Macken’s strike helps St Pat’s to Junior B C’ship glory
By Daire Walsh
GRAHAM Macken’s 55th-minute goal was the difference at Glenaulin Park on Sunday as St Patrick’s, Palmerstown edged out Commercials on a final score of 1-8 to 0-10 in the Go Ahead Dublin Junior ‘B’ Hurling Championship decider.
It was nip-and-tuck for the vast majority of the contest and even though Commercials threatened to come away with the spoils for certain stretches of the action, Pat’s remained resolute throughout the course of the proceedings.
The fact that their Collegeland counterparts ended the contest with just 14 players was perhaps a contributing factor, though it wasn’t necessarily the defining aspect of this showpiece.
Winners of the Dublin Junior ‘A’ Hurling Championship in 1998, Pat’s will return to this grade when competitive fare resumes next year.
This game was a tough one to call on paper, given both sides had enjoyed unblemished marches to the final.
In Group Two of the competition, the Palmerstown men recorded consecutive wins over Kilmacud Crokes, St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh and Civil Service to finish on top of the pile.
It was a similar case for Commercials in Group Three, where successive triumphs at the expense of Whitehall Colmcille, Raheny and St Finian’s, Swords ensured they emerged as table-toppers.
This also meant that both sides were guaranteed home fixtures at the quarter-final stage and it certainly worked to their advantage – albeit in radically different ways.
Whereas Commercials were 6-19 to 0-6 victors against Raheny in Rathcoole, Pat’s had to dig deep for a 2-1 penalty win after initially playing out a 2-9 to 0-15 draw with Castleknock.
In the penultimate round, Commercials were once again on home soil and came away with a 3-24 to 2-24 win over St Oliver Plunkett’s.
On the same day, St Patrick’s, Palmerstown had six points to spare (2-17 to 1-14) against Naomh Fionnbarra at Pope John Paul II Park – more commonly known as ‘The Bogies’.
Their final meeting was a low-scoring affair for the most part with defenders Garbhan Gallagher (St Pat’s) and Cormac Cullinan (Commercials) impressing at either end of the field. Nevertheless, it was Commercials who held a slight edge during the opening period.
With Adam Drewitt, Gearóid Keogh, Cormac Ó Nualláin and Jack Morris making waves in the attacking half of the pitch, they established a 0-6 to 0-3 interval lead. Pat’s remained in the hunt, however, and substitute Aidan Glennon made a massive difference to their cause.
He finished with an excellent haul of four points and, with team captain Aidan Galligan also putting his shoulder to the wheel, Pat’s were building towards a grandstand finale.
It was the left for Peter Keaney to provide the spadework for Macken to fire home a late major and while there were some nervy moments for St Pat’s, they eventually came through by the slenderest of gaps in the end.