DUBLIN SHC ‘B’
DECO’S IN FINE SCORING FORM
Daire Walsh
THREE goals in the space of six second-half minutes proved the key for St Declan’s College last Friday afternoon, when they booked their place in the knockout stages of the Dublin Schools Senior Hurling ‘B’ Championship with an emphatic 5-11 to 0-12 triumph over Salesian College at Russell Park.
With the sides deadlocked at 0-4 apiece just beyond the 20-minute mark, Declan’s midfielder Donal Burke, a Dublin minor the past two campaigns, picked up a serious knee injury, which led to a delay of 25 minutes in the play.
He was eventually taken away from the field of play in an ambulance, but in the absence of the talented Na Fianna man, his team-mates responded superbly.
Thanks to victories against Scoil Chaitriona and Castleknock Community College, Salesians had already secured their passage to the semi-finals of the competition, while Declan’s needed another win (having already overcome the challenge of Castleknock) in order to advance to the penultimate round.
Thanks to points from Aaron Brennan and Liam O’Flynn either side of a Sean Bugler score for Declan’s, the depleted Salesians developed a slender advantage during the opening moments.
SWAPPED
However, Donal Burke’s long-range effort helped the Cabra school to level matters ten minutes into the action, and following swapped scores from O’Flynn and Bugler, Burke split the posts for a second time at the start of the second-quarter.
His opposite number, Keelan Smith, was also on target for Salesians, before Burke’s injury brought an extended halt to the proceedings.
It was difficult for both sets of players to re-adjust once the play resumed, but Burke’s replacement – Kevin Burke finished coolly from close-range to produce some daylight.
This was swiftly followed by an excellent Sean O Cleircin point for Declan’s, but despite conceding another point to the industrious half-forward, points courtesy of O’Flynn, Smith and half-back Paul Hogan ensured that the north Kildare school were just two points in arrears (1-6 to 0-7) at the mid-way stage.
Salesians were still in contention upon the resumption, but they suffered a hammer blow from the opening attack of the second period, when centre-forward Bresnan fired clinically beyond the reach of Robert Clarke.
This was supplemented by Kevin Burke’s 34th minute major (his second), and when Daithi O Seireadain registered a three-pointer from a right-hand angle six minutes into the half, Salesians were left with a mountain to climb.
Declan’s enhanced their superiority thanks to a 0-3 Bresnan salvo, but Salesians persevered with their challenge. They finally brought this Declan’s scoring blitz to an end with three points without reply from Steven Bryan and the dependable O’Flynn (two).
Indeed, Hogan’s second point of the day five minutes from the end was helping to add some respectability to the scoreline, but Declan’s reinforced their position with a second goal by the dynamic O Seireadain.
Ciaran O’Regan added to the Salesians tally in the latter stages, but with points from Kevin Burke and O Cleircin increasing the lead to 14 before the conclusion, Declan’s will head into their final group fixture against Scoil Chaitriona in a confident fashion.
MATCH FILE
ST DECLAN’S COLLEGE……………………………………. 5-11
SALESIAN COLLEGE……………………………………….. 0-12
Scorers – St Declan’s College: K Burke 2-1, D O Seireadain 2-0, C Bresnan 1-3, S O Cleircin 0-3 (1f), D Burke, S Bugler 0-2 each. Salesian College: L O’Flynn 0-5 (2 ’65’, 1f), K Smith (f), P Hogan 0-2 each, C O’Regan, A Brennan, S Bryan 0-1 each.
ST DECLAN’S COLLEGE: T Stone; C Barrett, M O’Neill, S Ashton; D Phelan, D Curley, C Gibbons; D Burke, P O’Brien; S O Cleircin, C Bresnan, J Caffrey; D O Seireadain, S Bugler, D Langan. Subs: K Burke for D Burke (21), M Popa for Langan (53).
SALESIAN COLLEGE: R Clarke; S McGoldrick, S Lawlor, S Leonard; P Hogan, A Doran, K Gorman; K Smith, C O’Shaughnessy; C O’Regan, A Brennan, L O’Flynn; C Doyle, J Aherne, C O Foghlu. Subs: J Clarke for Aherne (20), S Bryan for Clarke (35).
REF: Kevin Donohue (Naomh Fionnbarra).
WIDES – St Declan’s College: 15 (7+8). Salesian College: 9 (5+4).