Vincents finish the stronger to beat Faughs

St Vincents 2-23 

Faughs 0-21

St Vincent’s produced a strong finish at Tymon Park on Sunday morning to finally see off the stubborn challenge of Faughs in an enjoyable Go Ahead Dublin Adult Hurling League Division One clash.

Nine points in front at half-time, Vins came under pressure from the hosts on the resumption and a Cian McBride goal was all that separated the sides with two minutes of normal time remaining. However, Tom Connolly subsequently shook the net from a penalty and this helped the visitors to keep Faughs at bay.

The attacking triumvirate of Connolly, McBride and Alan Moore contributed 2-14 of Vins’ final tally, while James O’Brien led the way for Faughs with a personal haul of 0-8.

Vincent’s were playing in the top-flight for the first time since sharing the spoils with Craobh Chiarain on February 27. Although they were scheduled to face Whitehall Colmcille at Pairc Naomh Uinsionn on March 13, that derby encounter was postponed for weather-related reasons.

Faughs were also left idle on that weekend, but this was due to them having faced Na Fianna at the National Games Development Centre in Abbotstown on March 7. The southsiders recorded a 3-14 to 1-9 victory on that occasion and were aiming to make it a second win on the bounce.

They had also lost narrowly to Cuala in the opening round of the campaign, falling short by just two points in the end (1-16 to 0-17). Although this was regarded as a home game for Faughs, it actually took place out in Islandridge.

Therefore, they were playing on their home patch for the first time in 2022 and were hoping to lay down an early marker against Vins. Yet, it was the visitors who initially hit the ground running with back-to-back points by Cian McBride and Connolly - the younger brother of former Dublin footballer Diarmuid, who has represented his county in the small code during the recent past.

There was no reason for Faughs to panic, however, and with O’Brien and Eamon Hennessy finding the target at the opposite end, parity was swiftly restored. In a frantic opening, Sean Mulcahy and Connolly (two) contributed additional points for Vins, only for the hosts to do likewise through their half-forward line of Carl O’Mahony, Hennessy and Ciaran Nagle.

Ciaran Brennan opened his account in response to further Vins points courtesy of the central attacking duo of Connolly and Moore, but the travelling side were starting to build up a head of steam. Two Moore points (including a superb sideline cut) were supplemented by singles from Connolly and Darach Bride and while Hennessy and O’Brien (free) initially kept them in touch, Faughs were staring into a double-figure deficit towards the end of the half.

After Brian Bolger (two), Mark O’Keeffe and Cian McBride knocked over quickfire points, the latter shook the opposition net with a rebound effort in stoppage-time. O’Mahony subsequently split the uprights to bring this scoring sequence to a halt, but a 1-15 to 0-9 buffer left Vins in control at the break.

Traded points between Brennan and Vins wing-back Eoghan O’Neill initially kept the gap at nine, before half-time substitute Jamie Maloney and O’Brien provided Faughs with some solace. The northsiders appeared to hold all the aces when a Cian McBride score on 41 minutes left them eight points to the good, but Faughs produced a resurgence on either end of the third-quarter mark.

A run of five points without reply in as many minutes suddenly turned the game into a dog fight and presented Faughs with a realistic chance of coming away with a positive result. In addition to a well-worked score from 2021 Dublin minor footballer Scott McConnell, O’Brien knocked over four points in succession - including one effort from inside his own half.

Vins posted fine scores via the sticks of Cian McBride and goalkeeper Dara Perry, either side of a solitary Niall Fitzgibbon white flag strike for Faughs, to keep Vins in the driving seat. Yet another Connolly free was sandwiched in between Colm Foley and O’Brien contributions and though the tie appeared delicately poised, Frank Perry’s men repeated their excellent conclusion to the opening period inside the closing moments of the proceedings.

After Oisin Mulcahy was fouled in the square on 59 minutes, Connolly clinically-dispatched his penalty beyond the reach of Eddie Hogan - who pulled off a number of fine stops on the day. Connolly, Johnny Walsh and Darach McBride pointed to stretch the lead back out to nine and despite Foley capping a fine cameo with his second point, it was a mere consolation for Faughs.

Now that the clocks have moved forward, Sunday morning AHL1 fixtures will make way for Saturday night schedules.

At Pairc Naomh Uinsionn on April 9, Vincent’s will entertain Naomh Barrog. On the same evening, Faughs will journey out to the Old Navan Road to face St Brigid’s at Russell Park.

ST VINCENT’S: Dara Perry; Manus Glackin, Mark O’Farrell, Brian Moorehouse Carroll; Eoghan O’Neill, Oisin Lanigan, Darach McBride; Aaron Dunne, Mark O’Keeffe; Brian Bolger, Tom Connolly, Stephen McCarry; Sean Mulcahy, Alan Moore, Cian McBride. Subs: Johnny Walsh for Dunne (h-t), Keith Ward for McCurry (42), Oisin Mulcahy for Moore (54).

Scorers - St Vincent’s: Tom Connolly 1-7 (1-0 pen, 0-6f), Cian McBride 1-4, Alan Moore 0-3 (1 s/line), Darach McBride, Brian Bolger 0-2 each, Dara Perry (f), Eoghan O’Neill, Mark O’Keeffe, Sean Mulcahy, Johnny Walsh 0-1 each

FAUGHS: Eddie Hogan; Barry Cusack, Sean O’Brien, Joe Kenny; Jack McVeigh, Emmett McKenna, David Croke; Conor O’Shea, James O’Brien; Carl O’Mahony, Eamon Hennessy, Ciaran Nagle; Niall Fitzgibbon, Ciaran Brennan, Liam Mostyn. Subs: Jamie Maloney for Cusack (h-t), Scott McConnell for Brennan (40), Colm Foley for O’Mahony (52).

Faughs: James O’Brien 0-8 (5f), Eamon Hennessy 0-3, Carl O’Mahony, Ciaran Brennan, Colm Foley 0-2 each, Ciaran Nagle, Niall Fitzgibbon, Jamie Maloney, Scott McConnell 0-1 each.