless, James O’Leary, Harry O’Keeffe and Jacob Comiskey impressing in their duties while Tadhg Morris drove the team forward from midfield.

Diarmuid Ó Dúlaing kept the away scoreboard ticking over with ten points over the hour and with Daniel O’Kelly (0-5) and David Dungan (0-3) adding to the tally, they confirmed their final place with a goal from substitute Jack O’Keeffe.

In Páirc Barróg, the free-taking of Evan O’Brien proved crucial as Naomh Barróg defeated Clontarf by 4-15 to 1-14.

The visitors started brightly but were gradually curbed through the defensive influence of both Aaron Comerford and Sean O’Reilly with Paddy Doyle and Sean Gallagher also featuring prominently for Barróg.

O’Brien continued to punish Clontarf from placed balls while Daniel Moore (1-1) and Dylan Duggan (1-2) made solid contributions up front for the hosts.

In Silver Park, Castleknock advanced to the ‘C’ decider as they overcame Kilmacud Crokes by 4-16 to 1-20 in their thrilling semi-final.

Sean Boyle plundered a hat-trick of goals for the visitors and with Cillian Downey top scoring with 1-9, Castleknock progressed thanks to excellent individual performances by full-back Michael McGrail and Gavin Murphy Kane at centre-forward.

U21 ‘A’ HC semi-final: Raheny 1-13 Lucan Sarsfields 3-22.

U21 ‘B’ HC semi-finals: Ballinteer St John’s 3-5 Commercials 1-23; Naomh Barróg 4-15 Clontarf 1-14.

U21 ‘C’ HC semi-final: Kilmacud Crokes 1-20 Castleknock 4-16.

U21 ‘D’ HC final: Skerries Harps 4-3 Cuala 2-14.

U21 ‘E’ HC final: Na Fianna 3-14 Naomh Olaf 0-11.