LEINSTER SCHOOLS JUV F ‘D’ FINAL
Lusk secure maiden provincial crown in comfortable fashion
Daire Walsh
IT was a memorable day for Lusk Community College at Portarlington last Friday, when they defeated Colaiste Mhuire, Johnstown on a scoreline of 3-19 to 0-3 in the Leinster Schools Juvenile Football ‘D’ decider.
The northside school had progressed to the provincial stage with a commanding Dublin final triumph over St Mark’s CS at the end of January and subsequently advanced to the Leinster showpiece at the expense of St Farnan’s, Prosperous.
Johnstown were hoping to add to their school’s recent South Leinster Junior Football ‘D’ success, but thanks to terrific displays by the attacking duo of Eoin Thorne and Cian Warden, Lusk stormed into an early lead.
Skipper Aaron Naughton – operating as a third midfielder alongside Ciaran O’Toole and Mark Hanratty – created a number of scoring opportunities, and with Warden proving to be particularly prolific, Barry Tiernan’s side brought an insurmountable 2-10 to 0-1 cushion into the break.
Johnstown atempted to narrow the gap after the restart, but with O’Toole and Hanratty offering excellent protection to the Lusk rearguard, they couldn’t create any significant purple patches. Warden’s final tally of 1-5 was supplemented by a series of scores from Thorne and Naughton, as Lusk CC sealed their maiden Leinster crown in emphatic style.