AFL1 ROUNDUP – 7TH – 9TH SEPTEMBER
ADULT FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION ONE ROUND-UP: SEPTEMBER 7-9
A late scoring burst proved decisive for Castleknock at Somerton Park on Saturday evening, when they defeated Skerries Harps by two points in Division One of the Adult Football League.
Castleknock’s most recent league encounter was also at home on July 29th against Thomas Davis, and after they shared the spoils with the Kiltipper Road outfit in that game (0-14 apiece), they were eager to get back to winning ways in their 14th league fixture of 2017.
Skerries have had five draws of their own in the top-flight this season, and even though a Dessie Carlos point helped Castleknock to established a three-point lead on 21 minutes, Harps soon restored parity with the opening goal of the night.
However, a successful Carlos penalty in first-half stoppage-time ensured that Castleknock brought a 1-4 to 1-2 cushion into the interval. Another goal by Skerries (who included former Dublin footballers Bryan Cullen in their side) arrived four minutes after the restart, and with just 12 minutes of normal time remaining, they had developed a slender advantage.
Yet, consecutive points from Graham Hannigan (two) and Collie Lynch moved Castleknock backed into the ascendancy, and although Skerries responded with a brace of points to raise the possibility of another stalemate, the hosts dug deep to ultimately secure a 1-11 to 2-6 triumph.
The meeting of St Sylvester’s and Thomas Davis was the only other outing to take place on Saturday, but four teams had also been in action on Thursday evening. Ballymun Kickhams faced Cuala at the National Games Development Centre in Abbotstown, and their 2-18 to 1-6 success means they are now in the top-four of Division One with a game still to play.
It was also a memorable evening for St Vincent’s at St Anne’s Park on Thursday, as they recorded a hard-earned 1-13 to 0-12 victory over Clontarf.
‘Tarf are still searching for their first win in this year’s league, but with former county minor Matias MacDonncha leading by example, they enjoyed a productive start to the proceedings. A goal midway through the half by Tomas Quinn helped Vincent’s to settle, and even though Clontarf persisted with their challenge, some fine scores from Ruairi Trainor propelled the visitors towards a 1-7 to 0-7 advantage at the break.
The introduction of Andy Foley provided Clontarf with a new lease of life, but with Gavin Burke, Albert Martin and Enda Varley all getting their name on the scoresheet, Vincent’s maintained a slight edge.
Quinn finished with a personal haul of 1-6 (0-4 from frees), and with Burke and Trainor contributing a combined tally of five points, they claimed their eighth win of the current term.
By Daire Walsh