GO AHEAD DUBLIN SENIOR TWO HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND-UP: SEPTEMBER 10TH
GO AHEAD DUBLIN SENIOR TWO HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND-UP: SEPTEMBER 10th
By Daire Walsh
Castleknock recorded a 2-24 to 1-13 triumph over Scoil Ui Chonaill at Somerton Park last Thursday to secure their place in the quarter-finals of the Dublin Senior Two Hurling Championship.
Following narrow reversals at the expense of Naomh Fionnbarra and Whitehall Colmcille, Castleknock appeared to be an outside bet for a spot in the knockout rounds of the second-tier competition. They subsequently got themselves back on track with a 1-17 to 1-15 victory against Ballinteer St John’s at Marley Park on August 27, but still required a repeat result heading into the final phase of Group One.
Whitehall were already assured of progressing beyond the preliminary stage of the championship as group winners, but ‘Knock were ranked fourth behind Ballinteer and Naomh Fionnbarra in the standings before taking on Scoil in a midweek encounter.
Yet with head-to-head coming into play if two teams finished level on points, Castleknock knew that a win would be enough to move them above John’s and keep their championship journey alive. While there was little to separate the sides in the initial stages, Conal Purcell’s goal did give the hosts some daylight on the scoreboard.
Scoil Ui Chonaill did edge a point in front on the 20-minute mark, before six points on the bounce guided ‘Knock towards a 1-10 to 0-8 interval lead. They were expected to push on after the restart, but their Clontarf counterparts weren’t out of the reckoning just yet.
Searching for their second win of the group, Scoil raised a green flag in the early moments of the second half and briefly threatened to spoil the party. However, Cian Boyle’s 41st-minute goal established a sizeable gap between the teams and Castleknock ultimately emerged as emphatic victors.
This result left them in second place ahead of Ballinteer, who were now relying on a favour from Whitehall in their showdown against Naomh Fionnbarra at Pope John Paul II Park on Saturday. Despite resting some key players as the club looks to challenge for football and hurling championship honours, Colmcilles came away with a hard-earned 2-17 to 1-17 success.
Ballinteer will now take on Kilmacud Crokes ‘B’ in the Senior Two quarter-finals after the latter finished second in Group Two with a 3-16 to 2-11 win over Ballyboden St Enda’s ‘B’ at Silver Park on Saturday.
Alex Hatt was instrumental for Crokes in this game, with his final tally of 0-10 helping his side to leapfrog ‘Boden into the group’s runner-up spot. Even though Fergal Ryan was a reliable source of scores for the visitors, Hatt ensured the Stillorgan men were in the driving seat for much of the opening period.
That was until ‘Boden registered a couple of quickfire goals to put them firmly back in the hunt. After a fortuitous Conor Robinson effort drifted into the net, Finn McDonagh also raised a green flag to put some doubt into the minds of the Crokes players.
Hatt was ably-assisted by the likes of Sean Kinsella and Sean Purcell in the Kilmacud attack, but ‘Boden were proving themselves to be a resilient force. Supplementing Ryan’s dead-ball prowess, Mattie Weldon also found the range to keep the Crokes lead at just two points (1-10 to 2-5) at the midway stage in the action.
It remained relatively tight on the resumption, before the home team created additional daylight courtesy of a Purcell major. Hatt continued to split the uprights on a regular basis and even though ‘Boden persisted with their challenge, a third Crokes goal from a penalty effectively placed the outcome beyond doubt.
In advance of receiving a bye for the final round of fixtures, Ballyboden’s near neighbours Faughs had already secured top spot in Group Two with four successive wins. The Templeogue-based side automatically progress to the last-four along with Whitehall Colmcille, whereas ‘Boden will take on Castleknock in a quarter-final clash at Parnell Park on September 24 – the meeting of Kilmacud and Ballinteer completes a double-header on the same day in Donnycarney.
Meanwhile, Thomas Davis ended Group Two on a high with a 2-20 to 1-17 victory over Na Fianna at Kiltipper Road on Saturday. The likes of Eoin Lambert, Daire Kerr and Davy Keogh were amongst those to feature prominently for the Tallaght side, while Eoin O’Sullivan, Eoghan Heeney and Michael Killarney took up key roles for Na Fianna.
However, this result wasn’t enough to secure a knockout spot for Davis’ and they will now face Scoil Ui Chonaill in a relegation play-off at O’Toole Park on September 24. This game will be preceded by an encounter between Na Fianna and Naomh Fionnbarra as the race for Dublin Senior Two Championship survival continues.