GAELIC GAMES ROUND-UP
Benildus into Dublin decider as Ardscoil Ris miss out on title
Daire Walsh
ST Benildus College will face St Aidan’s CBS in the Dublin Schools’ SFC ‘A’ decider, following the Kilmacud side’s 1-19 to 1-6 semi-final triumph over St Fintan’s HS at UCD last Friday.
Benildus (who also have a forthcoming All-Ireland semi-final to look forward to) conceded an early score to Fintan’s centre-forward Paul Tolan, but after Glenn Soraghan opened their account, a 1-1 salvo from corner-forward Tom Keane placed them in the driving seat.
A second Tolan point initially kept their Sutton counterparts within reach, before Benildus created significant daylight courtesy of efforts by Tom Fox, Keane, Joseph Rafferty and Soraghan. In spite of a third Tolan point on 23 minutes, three Keane points in quick succession propelled Benildus towards a commanding 1-10 to 0-3 half-time cushion.
Points from the dynamic inside duo of Fox and Keane enhanced Benildus’ superiority after the restart, and even though midfielder Kevin Doran claimed a 48th-minute goal for Fintan’s, late scores from Rafferty, Callum Pearson and Tom Keane (who finished with a majestic haul of 1-9) guided them towards the county showdown against the defending champions.
Meanwhile, there was extra-time heartache for Ardscoil Ris at Netwatch Cullen Park on Tuesday, as they lost out by five points (0-20 to 0-15) against Colaiste Mhuire, Johnstown in the Leinster Schools’ Senior Hurling ‘B’ final.
Na Fianna’s Colin Currie and Mhuire half-forward Brian Kavanagh were in fine scoring during the opening period, and with corner-forward Ben McHugh contributing a point in stoppage-time, the teams were on level terms (0-7 to 0-7) during the first interval.
Following back-to-back scores from Sean Currie and McHugh, Ardscoil moved into the ascendancy 13 minutes after the restart, but Mhuire threatened to take control of the game with unanswered scores by Kavanagh (three) and Niall Carroll. The northside outfit refused to throw in the towel, though, and after working their way back into the reckoning, Sean Currie forced the play into extra-time with a magnificent equaliser.
In the additional periods, Colin Currie cancelled out a Karl Collins point to level matters once again, before three points from Kavanagh, as well as one apiece from Shane Curran and David Nolan, ensured that Johnstown recorded a hard-earned success.