DUBLIN SCHS SFC ‘A’ FINAL: ST AIDAN’S CBS 0-15 BENILDUS COLLEGE 0-10
BIG DISPLAY BY SMALL
Aidan’s ace points the way for victorious Collins Avenue outfit
Daire Walsh
PADDY Small was in excellent scoring form at O’Toole Park last Friday afternoon when St Aidan’s CBS secured their second consecutive Dublin Schools’ SF ‘A’ Championship title at the expense of St Benildus College.
On their way to securing the Leinster SF crown, Benildus had defeated the Collins Avenue outfit in a quarter-final tie in January, but despite working their way back into contention during a frantic third-quarter, Aidan’s were full value for their victory.
With several county minor panellists on display, this had the potential to be a classic encounter – and after Adam Conway had kicked Aidan’s into an early lead, Benildus’ impressive wing-back Aaron Bradshaw was on hand to level matters.
Roving Benildus corner-forward Eoin Foley added his name to the scoresheet following an opening score for Small, but courtesy of unanswered efforts by Small (two), Donal Ryan and Tony O’Sullivan (free), the reigning champions had created significant daylight.
Benildus disrupted this scoring sequence with a 26th-minute pointed free from Tom Keane, but owing to a brace of points from placed-balls by Small, Aidan’s held a 0-8 to 0-3 advantage at the midway stage.
They further enhanced their superiority with an excellent Cian Gerrard point straight from the restart, but Benildus stormed back into the contest at this point.
Centre-forward Joseph Rafferty contributed two points to the Benildus cause, and thanks to additional scores by Keane, Bradshaw and Dan O’Brien, they reduced their deficit to a minimum just seven minutes into the half.
Momentum appeared to be with them at this point, but Aidan’s regained their composure with back-to-back points from Small (free) and O’Sullivan.
Benildus did respond with another successful close-range Keane free, before another scorig blitz by Aidan’s produced scores through O’Sullivan and Small (two). Benildus half-forward Andrew Fox had a shot cleared off the line four minutes from time, but even though Callum Pearson narrowed the gap with a terrific ’45’, Conway’s second score in the 58th-minute ensured that St Aidan’s CBS finished with five points to spare in an engrossing clash.
SCORERS – St Aidan’s CBS: P Small 0-8 (6f), T O’Sullivan 0-3 (1f), A Conway 0-2, D Ryan, C Gerrard 0-1 each. St Benildus College: T Keane 0-3 (2f), A Bradshaw, J Rafferty 0-2 each, C Pearson (’45’), D O’Brien, E Foley 0-1 each.
ST AIDAN’S CBS: S Bruton; R Kerins, M Moran, L McCarthy; D Constantine, D Gray, C Gallagher; D Ryan, G King; C Gerrard, T O’Sullivan, K Campbell; T McCaul, P Small, A Conway. Subs: L Gannon for Campbell (35), S Runin for Constantine (36), C Murphy for Gallagher (52).
ST BENILDUS COLLEGE: A O’Callaghan; A Walsh, L Doran, S O’Reilly; A Bradshaw, D Keogh, B Carr; C Pearson, P Flaherty; D O’Brien, J Rafferty, A Fox; E Foley, T Fox, T Keane. Sub: T McGuirk for Bradshaw (8-12, blood sub).
REFEREE: D Harrington (St Sylvester’s).