GAELIC GAMES ROUND-UP
Wins for Dublin South and Eanna
Daire Walsh
FOLLOWING their thrilling draw with St Kieran’s College, Kilkenny at O’Toole Park last Friday afternoon, Dublin South have qualified for the knock-out stages of the Leinster Schools’ Juvenile Hurling ‘A’ League.
South had kick-started their campaign with an encouraging 4-10 to 2-4 success away to St Peter’s, Wexford, and despite playing against the wind in the opening half at the Crumlin venue, they held a slender edge over their Noreside counterparts.
Aaron O’Toole contributed three points from centre-forward, and in addition to a 0-2 salvo by the impressive Mattie Dunne, a well-worked Ryan Malone goal helped Cian Waldron’s charges to develop a 1-7 to 0-7 interval advantage.
However, Kieran’s (who were unbeaten prior to this encounter) were not going to be dismissed lightly, and courtesy of a brace of goals at the start of the second half, they had moved into the ascendancy.
There was no reason for Dublin South to panic, though, and with Ian O’Hehir and Conor Mooney producing strong defensive displays, they worked their way back into contention.
Ciaran Foley and Dunne registered pivotal scores for the hosts, and thanks to further three-pointers by Malone and O’Toole, they found themselves in the driving seat once again.
SPOILS
Kieran’s looked set to claim the spoils with another scoring burst in the closing stages, but owing to a magnificent equaliser by Dunne, South ended the tie on level terms (4-14 apiece).
It remains to be seen who South will face in the semi-finals (a potential derby clash with Dublin North is on the cards), but the provincial action is set to resume after the upcoming Easter break.
Meanwhile, on the St Brigid’s Astro Pitch last Thursday afternoon, Colaiste Eanna claimed the Dublin Schools’ Junior Football ‘B’ title with a hard-earned 4-9 to 3-9 triumph against Malahide Community School in an enthralling decider.