SHC ‘A’ semi-finals: How teams advanced to last-four

Thu, 3rd October 2019

Parnell Park hosts the Dublin SHC 'A' semi-finals this Sunday - St Brigid's v Craobh Chiaráin (2.30); Cuala v St VIncent's (4.30).

Both games will be LIVE on Dubs TV on Sunday afternoon.

Check out the new DubZone GAA Club podcast, as we look ahead to this weekend's action.

Here we look back at how the four clubs advanced to the last four.

DUBLIN SHC ‘ A’ QUARTER-FINAL

CRAOBH CHIARAIN 3-14 LUCAN SARSFIELDS 2-13

An electric start put Craobh Chiaráin on the road to victory in Dublin SHC ‘A’ quarter-final at Parnell Park.

Goals from Kieran McGouran, following clever play by Alan McCrabbe, and Billy Ryan inside the opening two minutes gave the Donnycarney men a lead they never conceded.

A point from Francis Usanga in the third minute put Craobh 2-1 to 0-1 ahead before Lucan’s Chris Crummey took responsibility to get a foothold for his side when he drove up the standside before unleashing an angled drive to the net past Stephen Chester.

Chester was a central character in Chiaráins victory with his massive puckouts, with the wind, in the opening half putting pressure on the Sarsfields defence.

Scores from Billy Ryan, Francis Usanga, Pak Kelly and two Cian Derwin frees saw Craobh move 2-6 to 1-1 clear by the midpoint of the first-half.

Two minute before the break Chris Crummey converted from the penalty spot, following a foul on his younger brother Paul, but crucially Craobh had the last word in the half with a Francis Usanga goal and point from Billy Ryan to lead 3-9 to 2-3 at the interval.

Lucan restarted the stronger with scores from Paul Crummey, Ben Coffey (free) and Ciarán Dowling to cut the deficit to six points.

The freetaking of Ben Coffey kept Lucan chipped away at the lead but overall the goals separated the sides with Billy Ryan (free), Paul Kelly and Kieran McGouran getting points to keep Lucan at a distance.

SCORERS – Craobh Chiaráin: B Ryan 1-4 (0-2f), C Derwin 0-5 (0-4f, 0-1 ‘65’), F Usanga 1-2, K McGouran 1-1, P Kelly 0-2. Lucan Sarsfields: B Coffey 0-7 (0-6f), C Crummey 2-1 (1-0 pen), P Crummey 0-2, C Dowling, J McCaffrey, D Flannery 0-1 each.

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DUBLIN SHC ‘A’ QUARTER-FINAL

ST BRIGID’S 2-19 NA FIANNA 2-16

St Brigid's booked their berth in the Dublin SHC 'A' semi-final with this three-point quarter-final victory over Na Fianna in Parnell Park.

The prize for the Russell Park men is a semi-final clash with Craobh Chiaráin which will see Brigid's manager Johnny McGuirk pitted against the club he starred for during his playing career.

McGuirk's son, also Johnny, scored one of Brigid's two goals, his coming five minutes into the second half to give his side a 2-10 to 1-10 advantage after the sides were deadlock, 1-9 each, at the interval.

In this high-scoring duel Brigid's held slightly the upperhand to the finish with Paul Winters, Eoghan Dunne and Cian O'Sullivan doing the scoring as they progressed to the last-four.

By the midpoint of the opening half three Winters scores in succession, including two frees, gave Brigid's a 0-7 to 0-4 lead.

Seán Currie converted his second free of the contest for Na Fianna before Brigid's full-forward Kevin Callaghan fired to the net after being setup by Winters.

AJ Murphy and Cian O'Sullivan exchanged points before brothers Seán (free) and Colin Currie were on target for Na Fianna.

Eoghan McHugh closed the gap to two points before Dublin senior Donal Burke rattled the net following good work by Murphy to put Na Fianna in front, 1-9 to 1-8.

In first half added time Winters pointed to leave it all square at half-time.

Winters and McHugh had both added points for their respective sides before McGuirk hit Brigid's second goal.

