DUBLIN SEN ‘C’ FOOTBALL FINAL: ST JOSEPHS RUSH 1-12 TERENURE COLLEGE 3-5
Daire Walsh
AFTER surviving a late onslaught from Terenure College at Tom Russell Park last Friday afternoon, St Joseph’s Secondary School, Rush secured the Dublin Schools’ Senior ‘C’ Football Championship title with just a point to spare.
Joseph’s had booked their place in this decider with an impressive eight-point success (5-5 to 1-9) over Colaiste Cois Life at the end of January, and ‘Nure were also emphatic in their semi-final triumph against Drimnagh Castle CBS.
However, they found themselves staring into an early six-point deficit against Joseph’s – as a Kevin O’Connor goal for the northside school was supplemented by some fine points from Cian Savage and Ciaran Archer.
They continued to cause problems for their opponents as the play developed, but thanks to quick-fire goals from ‘Nure midway through the half, only three points separated the teams during the interval (1-7 to 2-1). This kept Joseph’s on red alert upon the resumption, but they quickly restored order with a series of eye-catching scores.
The impressive Savage was the scorer-in-chief for Joseph’s on the day with a grand total of 0-5, but they also had strong contributions from half-back Archer (0-4) and Ryan O’Shea.
A resilient ‘Nure set-up a grandstand finale with a third goal in the closing stages, but with Archer and Jack Hussey leading by example, Joseph’s ultimately recorded a one-point victory – and will now compete in the Leinster grade as a result.