LEINSTER PP SCHOOLS SH ‘A’ LEAGUE: ST KIERAN’S, KILKENNY 1-16 DUBLIN NORTH 0-8
Kieran’s too slick for weakened North
Daire Walsh
DUBLIN North endured a difficult opening to their Leinster Schools’ Senior Hurling ‘A’ League campaign in Kilkenny yesterday afternoon, when they were defeated by an impressive St Kieran’s College outfit.
This game was originally set to take place last week, but although they had an extra seven days to prepare for this encounter, the Metropolitans had to field without a number of players who will be involved in club minor championship final/semi-final duty this weekend.
Dublin North reached the final of this competition last year, but when you consider it was the boys from the Marble County who were victorious on that occasion, this was likely to be a baptism of fire for Mike O’Dwyer’s charges.
Indeed, Kieran’s enjoyed a near-perfect start to the proceedings – as they developed a five-point advantage during the early moments.
The visitors found it hard to settle into their stride, but with the defensive duo of full-back Darragh Bergin and Kevin Burke leading by example, they made life difficult for Kieran’s as the half progressed.
Micheal Murphy was also making a sizeable impact at midfield, but in spite of their admirable resistence, they found themselves trailing by seven points (0-10 to 0-3) at the interval.
They left North with an uphill battle against a school that will be chasing a fourth consecutive All-Ireland title in 2017, but with goalkeeper Josh Rooney in fine form, they managed to keep Kieran’s at bay after the restart.
Jason Byrne contributed four points from placed-balls, while Billy Ryan finished with a haul of 0-3 from play. Cian Derwin was also on target for Dublin North, but with home advantage proving to be a major factor, Kieran’s ultimately prevailed on a scoreline of 1-16 to 0-8.
The Sky Blue representative side will return to the Noreside for a meeting with Castlecomer CS on Monday, before completing the group stages with a home tie against St Brendan’s, Birr at the National Sports Campus, Abbotstown – which is expected to take place this coming Wednesday (November 23).