Strong Dhulaigh burn ‘Brig
BALBRIGGAN CC 2-9 COLAISTE DHULAIGH 1-10
GOALS in either half from Conor Garvey and Peter O’Donohoe proved decisive at Ballymun Kickhams last Friday week, as Balbriggan Community College held off a strong challenge from Coláiste Dhúlaigh to secure the Dublin Post-Primary Schools Senior Football ‘D1’ title with two points to spare.
Played in near perfect conditions on the day, Balbriggan did start the game in bright fashion, and enjoyed plenty of possession around the middle-third.
However, Dhúlaigh did cause the north Dublin side a number of problems whenever they found themselves in the danger zone, and Balbriggan netminder Nathan Rooney did produce an excellent point-blank save to keep the Coolock outfit at bay.
Liam Thornton was also catching in the eye in defence for Balbriggan, and the excellent platform that they were building from the back enabled their dynamic full-forward line of O’Donohoe, Jamie Lyons and Aaron Bruton to take the scores that came their way.
It was defender Garvey who grabbed the opening period major, though, and his fellow half-back partners Stephen Kenny and Niall Mullen were providing a fine outlet for Balbriggan when they ventured forward.
They continued to be in a decent position as the second half commenced, but they suffered a loss before the interval when Bruton departed the scenes with a dislocated shoulder. He needed hospital treatment as a result of this injury, but Balbriggan were able to introduce Naul’s Steven Rogers, who was making a long-awaited comeback from his own injury set-back.
His contribution from the bench, as well as the impressive displays throughout the contest from Lyons and Kenny, enabled them to keep the always-threatening Dhúlaigh marginally at bay, and Balbriggan Community College eventually made certain of their hard-earned success thanks to another three-pointer from the influential O’Donohoe.