GAELIC GAMES: LEINSTER JUVENILE ‘A’ LEAGUE FINAL
Provincial giants Kieran’s finish with a flourish to deny Dub South
St Kieran’s, Kilkenny……………………..4-18
Dublin South………………………………..1-16
Daire Walsh
DESPITE being on level terms with 15 minutes remaining in this contest, Dublin South ultimately came up short in the Leinster Schools’ Juvenile Hurling ‘A’ League decider against St Kieran’s College, Kilkenny in Carlow last Thursday afternoon.
It was a short turnaround for several players in the South squad, as many of them had featured on the Colaiste Eoin and Colaiste Eanna teams in the Dublin Schools’ Juvenile Hurling Championship semi-finals just two days earlier.
This meant that their Noreside counterparts were slightly sharper during the opening period, although the free-taking of South’s Tom Ahearne was once again impressive.
Colm Nagle also chipped in with a fine score, but thanks to some excellent link-up play in attack, Kieran’s held a commanding 2-9 to 0-6 lead during the interval.
South were remarkably resilient in their penultimate round triumph over rivals Dublin North, however, and they knew that opportunities would arise for them after the restart.
The excellent attacking duo of Matthew Dunne and Shane Lawlor (who finished with a combined tally of 0-7) kept the Kilkenny school on their toes, while Jacques Dalton, Ian O’Heither and Naomh Olaf’s Ciaran Foley were proving to be inspirational figures in the Metropolitan defence.
Indeed, a terrific goal from Padraig Puirseil (following a 40-metre solo run by the Colaiste Eoin star) really galvanised their challenge, and moving into the final-quarter, their chances of success had greatly improved.
The fresher legs of their opponents were decisive in the end, though, and in spite of the best efforts from Ahearne, Lawlor, Dunne and Sean Kinsella for Cian Waldron’s side, a late scoring burst of 1-5 meant that Kieran’s ultimately secured the silverware.