With ten minutes remaining an AJ Murphy goal brought Na Fianna right back into contention as they trailed 2-16 to 2-15.

But crucially Brigid's got the next two scores, both from Cian O'Sullivan.

Murphy, who tallied 1-4 from play, was on target again before Winters made sure of victory for Brigid's with the concluding point of this duel.

SCORERS – St Brigid’s: P Winters 0-9 (0-5f), C O’Sullivan 0-5, E Dunne 0-4 (0-1 sline), K Callaghan, J McGuirk 1-0 each, A Murphy 0-1. Na Fianna: S Currie 0-8 (0-7f), AJ Murphy 1-4, E McHugh 0-3, D Burke 1-0, C Currie 0-1.

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DUBLIN SHC ‘A’ QUARTER-FINAL

ST VINCENT’S 1-29 BALLYBODEN ST ENDA’S 2-15 (After extra-time)

John Hetherton was the scoring hero for St Vincent’s as his tally of 0-19 (0-16f) saw the Marino outfit to victory in this Dublin SHC ‘A’ quarter-final at Parnell Park.

It was the powerful Vins forward who forced extra-time, against the championship of last year with an injury-time free, following a foul on Johnny Walsh.

In extra-time he continued to be the most influential player when adding eight points (0-5f) to his haul, including all six points in the second period, to see his side into the semi-final.

St Vincent’s started extra-time in some fashion when a Mark Sweeney shot dropping short was brilliantly whipped to the Boden net, past Gary Maguire, when he doubled overhead on the sliotar.

That gave Vincent’s a 1-20 to 2-14 advantage and Boden could muster just one further score, a Paul Ryan free in the 63rd minute following a foul on Niall McMorrow.

Conor Burke fired over for Vincent’s before Hetherton concluded the scoring in the first period for his side to hold a five-point lead, 1-23 to 2-15.

In the second period Hetherton converted three free, all after fouls on Cian McBride, as well as two points from play to lead his side into the last-four.

In normal time Ballyboden St Enda’s settled immediately with a Paul Ryan goal and point from Niall Ryan to lead 1-1 to 0-0 inside two minutes.

By the interval Paul Ryan, who tallied 1-12 (0-7f, 0-1 sideline) overall, continued to punish any indiscretions for the southsiders to lead 1-9 to 0-8.

Points from Hetherton (two frees) and Johnny Walsh had VIns 0-14 to 1-10 in front with just over ten minutes to go but a Conor Dooley goal saw Boden regain the lead.

The sides traded scores to the end of normal time, with Brian Bolger hitting two from play for Vins, before a converted Paul Ryan free in injury-time, following a foul on Niall McMorrow, looked set to give Boden victory.

However, in the third minute of injury-time Hetherton converted a free to ensure extra-time.

SCORERS – St Vincent’s: J Hetherton 0-19 (0-16f), R McBride, B Bolger 0-3 each, S McCarry 1-0, C Burke 0-2, C McBride, J Walsh 0-1 each. Ballyboden St Enda’s: P Ryan 1-12 (0-7f, 0-1 sideline), C Dooley 1-0, S Lambert 0-2, N Ryan 0-1.

ST VINCENT'S: D de Poire; M O’Keeffe, R Pocock, R Trainor; T Connolly, M O’Farrell, R Fallon; M Sweeney, R McBride; B Bolger C Burke, J Hetherton; A Moore, C McBride, C McCarry. Subs: J Walsh for C McCarry (ht), E O’Neill for Fallon (45), McCarry for Moore (56); (Extra-time) W Moloney for Bolger (77), C Harney for O’Farrell (79).

BALLYBODEN ST ENDA'S: G Maguire; D O’Connor, J Madden, L Corcoran; D Curran, S Durkin, S Lambert; D Curtin, N Ryan; A Mellett, L McDwyer, N McMorrow; C Dooley, P Ryan, C Keaney. Subs: S O’Connor for Curtin (ht), P Doherty for McDwyer (38), K Desmond for Mellett (49), F McGarry for N Ryan (58), E O’Neill for Keaney (60+2); (Extra-time) Keaney for Desmond (61), Mellett for O’Neill (61), N Ryan for Lambert (69), O’Neill for Dooley (77).

