GAELIC GAMES: LEINSTER SF ‘A’ 1ST RD
Collins Avenue outfit battle back against Patrician boys
AIDAN’S ACES DIG DEEP TO MOVE ON
Daire Walsh
ST AIDAN’S CBS booked their place in the second round of the Leinster Schools’ Senior Football ‘A’ Championship following their 1-12 to 0-11 victory over Patrician Secondary School, Newbridge last Friday afternoon,
It wasn’t all plain sailing for Ollie Denneher’s charges against their Kildare counterparts, but with Lee Gannon and James Doran in tremendous scoring form during a strong second-half showing, they eventually progressed at the end of a fiercely-competitive encounter at College Park.
EVENTUAL
Aidan’s were defeated by eventual champions St Benildus College at the quarter-final stage of last season’s provincial championship, but after they subsequently secured the Dublin title at the expense of the Kilmacud school, there was a real sense of optimism heading into the 2016/17 campaign.
However, with eight players of their starting line-up hailing from the local Sarsfields club, Patricians had developed a 0-6 to 0-2 lead with 22 minutes gone on Friday.
Yet, Gannon and Doran were beginning to make their presence felt as the half wore on, and with Dylan O’Connell also making a sizeable impact, they recorded back-to-back scores to leave just two points between the sides at the interval.
Aidan’s applied significant pressure in attack when the action resumed, but courtesy of some last-gasp defending from their opponents, they remained three points in arrears (0-9 to 0-6) heading into the final-quarter.
Patricians keeper David Sutton had also come to the rescue of his side, but when the chips were down, Aidan’s ultimately delivered in spades.
PARITY
Keith Campbell and Donal Ryan were beginning to dictate the play, and thanks to three points in quick succession, they had restored parity to the proceedings.
There was a sense that they were building momentum at just the right time, and even though they had lost Tony McCaul to a black card, Gannon and Doran combined effectively to move Aidan’s into the ascendancy. Doran finished with an impressive tally of 0-5, and courtesy of his decisive goal in stoppage-time (which killed off the challenge of Patrician), Gannon brought his final haul up to 1-3.
St Aidan’s can now look forward to a home second round fixture against St Mel’s of Longford tomorrow afternoon, while Colaiste Eoin and holders St Benildus College will face tricky assignments with St Peter’s, Wexford and Colaiste Mhuire, Mullingar respectively.