St Patrick’s Glencullen edge Sacred Heart Sruleen by two points in Corn Oideachas final
By Daire Walsh
GOALS in either half from Wayne Redmond acted as the catalyst for St Patrick’s NS, Glencullen to earn a 3-4 to 1-8 victory against Sacred Heart NS, Sruleen in the Corn Oideachas final at Croke Park on Friday.
In a keenly-contested affair, Pat’s were pushed all the way by their Clondalkin counterparts. However, their knack for scoring goals at crucial moments in the play ultimately saw them collecting the silverware at GAA HQ.
Zack Healy was to end the game with four points for Sacred Heart and he got the ball rolling with a breakthrough effort into the Hill end of the Jones’ Road venue. Yet scores were proving few and far between in the opening period, when both defences were keeping a tight leash on the respective opposition attacks.
Nevertheless, Redmond was playing a captain’s role throughout the course of the play for Pat’s and he found the net off a sideline kick to offer his side a 1-3 to 0-2 cushion at the interval.
Urged on by the bus full of supporters that had travelled to the far side of the city to see their schoolmates in the flesh, both teams served up a compelling second half of action. Healy’s influence on the game was increasing and he was ably-assisted by Sacred Heart attacker Leon O’Hanlon.
In addition to splitting the uprights at the end of a memorable run towards the Canal end, O’Hanlon raised a green flag to significantly enhance the Sruleen outfit’s chances of success. He amassed a personal tally of 1-2, while Lee Victory and Evan O’Brien also made their way onto the scoresheet.
Pat’s kept their composure, however, and had just enough in the tank to squeeze over the line. After bagging a second goal off another sideline, Redmond eventually came away with an impressive individual haul of 2-3.
Dougie MacSweeney also raised a green flag on the resumption and with Matthew Campbell also registering a fine point, St Pat’s (coached by Diarmuid Coughlan and Ed Bourke) had two points to spare over their determined opponents.
St Patricks NS, Glencullen: M Geoghegan, W Roe, H McCabe, R Kearon, A Mooney, A Longmore, J Kelly, B Fitzachary, W Redmond, D MacSweeney, N Byrne, E Coen, C Desmond, P McGowan, M Campbell, P Niedziolka, C Campbell, T Geoghegan, F McDonald, M Nastase, J Lennon, L O’Dwyer, D Varghese.
Sacred Heart NS, Sruleen: J Carey Delaney, D Taaffe, L McCormack, D Adesoye, S Culhane, M Ellis, Z Healy, D McGuinness, L Victory, L O’Hanlon, O Roberts, A McGuinness, J O’Rourke, E O’Brien, L Bonnie, N Kenny, A Rooney, S McDermott, M Barrett, J Costello, J Comiskey, L Kenna, R Martin.