REF: S Stack (Parnell’s).

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DUBLIN SHC 'A' QUARTER-FINAL

CUALA 3-18 KILMACUD CROKES 1-11

Con O'Callaghan returned to club action following his All-Ireland SFC winning heroics when scoring 2-3 for Cuala in their Dublin SHC 'A' quarter-final victory over Kilmacud Crokes at Parnell Park.

The dual ace hit two goals inside the opening seven minutes and tallied 2-3 from play in total as well as providing the assist for further scores as Cuala cruised to a 13-point victory.

The Dalkey men, All-Ireland club champions in 2017 and 2018, will face St Vincent's in their semi-final.

Last year Crokes got the better of Cuala at the semi-final stage but after opening well with two fine Fergal Whitely points they were rocked by O'Callaghan's two early goals.

His first goal was the pick of the brace when he powered past Ryan O'Dwyer before unleashing an angled drive to the net. His second was a close range finish following a brilliant run and layoff from Seán Moran.

However, an Eddie Gibbons penalty in the 17th minute left them just a point in arrears, 2-3 to 1-5, despite their poor start.

But Cuala hit the next three points with David Treacy (free), Con O'Callaghan and Darragh O'Connell on target.

Before the interval Willie Maher's side had extended their lead to 2-8 to 1-6 following points from Colum Sheanon and Colm Cronin, Cronin doing well under pressure to get his shot away with accuracy from close range.

Cuala grabbed the opening two points of the second period through a David Treacy '65' and point from play from his brother Seán.

A scoring burst between the 38th and 49th minute put Cuala out of sight as they tagged on 1-6 without reply and almost had another goal but Crokes keeper Matt Collins denied Darragh O'Connell after he was fed on the burst by Con O'Callaghan.

Jake Malone got the goal in this spell when Colum Sheanon did well to tidy up a loose ball before spotting Malone unmarked close to the Kilmacud goal.

Con O'Callaghan, Mark Schutte, Darragh O'Connell and David Treacy (three points, two frees) did the damage for Cuala at this stage and there was no way back for Anthony Daly's side.

SCORERS - Cuala: Con O'Callaghan 2-3, D Treacy 0-9 (0-6f, 0-1 ‘65’), J Malone 1-0, D O'Connell 0-2, M Schutte, S Treacy, C Sheanon, C Cronin 0-1 each. Kilmacud Crokes: E Gibbons 1-6 (0-5f, 1-0 pen), F Whitely 0-3, L McMullen, R O'Carroll 0-1 each.

CUALA: S Brennan; O Gough, J Sheanon, Cian O’Callaghan; S Moran, P Schutte, D O’Flynn; S Treacy, C Sheanon; D O’Connell, C Cronin, J Malone; D Treacy, Con O’Callaghan, M Schutte. Subs: N Kenny for M Schutte (51), C Waldron for Malone (56), M Conroy for Cian O’Callaghan (56), N Waldron for Con O’Callaghan (59), K Kirwan for Cronin (59).

KILMACUD CROKES: M Collins; C O’Shea, C Mac Gabhann, B O’Carroll; N Corcoran, R O’Dwyer, M Grogan; L McMullen, F Whitely; R Hayes, E Gibbons, C Conway; O O’Rorke, S McGrath, F Ó Ceallaigh. Subs: S Veale for Ó Ceallaigh (26), A Considine for McGrath (ht), R O’Carroll for Hayes (45), D Butler for B O’Carroll (47), S Kinsella for Mac Gabhann (51).

REF: C Mooney (St Patrick’s, Palmerstown).

