South march on after success in Dublin derby

BY DAIRE WALSH

Dublin South will meet Good Counsel in the quarter-final of the Leinster Schools Senior Hurling ‘A’ Championship this Saturday, following their dramatic extra-time triumph over rivals Dublin North at Parnell Park on Monday evening.

An injury-time point by substitute Rian Doyle had saved South at the end of normal time, and thanks to a further brace of scores from the Faughs club man, as well as contributions from Chris Bennett, Alex Considine and Mark McGuire, they finished an enthralling contest with four points to spare (3-14 to 1-16).

Playing with the aid of the breeze in the opening half, goals from Colm Hayes, Mark McGuire and corner-forward Aidan Mellett had helped them to open up a 3-1 to 0-3 lead by the 16th minute.

North inside forward Colin Currie amassed an impressive haul of 0-7 by the midway stage, but with opposing midfielder Tom Fox contributing four points to his side’s first-half tally, South moved into thedressing room with a 3-6 to 0-8 cushion.

North had reduced their deficit to three at the end of the third quarter, though, and courtesy of a neat 1-1 salvo from Matthew Oliver, they looked set to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Doyle and Dublin South had other ideas, however, and even though Seán Hickey added a free during the additional periods, North couldn’t halt the march of their Metropolitan counterparts.