Jude’s too strong for youthful Brigid’s

ST JUDE'S 2-13 ST BRIGID'S 1-10

Two second half goals for St Jude's saw them overcome St Brigid's by six points in Wednesday night's Dublin SHC 'A' Group 4 game at Parnell Park.

The Tymon North team led 0-11 to 0-6 after a well contested opening but Jude's made the ideal restart two minutes into the second half when John Ryan finished to an unguarded net after Brigid's keeper originally came off his line to make a block tackle.

Eleven minutes form time Danny Sutcliffe showed his class to effectively kill of the contest when he outfielded his marker from behind before driving through on goal, shacking off a couple of tacklers, before firing to the net to make it 2-12 to 0-9.

However, failed to raise the white flag and there youthful team minus the talents of Daire Plunkett and John O'Loughlin, and containing five minors, battled to the finish and were rewarded with something of a freakish goal by keeper Nolan in the 54th minute when his 90-metre free was parried to the net by his opposite number Martin Hartnett.

The Russell Park men finished the game with 14 men when Jack O'Neill was red-carded four minutes from time.

In the opening half Jude's established an early lead with points from Diarmuid McLoughlin, the influential Donie Fox, the lively Ronan Joyce and a free from Fox to lead 0-4 to 0-1.

The freetaking of Aodhán McEnerney kept the scoreboard ticking for Brigid's while Dublin minor Cian O'Sullivan was clever and unselfish in possession in the lead up to one of the points of the half, a long-range effort from centre-back Mark Kavanagh.

Two minutes earlier another Dublin minor Johnny McGuirk struck and excellent point from the right-wing but overall Jude's were the more powerful and cohesive unit with Sutcliffe providing some moments of skill and poise to help his side to their five-point half-time lead.

But Jude's could have been ahead by more at the break but for a superb double save by Alan Nolan in the 20th minute when he first denied John Ryan and then Paul Maguire with two brave stops.

SCORERS – St Jude’s: D Sutcliffe 1-2, D Fox 0-5 (0-4f), J Ryan 1-1 (0-1f), R Joyce 0-3, D McLoughlin 0-2. St Brigid’s: A McEnerney 0-7 (0-6f), A Nolan 1-0 (1-0f), M Kavanagh 0-2, J McGuirk 0-1.

ST JUDE'S: M Hartnett; E McLoughlin, G McManus, C Mangan; T Devlin, A O’Beirne, R Hardy; N Mangan, D Fox; C Maher, P Maguire, D Sutcliffe; R Joyce, J Ryan, D McLoughlin. Subs: D Dwyer for E McLoughlin (24), J McManus for Ryan (44), L Sexton for D McLoughlin (54), J Kennedy for N Mangan (59).

ST BRIGID'S: A Nolan; S Brady, N Scanlon, D Ryan; J O’Neill, B McEnerney, E McKeigue; M Kavanagh, C Morris; R Dunbar, A McEnerney, S Dunphy; J McGuirk, C Sullivan, C O’Sullivan. Subs: D Fraine for Dunphy (ht), C Kellett for Sullivan (46), B Smyth for B McEnerney (46), D Doyle for Dunbar (54).

REF: J Brennan (Thomas Davis).