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DUBLIN SHC 'A' QUARTER-FINALS

21 September Parnell Park Craobh Chiaráin 3-14 Lucan Sarsfields 2-13

21 September Parnell Park St Vincent’s 1-29 Ballyboden St Enda's 2-15 (after extra-time)

22 September Parnell Park St Brigid’s 2-19 Na Fianna 2-16

22 September Parnell Park Cuala 3-18 Kilmacud Crokes 1-11

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2019 DUBLIN SHC 'A' GROUP: Results

Group 1 qualifiers: (1) Na Fianna, (2) Kilmacud Crokes

7 Sept Parnell Park Na Fianna 5-24 O'Toole's 0-15

7 Sept O'Toole ParkKilmacud Crokes 0-24 Faughs 0-13

17 April Parnell ParkNa Fianna 3-19 Faughs 2-7

17 April Parnell ParkO'Toole's 0-7 Kilmacucd Crokes 1-17

6 April Monastery RoadFaughs 3-18 O'Toole's 2-15

6 April Parnell ParkNa Fianna 1-16 Kilmacud Crokes 1-16

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Group 2 qualifiers: (1) Cuala, (2) St Brigid's

7 Sept O'Toole Park Cuala 1-32 Ballinteer St John's 0-6

7 Sept Parnell Park St Brigid's 1-20 St Jude's 2-12

19 April O'Toole Park St Brigid's 0-27 Ballinteer St John's 1-10

17 April Monastery Road Cuala 2-27 St Jude's 0-16

6 April O'Toole Park Cuala 3-26 St Brigid's 1-13

6 April O'Toole Park St Jude's 3-22 Ballinteer St John's 0-15

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Group 3 qualifiers: (1) Craobh Chiaráin, (2) St Vincent's

8 Sept Parnell Park St Vincent's 10-28 Nh Fionnbarra 1-11

8 Sept O'Toole Park Craobh Chiaráin 1-22 St Oliver Plunkett's/Eoghan Ruadh 0-16

19 April Parnell Park Craobh Chiaráin 0-22 St Vincent's 0-11

17 April Lawless Park St Oliver Plunkett's/Eoghan Ruadh 1-19 Nh Fionnbarra 1-13

4 April Parnell Park Craobh Chiaráin 7-22 Nh Fionnbarra 1-6

3 April Parnell Park St Vincent's 1-20 St Oliver Plunkett's/Eoghan Ruadh 1-7

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Group 4 qualifiers: (1) Ballyboden St Enda's, (2) Lucan Sarsfields

8 Sept Parnell Park Lucan Sarsfields 2-20 Whitehall Colmcille 1-15

5 Sept Parnell Park Ballyboden St Enda's 6-29 Setanta 0-5

19 April Parnell Park Ballyboden St Enda's 2-18 Whitehall Colmcille 2-17

19 April O'Toole Park Lucan Sarsfields 4-22 Setanta 0-15

6 April Parnell Park Ballyboden St Enda's 1-15 Lucan Sarsfields 1-14

6 April Broomfield Whitehall Colmcille 2-22 Setanta 0-9

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ROLL OF HONOUR: Dublin SHC (New Ireland Assurance Cup)

Faughs 31 (titles) 1892, 1900, 1901, 1903, 1904, 1906, 1910, 1911, 1914, 1915, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1930, 1936, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1950, 1952, 1970, 1973, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1999

St Vincent’s (13) 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1975, 1981, 1982, 1988, 1993

Commercials (9) 1895, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1905, 1907, 1909, 1916

UCD (8) 1934, 1947, 1948, 1961, 1968, 2000, 2004, 2005

O'Toole’s (8) 1969, 1977, 1984, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2002

Ballyboden St Enda's (7) 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2018

Cuala (6) 1989, 1991, 1994, 2015, 2016, 2017

Kilmacud Crokes (6) 1966, 1974, 1976, 1985, 2012, 2014

Garda (6) 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1931

Young Irelands (6) 1932, 1937, 1942, 1943, 1949, 1965

Craobh Chiaráin (5) 1971, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2006

Kickhams (4) 1889, 1890, 1908, 1924

Rapparees (3) 1891, 1894, 1912