TOP OIL LEINSTER PP SCH SH ‘A’ GROUP TEAMS RD 1
DUBLIN SOUTH……………………………………..3-14
ANTRIM SCHOOLS………………………………….1-16
SOUTH SHOW WAY TO GO
Murphy and Desmond deliver for Dublin outfit in scoring stakes to see them progress
Daire Walsh
LIAM Murphy and Kevin Desmond were in fine form at the National Sports Campus on Saturday in Abbotstown when Dublin South held off a late surge from Antrim Schools to book their place in the next stage of the Leinster Senior Hurling ‘A’ Group Team Section.
Antrim have been knocked out of the provincial championship by Dublin North in the past two seasons, and they conceded scores to the southside duo of Tom Kehoe and Murphy in the early stages of this encounter.
DEPLETED
The Saffron County outfit were depleted for their trip to the capital, and despite opening their account with a point from centre-forward Donal McKernan, a superb Desmond goal moved Cronan Dooley’s side into a four-point lead. Yet, Antrim were determined to keep themselves in contention.
Following a scrambled goal by Peter McCallin, Tiernan Murphy and Conor Boyd edged the visitors into the ascendancy. However, South didn’t allow panic to seep into their play and courtesy of a 1-3 salvo by Murphy (one of four Cuala players in their starting line-up), they had once again created daylight between themselves and their northern counterparts.
SEQUENCE
Antrim interrupted this scoring sequence with a brace of points from Murphy, but even though midfielder Ryan McGarry added a terrific score at the end of the half, earlier points from Murphy and Lucan CBS’ Emmet Allen – as well as 1-1 from the excellent Desmond – helped South to develop a 3-8 to 1-6 interval cushion.
This placed the hosts (who include former Dublin and Galway hurler Niall Corcoran in their management team) in a commanding position, but early second half efforts by Murphy and Daire Matthews for Antrim ensured that South were kept on their toes.
South full-back Joey Mowlds was booked at the beginning of the third-quarter before points from Ben Coffey (’65’) and Kehoe restored their eight point advantage. The Lucan Sarsfields pairing of Coffey and centre-back Robert Ward were also target after the increasingly-prominent Matthews split the posts for Antrim – who started to build momentum as the half wore on.
CONTRIBUTION
Kehoe’s third point cancelled out a similar contribution by Antrim’s Murphy, but following unanswered scores by the away side from Shea Shannon, Murphy (three) and McCallin, the gap had reduced to four points as the final whistle approached.
A successful Coffey free eliminated any prospect of a shock fightback by Antrim, though, and despite finishing the action with a McGarry point, they couldn’t prevent Dublin South’s progression to the second round – which takes place this Saturday at the Abbotstown venue against Laois Schools.
SCORERS – DUBLIN SOUTH: L Murphy 1-5 (0-4f), K Desmond 2-1, B Coffey (2 ’65’, 1f), T Kehoe 0-3 each, R Ward, E Allen 0-1 each. Antrim Schools: T Murphy 0-8 (6f), P McCallin 1-1, R McGarry, D Matthews 0-2 each, S Shannon, D McKernan, C Boyd 0-1 each.
DUBLIN SOUTH: C O’Donoghue; J Weinmann, J Mowlds, T Glynn; L Walsh, R Ward, M Tracey; B Coffey, T Kehoe; E Allen, K Kirwan, D O Floinn; L Murphy, K Desmond, A Carroll. Subs: F O Ceallaigh for Kirwan (38), C Quinn for Allen (51), S Kennedy for O Floinn (58).
ANTRIM SCHOOLS: P McMullan; M Napier, C McHugh, N McCann; D Magee, E McQuillan, A O’Brien; R McGarry, S Shannon; D Matthews, D McKernan, P McCallin; T Murphy, C Boyd, O O’Callaghan. Subs: M Donnelly for Magee (29), N McCormick for Shannon (h-t).
REFEREE: K Brady (Louth).