Go Ahead Dublin Senior 1 Hurling Championship Round-Up: August 27th

Image via John Sheridan

GO AHEAD DUBLIN SENIOR ONE HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND-UP: AUGUST 27th 

By Daire Walsh 

Cuala and Ballyboden St Enda’s preserved their 100% records in Group One of the Go Ahead Senior One Hurling Championship courtesy of respective victories against St Jude’s and Na Fianna at Parnell Park on Saturday.

Eight-time winners of the competition, Cuala finished with 10 points to spare (2-23 to 2-13) over Jude’s. 

Early points from Sean Treacy and Liam Murphy had offered them some early breathing space, before Kevin Lahiff also split the uprights to get their Templeogue counterparts up and running. Joe McManus also knocked over a brace of frees for Jude’s, but his efforts were surpassed by that of David Treacy at the opposite end.

After scoring an impressive 0-15 in the last round against Na Fianna, the experienced marksman bagged five points (including four from placed balls) to give Cuala a stranglehold on the first-quarter mark. Jude’s were looking to make a big splash in what is their final game of the regular campaign, however, and subsequently came storming into the contest.

Supplementing Sean Wynne’s goal on 16 minutes, Lahiff and McManus raised white flags to edge Jude’s in front. 

Yet Cuala didn’t panic and following a superb take on the left-wing from a Sean Brennan puck-out, Darragh O’Connell fired superbly to the net.

A brilliant response from Darragh O'Connell for @CualaCLG

Watch the #GoAheadDSH1 tie live on DubsTV https://t.co/yMxugVr9uc pic.twitter.com/pPae66AnZL

— Dublin GAA (@DubGAAOfficial) August 27, 2022

This significantly re-energised the Cuala challenge and they ultimately brought a 1-13 to 1-7 cushion into the interval. While Treacy’s dead-ball accuracy was a highlight, inside forward Liam Murphy was also becoming more prominent.

In the early stages of the second half, he contributed a 1-1 salvo to leave Cuala in a seemingly unassailable position. His 36th-minute goal was swiftly followed by the introduction of Con O’Callaghan, who pulled off a magnificent catch before finding the target in clinical fashion.

This score arrived moments after O'Callaghan's former Dublin football colleague Mark Schütte had found the range and they were joined on the scoresheet by Kevin Kirwan and Cillian Sheanon in the closing moments. To their credit, Jude’s kept plugging away and Joe McManus bagged 1-2 from play inside the final-quarter.

He also amassed five points from frees, while Wynne (1-1) and Lahiff (0-3) did their level best for the Wellington Lane side. Although Cuala had 10 different scorers over the course of the action, David Treacy and Liam Murphy - 0-9 and 1-5 respectively - were the ones to lead the charge.

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Later on in the same ground, Ballyboden held off a spirited second half fightback from Na Fianna to eventually prevail on a final score of 0-20 to 0-13. Finalists in 2021, Na Fianna were looking to bounce back from that recent seven-point reversal to Cuala.

However, ‘Boden were the dominant team in the opening half and brought a commanding 0-11 to 0-1 buffer into the half-time break. Luke McDwyer, Niall McMorrow, Paul Ryan, Conor Dooley, Aidan Mellett and Conal Keaney all chipped in with scores as David Curtin’s charges effortlessly set out their stall.

"That's magic from McDwyer!"

A lovely point from Luke McDwyer for @BodenGAA in the #GoAheadDSH1 at Parnell Park yesterday.

Watch the action back on DubsTV https://t.co/urzYvOmlOU pic.twitter.com/wMLAkSGYZa

— Dublin GAA (@DubGAAOfficial) August 28, 2022

AJ Murphy was the sole contributor for Na Fianna in the opening period, although Donal Burke did fire a stoppage-time penalty past the target. Yet the latter was always likely to grow into the game and the inter-county stalwart spearheaded a mini revival on the resumption.

Thanks to three points from Burke and another by Murphy, Na Fianna brought the gap down to six in as many second half minutes. ‘Boden remained confident in attack, though, and settled back into the contest with back-to-back efforts from McMorrow and Ryan.

Na Fianna got as close as five points inside the closing 10 minutes, but Ballyboden were never truly in danger of letting their lead slip. Despite the excellent Paul Ryan scoring six points over the hour, the southsiders weren’t overly reliant on the ex-Dublin hurler.

McDwyer and McMorrow finished with 0-4 apiece from open play, while Mellett and Keaney came away with two points each. Burke and Murphy kept Na Fianna’s hopes alive for long stretches and Liam Rushe also posted a fine score in the latter stages of the tie.

With Ballyboden set to face Cuala at Parnell Park in the final round of the group on September 10, top spot in Group One remains very much up for grabs. Having received a bye at the weekend, St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh will resume their bid for a knockout place when they take on Na Fianna at O’Toole Park on the same day.

Defending champions Kilmacud Crokes cemented their status as Group Two leaders with a convincing 1-24 to 0-18 win over Lucan Sarsfields at O’Toole Park on Saturday. This was their third victory on the bounce and leaves them a point ahead of St Vincent’s - their opponents in the final round - in the table.

There was little to separate Crokes from Lucan in the opening-quarter at the Kimmage venue, with the sides finding themselves on level terms on no fewer than three occasions. While Chris Crummey, Colm Walsh, Charlie Keher, Paul Crummey, Chris O’Leary and Eoghan O Conghaile were all on target for Lucan in the early exchanges, Dara Purcell, Michael Roche (two), Ronan Hayes, Oisin O’Rorke and Fergal Whitely did likewise for Kilmacud.

Yet the Stillorgan outfit subsequently created daylight with a goal from Ronan Hayes on 17 minutes. O’Rorke, Roche, Shane Veale and Brian Hayes also contributed a series of points to propel Crokes towards a 1-13 to 0-9 cushion at the midway stage in the action.

O’Leary did his best to keep Lucan in touch with three pointed frees, but their opponents were playing with supreme confidence and stretched their lead after the restart. The outstanding O’Rorke knocked over their opening four points of the second period, though Matt McCaffrey and Paul Crummey did manage to disrupt their flow with scores at the far end of the pitch.

The reliable O’Leary also kept the scoreboard ticking over, but Kilmacud were not to be denied. Ronan Hayes and Fionn O Ceallaigh ensured the burden was lifted off O’Rorke’s shoulders as they once again underlined their 2022 championship credentials.

It was also a successful day out at O’Toole Park for St Brigid’s, who bolstered their own knockout hopes with a 1-24 to 2-11 success against Craobh Chiarain.

Diarmuid Breslin, Paul Winters (two), James O’Connell and Eoghan Dunne all found the range to offer Brigid’s a 0-5 to 0-1 advantage with just under eight minutes gone on the clock. A Dunne goal in the 12th-minute helped the Navan Road men to establish a firm foothold on the game, only for a Darren Kelly major to offer Craobh a lifeline moments later.

Winters (two) and O’Connell added points for Brigid’s in the closing moments of the first half, but Craobh (who had fine performers in the form of Paul Kelly and Robbie Mahon) were still in contention at the break. Just four points adrift - 1-10 to 0-16 - the Clonshaugh side were aiming to finish their last game of the campaign with a bang.

Brigid’s had their own motivation coming into this game, of course, and a brace of Winters points reinforced their authority when the action resumed. Diarmuid Breslin, Donnacha Ryan and Andrew Dunphy all raised white flags as the half wore on and Brigid’s moved 12 points clear at the end of normal time.

Craobh Chiarain did battle right up until the end, however, and - following on from points by Sean McHugh, James Finn, Mahon and Keith Cooling - Darren Kelly claimed his second goal deep into time added on.