PLUNKETT’S MAKE ‘A’ GRADE!
Second-half goals are crucial for Eoghan Ruadh to claim victory against dogged St Jude’s side
DUBLIN MFL DIVISION 2: GROUP A
ST OLIVER PLUNKETT’S/EOGHAN RUADH…………………… 2-6
ST JUDE’S………………………………………………………………….. 2-3
Daire Walsh
SECOND-HALF goals from Jamie Caffrey and David Phelan were crucial for St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh at the Phoenix Park on Sunday morning, when the Navan Road outfit secured a hard-earned victory over St Jude’s in Division Two of the MFL.
Their southside counterparts were in the ascendancy for much of the opening period, before the influence of midfielder Fionn Boland and defensive lynchpin Adam Keating helped Plunkett’s to claim a narrow triumph. Both sides had made impressive starts to their league campaigns on February 21, but inside the opening 60 seconds of the play, it was the visitors from Wellington Lane who established a three-point cushion.
Full-forward Ross Dunphy was on hand to flick a delivery into the large square beyond the reach of Plunkett’s netminder Daire Bartley – offering the visitors a major confidence boost in the process. This was an early hammer blow for Plunkett’s, who were deploying nominal corner-forward Daragh Carroll as a sweeper at the heart of their defence.
Jude’s wing-back Ronan Farrelly was performing a similar role at the opposite end of the pitch, and as a result, it came as little surprise that scoring chances were few and far between as the half progressed.
Plunkett’s were struggling to settle into their usual rhythm of play, but they eventually opened their account with a fine point from play by Boland on five minutes. The centre-fielder was driving the hosts forward at every available opportunity, and for the majority of the first-quarter, Jude’s were forced on the back-foot.
The away side were executing their defensive duties in a diligent and commendable manner, before Plunkett’s ultimately reduced the gap to a minimum with a second point from Boland just six minutes prior to the interval.
This score arrived following much perseverance by Seaghan Kearney’s side, and with Jude’s dropping a number of efforts into the arms of Bartley, they sensed that they could swing the pendulum in their direction. Indeed, this is what they managed to do in the latter stages of the half, as a brace of points by raiding centre-back Keating enabled them to bring a 0-4 to 1-0 buffer into the break.
As they attempted to move back into the ascendancy, Jude’s introduced Eoghan Mulligan to the action when the play resumed, but within four minutes of the restart, Plunkett’s had extended their advantage to four points. Midfielder Seamus Ashton hit the bottom of the right-hand post after picking up possession inside the Jude’s half, and even though it looked like a rebound from full-forward Caffrey was stopped on the line, a goal was subsequently awarded.
This was a massive set-back for Jude’s, but to their credit, they did produce a strong response to the concession of this three-pointer. Centre-back Simon King was short of the target from a placed-ball effort in the first-half, but when he was presented with similar opportunities in the 38th and 39th minutes respectively, he made no mistake.
With the gap now down to two points, Plunkett’s had reason to be wary of their Templeogue rivals. Yet, the arrival of substitute David Langan added fresh impetus to the home team’s half-forward line, and he split the posts in clinical fashion at the end of the third-quarter.
Plunkett’s did breathe a sigh of relief when a goal-bound shot from Jude’s corner-forward Graeme Carroll floated agonisingly past the post, but they created significant daylight between the teams 11 minutes from time.
Half-back Phelan had transferred from defence to attack, and after gathering the ball superbly inside the Jude’s cover, he coolly finished to the bottom corner of the net. This looked like being an insurmountable lead for Plunkett’s, but the dismissal of Langan for a black card offence provided Jude’s with a new lease of life.
Indeed, after Mulligan raised a white flag, industrious Jude’s wing-forward Daniel Byrne unleashed an unstoppable shot into the back of the Plunkett’s goal.
This increased the pressure on their opponents, and Carroll was denied by the dependable Bartley in the 55th-minute.
Plunkett’s then lost Boland to another black card, but with Mulligan also exiting the play for a similar reason in stoppage-time, the Martin Savage Park boys emerged victorious.
MATCH FILE
Scorers – St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh: D Phelan, J Caffrey 1-0 each, A Keating, F Boland 0-2 each, L Stone, D Langan 0-1 each. St Jude’s: D Byrne, R Dunphy 1-0 each, S King 0-2 (2f), E Mulligan 0-1 each.
ST OLIVER PLUNKETT’S/EOGHAN RUADH: D Bartley; C Regan, C Barrett, D Bergin; D Phelan, A Keating, C Gibbons; F Boland, S Ashton; O Bresnan, A Carey, D Sheridan; D Carroll, J Caffrey, L Stone.
SUBS: S Clerkin for Bresnan (20), D Langan for Sheridan (39), C Walshe for Caffrey (47), I Popa for Langan (52, BC), A Ralph for Boland (57, BC).
ST JUDE’S: C Brady; C McGlaughlin, C Cleere, J Austin; P O’Loughlin, S King, R Farrelly; J Nugent, J Carirns; D Byrne, J Carty, P Coyle; D McDonald, R Dunphy, G Carroll.
SUBS: E Mulligan for Carty (h-t), M Fitzgerald for McDonald (41), D Mhaoilmhicill for Mulligan (62, BC).
MENTORS – St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh: S Kearney, W Dodrill, A Phelan, R Ralph. St Jude’s: E Walsh, M Doherty, K McCourt, E Cremin.
REFEREE: Ronnie Malone (St Mary’s, Saggart).
WIDES – St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh: 2 (0+2). St Jude’s: 4 (3+1).
CONDITIONS: Cloudy and extremely breezy, but dry throughout.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Fionn Boland (St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh).