Commercials triumph over Lucan in final
JACK O’Keefe and Diarmuid Ó Dúlaing produced stellar displays at O’Toole Park on Sunday morning to guide Commercials towards a comprehensive 3-21 to 1-11 triumph over Lucan Sarsfields in the Dublin Junior ‘A’ Hurling Championship final reports Daire Walsh.
Having suffered an agonising defeat to St Patrick’s, Palmerstown in last year’s Junior ‘B’ decider at Glenaulin Park by the narrowest of margins (1-8 to 0-10), the Rathcoole side weren’t going to let another opportunity pass them by.
Though it could have been a steep learning curve, Commercials readily embraced life in the top-tier junior grade. Thanks to consecutive group stage victories over St Mark’s, Skerries Harps, Kevin’s, Cuala and Good Counsel/Liffey Gaels, Colin Martin’s outfit were afforded home advantage for their quarter-final duel against Ballinteer St John’s.
Following a 1-24 to 0-12 success in that last-eight encounter, Commercials defeated St Peregrine’s on home soil in the penultimate round with 18 points to spare (2-23 to 0-11).
Lucan also enjoyed an unbeaten march to this showpiece affair and were yet to suffer a competitive loss in 2022. Courtesy of 10 wins and one draw, the 12th Lock men secured the Dublin Adult Hurling League Division Five title with considerable aplomb.
Commercials were competing two divisions ahead of Lucan in AHL3, however, and recorded a respectable fifth-place finish with five wins, two draws and fourth defeats. While the main priority of gaining promotion to the intermediate championship had been achieved by both sides, a shot at silverware was at the forefront of their minds in the Kimmage venue.
Yet it was Commercials who controlled the tempo of the play from very early on with O’Keefe and Ó Dúlaing at the forefront of their efforts. The Collegeland outfit established a 2-11 to 1-3 buffer by half-time and never looked back from there.
Though O’Keefe (2-3) and Ó Dúlaing (1-5) led the way for Commercials in the scoring stakes, Adam Drewett and David Dungan also chipped in with some excellent points over the course of the contest. Adam McCabe, Kyle Butler, Gearóid Keogh and Cormac Ó Nualláin also added their names to the scoresheet, whilst the likes of Callum Morris and Éanna Ó Nualláin ensured the Lucan attack were never allowed to enjoy a purple patch in the action.
Rory Stapleton, Rob Ward and Sean Harkness more than held their own for Lucan, who can still reflect positively on the season as a whole.