CARR ESCORTS RAHENY HOME
First-half major helps put Scoil out for summer
DUBLIN JHC “F” QUARTER-FINAL
RAHENY…………………………………… 1-12
SCOIL UI CHONAILL…………………….. 0-10
Daire Walsh
A FIRST-HALF goal from full-forward Sean Carr proved to be the catalyst for Raheny in St Anne’s Park on Sunday morning as they progressed to the semi-final of the Dublin Junior ‘F’ Hurling Championship at the expense of local rivals Scoil Ui Chonaill.
Mick O’Brien’s charges were made to work for their victory, but with Mikey McShane and Colly Donegan producing strong performances, they managed to keep the Clontarf Road outfit at bay in the second period.
That said, it wasn’t always plain sailing for Raheny, and with nine minutes gone on the clock, they were facing into a three-point deficit.
PROMISING
Centre-back Richie Flavin had broken the deadlock with a long-distance score from play, and following a brace of efforts by impressive half-forward Podge Kelly, Scoil Ui Chonaill had created a promising platform.
Raheny had been off-target on a number of occasions during the early exchanges, but they finally settled into the contest courtesy of quick-fire points from McShane and defensive lynchpin Donegan.
A 35-metre free from Scoil Ui Chonaill centre-forward Shane Cotter brought this scoring sequence to an end, before Raheny responded with their first significant purple patch of the game.
Under severe pressure, McShane added to his personal tally, and this contribution was supplemented by points from half-backs Donegan (two) and Ian Kennedy.
Central attacker Ronan Farrell also found the range from the left-wing, but thanks to fine scores by the increasingly-prominent Cotter either side of this effort, O’Connell’s were just one point in arrears moving into first-half stoppage-time.
Yet, there was just enough time for Raheny to serve their opponents a hammer blow prior to the interval, and it was the powerful Carr who kicked beyond the reach of Scoil’s Pat Fanning after collecting a long-delivery by Donegan.
This meant that four points (1-7 to 0-6) separated the teams after the restart, but with the lively Darragh McGrath entering the fray for Scoil, Raheny needed to be on their toes when the action resumed.
Midfielder Gavin Murray increased their advantage to five points following excellent approach play by Ger McGloin, but even though netminder Fanning produced a terrific stop from John Hanrahan on 35 minutes, Scoil kept themselves in contention as the final-quarter beckoned.
The industrious Gareth Maher settled their nerves with a point from a left-hand angle, and this was complimented by Podge Kelly’s 43rd-minute free.
PREMIUM
Scores were at a premium for much of the second half, with both defences making life difficult for the respective forward lines.
However, Carr did split the posts 11 minutes from time, and with his fourth point of the day, Donegan produced further daylight.
Credit must go to Scoil, though, as they never allowed their heads to drop at any point.
McGrath and Cotter (free) cut the gap to just three points, but thanks to the fresh of legs of Daniel Guider, Mitchell Carroll and Jack Dempsey, Raheny made a strong finish to the proceedings.
McShane fired over two points in quick succession, and this ensured that the Dublin 5ers held a five-point cushion in the end, and will now contest the semi-final.
MATCH FILE
Scorers – Raheny: S Carr 1-1, M McShane (1f), C Donegan (3f, 1 ’65’) 0-4 each, I Kennedy, G Murray, R Farrell 0-1 each. Scoil Ui Chonaill: S Cotter 0-4 (2f), Podge Kelly 0-3 (1f), R Flavin, G Maher, D McGrath 0-1 each.
RAHENY: L Bennett; J Mangan, T Hammill, B Roche; I Kennedy, C Donegan, S Victory; R Bradshaw, G Murray; R O’Neill, R Farrell, G McGloin; J Hanrahan, S Carr, M McShane. Subs: D Guider for Victory, M Carroll for Hanrahan (both 37), C Egan for O’Neill (43), J Dempsey for Kennedy (54).
SCOIL UI CHONAILL: P Fanning; Peter Kelly, S Morgan, D Reddy; R Egan, R Flavin, C O Fatharta; K Farrell, S Doolin; G Maher, S Cotter, Podge Kelly; P Farrelly, M Hewitt, C Minogue. Subs: D McGrath for Minogue (h-t), F Maher for Farrelly.
MENTORS – RAHENY: M O’Brien, S Walsh, C Burgess, K O’Brien. SCOIL UI CHONAILL: T Naughton, S Fennessy.
REF: Alan Burke (Na Dubh Ghall).
WIDES – Raheny: 10(3). Scoil Ui Chonaill: 10(5).
CONDITIONS: Slightly breezy, but with sunny intervals.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Colly Donegan (Raheny).