LEINSTER JUV H LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL
Foley hits high notes in victory for South
Hitman scorer-in-chief as Kieran’s await in final
DUBLIN SOUTH…………………….. 0-10
DUBLIN NORTH…………………….. 1-06
By Daire Walsh
Midfielder Eoin Foley was the scorer-in-chief at O’Toole Park last
Friday afternoon, as Dublin South produced a strong second-half
display to narrowly defeat Dublin North in a tension-filled Leinster
Schools Juvenile Hurling Semi-Final.
North had been in an excellent position to progress to the decider,
but their failure to contribute to the scoreboard after the restart
ultimately went against them, as Dublin South had just enough in the
tank to seal their place in this Friday’s final against St Kieran’s
College in Carlow.
Playing in near perfect conditions at the Crumlin venue, South enjoyed
a good spell of possession in the early stages, and deservedly took
the lead courtesy of a Kevin Elliot point from play five minutes in.
North eventually settled into the contest and moved into the lead
with the help of fine scores from full-forward Conor Burke and John
McGurk, but Mike O’Dwyer’s side were quick to reply with Foley’s
opening point of the contest on ten minutes.
With McGurk and the South centre-forward trading scores soon after, it
looked it was going to be difficult to separate the two teams, but as
the half wore on North started to find an extra gear, and a 1-1 salvo
by Peter Feeney gave them a four-point advantage by the 21st minute.
OPPORTUNITIES
The half-forward’s major was a neat finish past Dara De Paorie from a
tight angle, but although North added to their tally before the break
through David Hawkshaw and Burke, Foley split the posts from a trio of
opportunities (two of them from tricky placed balls), to reduce their
arrears to three (1-6 to 0-6) by the mid-way point.
Indeed, South were the dominant team during the third-quarter, and
they brought North’s cushion down to the bare minimum on 36 minutes
thanks to another brace from the increasingly influential Foley.
There wouldn’t be another score until the 53rd minute, but when it
arrived it was South who once again found the target, as Elliot
registered his second point of the tie. During this time, South had
come up short with some promising chances, while simultaneously, North
had struggled to impose themselves on the play like they had in the
opening 30 minutes.
It did look for a while like we might be heading for a stalemate, but
Foley ultimately turned out to be the match-winner with three minutes
remaining, as his 35-metre free sailed safely between the posts.
SECURE
North did work hard to secure the score that would have kept their chances
alive (and Feeney did narrowly avoid connecting to an enticing pass by
Burke on 54 minutes), but it was Dublin South who eventually came out
on top in a hard-fought encounter.
Scorers – Dublin South: E Foley 0-7 (4f), K Elliot 0-2, B Moulds 0-1.
Dublin North: P Feeney 1-1, J McGurk 0-2 (1f), C Burke 0-2 (1f), D
Hawkshaw 0-1.
DUBLIN SOUTH: D De Paorie; R Ward, C Byrne, L Corcoran; J Murphy, J
Holland, R McCormack; E Foley, R Mackey; K Elliot, B Moulds, B Coffey;
E Allen, M Fitzgerald, C Ryan. Subs: C Quinn for McCormack (21), E
Murphy for Coffey (35), J O’Liara for Allen (43), J Carty for Ryan
(51).
DUBLIN NORTH: P Smyth; D Constantine, D Ryan, C Gibson; E MacDomhnall,
D McHugh, E McLoughney; D Hawkshaw, T Flaherty; P Feeney, C Burn, J
McGurk; M Noonan, C Burke, J Walsh. Subs: C Carberry for Walsh (40), P
O’Brien for Noonan (43).