DUBLIN JUV HURLING ‘E’ S-FINAL
O’Neill hat-trick crucial for Setanta
Daire Walsh
PAUL O’Neill claimed a hat-trick of goals last Friday, when Colaiste Pobail Setanta secured a 6-15 to 4-11 victory over Old Bawn CS in an entertaining Dublin Schools Juvenile Hurling ‘E’ Championship semi-final.
The Clonsilla outfit had advanced to the last-four with an emphatic win against Colaiste de hIde, but Old Bawn had also impressed in their own quarter-final success at the expense of Moyle Park College.
Indeed, the Tallaght school made a bright start to the contest, before Setanta’s Fionn O’Moore gradually exerted his influence on the play.
He was linking up effectively with midfielder Eoin Kinsella, and although there was little to separate the sides in the opening period, Setanta were in fine form after the restart. Old Bawn were proving to be a tough nut crack, though, and Setanta needed goals by Conor McLeod and Conor Gorman to keep themselves in a winning position.
However, Moore and O’Neill were the key performers for Carthach Ban Breathnach’s side on the day, and their goals in the closing stages helped CP Setanta to finish with 10 points to spare.