GAELIC GAMES – LEINSTER SH A 1ST RD: WEXFORD SCHOOLS 1-12 DUBLIN NORTH 3-9
North crew set up an all-Dublin showdown
Daire Walsh
DUBLIN North will face their Metropolitan rivals Dublin South in the final round of the Leinster Schools’ Senior Hurling ‘A’ Championship ‘Group Team’ section after they secured a narrow victory over Wexford Schools at Ferns last Saturday.
Mike O’Dwyer’s side had been buoyed by a nail-biting 1-11 to 0-13 success against Offaly Schools seven days earlier, and thanks to the dead-ball prowess of Micheal Murphy, they built a strong cushion during the opening period at the Wexford GAA Centre of Excellence.
Murphy contributed an impressive tally of 0-5 in the first half, and courtesy of a 27th-minute goal from Ardscoil Ris’ Sean Currie (a 2016 Dublin minor), North entered the interval with a 1-8 to 0-3 lead.
A second goal for the visitors by St Aidan’s CBS dual star Lee Gannon placed even greater daylight between the teams after the restart, but following the concession of 1-4 without reply to their Slaneyside opponents, Dublin North faced into a nerve-wracking final-quarter.
Wexford continued to take the game to their Sky Blue counterparts, but with the half-back line of Shane Kavanagh, Kevin Burke and Darragh Levins in fine form throughout, North limited the effectiveness of the opposing attack.
Scores were few and far between in the closing stages of the contest, but following a crucial third goal from Cian Derwin, Dublin North eventually progressed with three points to spare (3-9 to 1-12) over the Slaneysiders.