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Image courtesy Grainne McKinney
NA FIANNA 0-18
LUCAN SARSFIELDS 0-14
Na Fianna progressed to their third successive Go Ahead Dublin Senior 1 Hurling Championship final when getting the better of Lucan Sarsfields by four points in their last four encounter at Parnell Park on Sunday afternoon.
The Glasnevin side have sparkled in attack all year but it was their back-line that proved pivotal on this occasion on a day when Lucan suffered the disappointment of another semi-final reverse.
The fear in advance that Lucan’s six-week break may stall any momentum generated from their unbeaten group campaign was realised in the initial stages as Na Fianna raced out of the blocks.
They were unfortunate not to find the net as early as the 3rd minute as AJ Murphy’s cross-shot was superbly diverted over his own crossbar by Lucan netminder Cillian Murray.
While Lucan levelled in an instant through Luke Walsh, Na Fianna regained the initiative through one of their stellar performers of this campaign in midfielder Peter Feeney.
Sean Currie and John Tierney were afforded far too much space as they added to their team’s advantage and Murphy’s second point of the day pushed Na Fianna four points clear by the 8th minute.
Two points in quick succession from Colin Currie were an accurate barometer of the Na Fianna dominance with a missed free from Sean Harkness at the opposite end betraying Lucan’s nerves in front of goal.
Ciaran Stacey saw his rising shot parried by Murray but Na Fianna were seemingly doing as they pleased with two excellent points from Sean Currie opening up an 0-9 to 0-1 lead by the 18th minute.
The Glasnevin outfit lost their way somewhat from that point, allowing their opponents the chance to settle through a trio of Harkness frees and a Kevin Fitzgerald score as their lead was halved by the 24th minute.
A Chris O’Leary point added to Lucan’s sense of optimism but Brian Ryan ended a scoreless period of twelve minutes for Na Fianna with his point inching his side 0-10 to 0-6 clear by the interval.
A Colin Currie free within a minute of the restart edged Na Fianna further clear but a trademark point from distance by the returning Chris Crummey and a Luke Walsh score helped generate momentum for Sarsfields in the early stages of the second-half.
When Harkness added to Lucan’s tally with a smart point from play, the margin was down to just two points by the 38th minute but crucially, Na Fianna were able to chip away through scores from Colin Currie and Murphy to maintain their semblance of control.
A delightful sideline from O’Leary aside, Lucan were gaining little change from an excellent Na Fianna defence, one in which Paul O’Dea was a stylish and hugely effective presence at wing-back.
Their excellence allowed their attack to add to their lead through another Sean Currie point while Murphy’s fourth of the day pushed Na Fianna five clear by the 48th minute.
Sarsfields managed to close the gap thanks to frees by Harkness and Ciaran Dowling but they never looked likely to create that all-important levelling goal with Sean Currie landing an audacious sideline effort in injury time as added insurance.
Scorers – Na Fianna: C Currie 0-6 (5f), S Currie 0-5 (0-1 sideline), AJ Murphy 0-4, B Ryan, J Tierney, P Feeney 0-12 apiece. Lucan Sarsfields: S Harkness 0-6 (5f), C Dowling (2f), C O’Leary (0-1 sideline) 0-2 each, C Walsh, L Walsh, K Fitzgerald, C Crummey 0-1 apiece.
Na Fianna: J Tracey; D Clerkin, K Burke, S Burke; P O’Dea, L Rushe, D Ryan; B Ryan, P Feeney; C Currie, C Stacey, J Tierney; AJ Murphy, S Barrett, S Currie. Subs: M Murphy for Stacey (half-time), J Burke for Barrett (37), G King for Tierney (Blood Sub 47-55), S Baxter for B Ryan (51),
Lucan Sarsfields: C Murray; J Bellew, P Rigney, R Smith; C Crummey, J McCaffrey, M McCaffrey; C Walsh, L Walsh; C O’Leary, K Fitzgerald, P Crummey; C Keher, C Dowling, S Harkness. Subs: B Coffey for Keher (35), J Behan for Fitzgerald (50), L Garrigan for Harkness (58),
Referee: Damien Burnett (Craobh Chiaráin).
