Dublin AFL9

Naomh Olaf…..………….…..4-17

O’Toole’s..…..…….…………0-10

Daire Walsh

Naomh Olaf kick-started their Dublin Adult Football League Division 9 campaign in fine style at Páirc Uí Bhriain on Sunday afternoon with a convincing victory against an understrength O’Toole’s.

Idle up to this point in 2022 due to a couple of weather-related postponements, the Sandyford outfit were eager to signal a statement of intent on their first day out. While Kevin Doolin (2-4) and Keith Noonan (1-2) led the way, there was a good spread of scorers throughout the team for the hosts with no fewer than eight players making contributions over the course of the action.

Having received a walkover from Garda/Westmanstown Gaels on the opening weekend of the term on February 13, this was also the first time for O’Toole’s to take to the field in the calendar year. While it was a difficult outing overall for the northsiders, the performances of Jason Reilly and David Mooney did at least offer some signs of encouragement.

Given they had the bare 15 players at their disposal, this was always going to be a tough encounter for O’Toole’s. Olaf’s also had limited numbers in their squad, but the southside club nonetheless came flying out of the traps.

Inside the opening seven minutes, Doolin (two) and Tim Courtney had rattled the net to give Olaf’s a firm stranglehold. Jamie O’Malley and Robert Doyle (two) also contributed points during this juncture for the rampant home team.

Although Reilly did chip in with a point for O’Toole’s, their opponents continued to attack in waves. Wing-back Ronan Morrissey, Eoin Kinsella, Kevin O’Leary, Doyle, Noonan and Doolin knocked over six points in succession to further enhance their authority on the proceedings.

Noonan and O’Malley also raised white flags to cancel out similar efforts from Mooney and Reilly (free), which ensured Olaf’s brought an insurmountable 3-11 to 0-3 buffer into the interval.

Even though they were playing against a breeze in the second half, Olaf’s continued to rack up the scores with Noonan cutting inside to fire a clinical goal in the 32nd minute. Inside forwards Doolin and Kinsella quickly added points, before O’Toole’s finally enjoyed a purple patch.

Reilly (a brace), Conor Lynch and Darren McDermott recorded four scores on the bounce to provide the Blunden Drive visitors with some form of solace. It was a much-improved display overall from Larriers upon the resumption and thanks to additional efforts by Mooney, Aaron Farrelly and Aaron Dixon, they had reached double figures in terms of points by the end of the play.

Still, Olaf’s were keen not to rest on their laurels as emphasised by Doolin’s re-introduction after an earlier withdrawal. His 0-2 salvo inside the final-quarter was supplemented by singles from O’Malley and Kinsella to ease the victors over the line.

Match file

Scorers – Naomh Olaf: K Doolin 2-4; K Noonan 1-2; T Courtney 1-0; E Kinsella (f), J O’Malley, R Doyle 0-3 each; R Morrissey, K O’Leary 0-1 each. O’Toole’s: J Reilly 0-4 (4f); D Mooney 0-2; C Lynch, A Dixon, D McDermott, A Farrelly 0-1 each.
NAOMH OLAF: D Pollard; D Murphy, D Carr, J Connors; C Donnellan, B Gaughren, R Morrissey; T Courtney, C Ronayne; K O’Leary, J O’Malley, K Noonan; E Kinsella, R Doyle, K Doolin.
Subs: S Slowey for Doolin (37), A Kyne-Delaney for Donnellan (42), Doolin for Courtney (49).
O’TOOLE’S: A Byrne; C Sexton, C McGrath, D Kelly; D McIlroy, J Bastow, C Davey; J Reilly, C Lynch; A Dixon, D Mooney, D McDermott; J McDermott, A Farrelly, B Craig.
MENTORS – Naomh Olaf: G O’Malley, D Noonan. O’Toole’s: G Corry, R Sheehy, J Nolan.
REFEREE: D Enright (Civil Service).
WIDES: Naomh Olaf: 9 (3+6). O’Toole’s: 3 (1+2).
CONDITIONS: Sunny and breezy throughout.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Kevin Doolin (Naomh Olaf).