Senior Hurlers see off Antrim in Dioralyte Walsh Cup tie

DUBLIN 2-31 

ANTRIM 1-20

Goals in either half from Diarmaid Ó Dúlaing and Paul Crummey helped Dublin ease past Antrim by fourteen points in their Dioralyte Walsh Cup Group 2 encounter at Parnell Park on Sunday afternoon.

The Dubs started up their Walsh Cup campaign with a comprehensive win over Westmeath ten days previously and they looked well set for victory as they built up a ten-point lead by the interval.

They maintained that margin after the break without overly impressing as the competitive nature eased the further the clash progressed but they’ll happily proceed to a semi-final encounter with Galway next weekend.

The hosts started with the breeze at their backs and made early inroads as Paul Crummey popped over inside thirty seconds from Conor Burke’s precise pass.

Burke doubled Dublin’s lead in an instant and they were three points clear in as many minutes as Davy Keogh split the uprights with a smart score from forty metres.

The early accuracy was lost briefly with Sean Currie placing his low shot too close to Antrim goalkeeper Tiernan Smyth before Antrim got their names on the scoreboard through a 7^th minute point by Paul Boyle.

Crummey looked sharp in the early stages, teeing up Keogh for a score in the 8^th minute before adding a second point of his own two minutes later as the Dubs continued to hold the upper hand.

Gradually, the visitors began to find their collective feet thanks to a point by Conal Bohill and frees from Conal Cunning and Rian McMullan before Liam Murphy got the hosts back on track with a fine solo score in the 15^th minute.

A Niall McKenna point a minute later left the bare minimum between the sides but a brace of Joe Flanagan frees and a tidy effort from his Naomh Barróg clubmate Paddy Doyle saw Dublin regain the initiative by the 20^th minute.

Flanagan and Eoghan O’Donnell made the most of the wind when adding points from distance as the half progressed with Antrim guilty of some poor wides as they struggled to stay in touch.

Flanagan added another brace to leave his side eight points to the good but a McMullan brace looked to have left the visitors in decent shape approaching the break.

However, a Diarmuid Ó Dúlaing point put Dublin back on the front foot and they finished the half in the best manner possible as Murphy and Crummey were involved in placing Ó Dúlaing through for a thunderous finish beyond the helpless Smyth.

Leading by 1-14 to 0-7 at the break, Dublin looked to extend that advantage upon the restart as Burke added two points to his tally from midfield.

His new midfield partner Brian Hayes also caught the eye with a typically stylish effort in the 39^th minute as the contest opened up even further with McMullan converting three third quarter frees to raise Antrim morale.

That morale dipped as Dublin added a second goal towards the end of the third quarter with Hayes making the initial incision before finding Crummey, whose low shot proved too powerful for Smyth at his near post.

Further goals could and should have been added with Alex Considine and Crummey spurning presentable chances but it mattered little given the control that Dublin exerted throughout.

The contest meandered to a close as Conor Donohoe and Mark Grogan landing smart scores from distance with the concession of an injury-time goal to McMullan of mere annoyance value by the final whistle.

Scorers – Dublin: D Ó Dúlaing 1-5 (0-2f), P Crummey 1-3, J Flanagan 0-6 (4f), C Burke, D Keogh 0-4 each, P Doyle, E O’Donnell, C Donohoe, M Grogan, L Murphy, D Leavy, C Foley, B Hayes, A Considine 0-1 apiece. Antrim: R McMullan 1-9 (0-8f), P Boyle 0-3, C Boyd, C Bohill, N McKenna, C Cunning (f), F McCurry, J McNaughton, A O’Brien, S McAuley 0-1 apiece.

Dublin: S Brennan; J Bellew, J Madden, P Doyle; E O’Donnell, C Donohoe, M Grogan; C Burke, C Boyle; S Currie, D Keogh, J Flanagan; D Ó Dúlaing, P Crummey, L Murphy. Subs: A Considine for Currie (half-time), B Hayes for Boyle (half-time), J Malone for Flanagan (45), F Whitely for Murphy (45), C Foley for Malone (Blood Sub, 49), D Leavy for Doyle (53), O Gaffney for Crummey (62).

Antrim: T Smyth; C Boyd, R McGarry, P Burke; S Walsh, E Campbell, E Óg McGarry; C Bohill, N O’Connor; E McFerran, N McKenna, P Boyle; C Cunning, C McCann, R McMullan. Subs: S Rooney for Óg McGarry (35+2), S McAuley for Cunning (half-time), F McCurry for O’Connor (half-time), A O’Brien for Walsh (half-time), E Trainor for McCann (47), R McCloskey for Bohill (56), P Duffin for Burke (56), C McGarry for O’Connor (63), J McNaughton for McFerren (63).

Referee: James McGrath (Westmeath).