Lucan Sarsfields make it three from three after win over Cuala

LUCAN SARSFIELDS 1-23 

CUALA 1-21

Lucan Sarsfields enhanced their position at the summit of Group 1 of the Go-Ahead Dublin Senior 1 Hurling Championship table when overcoming Cuala by points at Parnell Park on Saturday afternoon.

Having beaten Kilmacud Crokes and St Brigid’s in their two previous matches, Lucan seized control either side of the interval with five unanswered points before half-time augmented by Paul Crummey’s sublime goal within thirty seconds of the restart.

It was Cuala that started on the front foot as ate replacement Dara Twomey popped over inside fifteen seconds and the Dalkey outfit added to their tally through frees from Sean Brennan and Liam Murphy.

Lucan were struggling to avail of the breeze at their backs, with some poor shot selection undermining their response but they got on the board through two points on the bounce by Sean Harkness.

Murphy added his first from play by way of riposte but two further frees from Harkness and a Ben Coffey point saw Sarsfields edge 0-5 to 0-4 ahead by the end of the first quarter.

A point from the impressive Colm Walsh kept Lucan narrowly in front but some defensive uncertainty was punished in the 18^th minute as they failed to clear their lines, allowing Colm Cronin the chance to release Jamie Conroy for a sharp finish past Cillian Murray in the Lucan goal.

Luke Walsh and Chris O’Leary replied with points for Lucan but Cuala responded in kind through the influential Diarmuid Ó Floinn and Twomey to regain their narrow advantage.

However, the half finished in a glut of Lucan points as Charlie Keher seized the initiative with three points from play with further scores from Walsh and Harkness edging Lucan 0-14 to 1-7 clear by the turnaround.

That advantage increased to seven points immediately after the break as Crummey made light of the acute angle when hammering a rising shot beyond Brennan with a point from Ben Coffey soon after adding to Cuala’s misery.

Coffey added two further points as he mirrored Keher’s quickfire contribution with Cuala remaining in touching distance thanks to the excellence of Murphy from placed balls and points from play by Jake Malone and Ó Floinn.

A superb point by O’Leary ensured the margin remained at a manageable level for Lucan but two points from Conroy saw Cuala reduce their arrears to three points by the 55^th minute.

Keher spurned a glorious opportunity of settling the issue as his well-struck shot from a John Bellew pass was acrobatically repelled by Brennan and Cuala grew ever dangerous as two Murphy frees and a Des Duggan point left just a solitary point between the teams deep into added time.

However, their comeback was to prove elusive as a late hit on O’Leary allowed Harkness to convert the most straightforward of his ten points as Lucan ensured top spot in the group and a semi-final spot in the process.

Scorers – Lucan Sarsfields: S Harkness 0-10 (8f, 1 ‘65’), B Coffey 0-4, C Keher, C Walsh 0-3 each, P Crummey 1-0, C O’Leary 0-2, C Walsh 0-1. Cuala: L Murphy 0-11 (9f), J Conroy 1-2, S Brennan (2f), D Twomey, D Ó Floinn 0-2 each, J Malone, D Duggan 0-1 apiece.

Lucan Sarsfields: C Murray; C Walsh, P Rigney, R Smith; J McCaffrey, J Bellew, J Behan; M McCaffrey, L Walsh; C O’Leary, K Fitzgerald, P Crummey; C Keher, B Coffey, S Harkness. Subs: L Garrigan for Fitzgerald (40), M Coogan for Coffey (47), C McHugh for Keher (64).

Cuala: S Brennan; E O’Callaghan, A Power, M Conroy; J Sheanon, D Ó Floinn, J Malone; C Sheanon, D O’Connell; J Conroy, D Twomey, C Cronin; S Moran, L Murphy, C O’Toole. Subs: S Gaffney for Power (39), D Duggan for Twomey (52), D Ryan for Malone (56), C Spain for C Sheanon (61).

Referee: Colm McCarthy (St Vincent’s)