NA FIANNA ARE ‘A’ SPECIALS
Gleeson hat-trick hero for Mobhi
DUBLIN MHC ‘A’ FINAL
NA FIANNA………………………………………….5-15
LUCAN SARSFIELDS………………………………3-9
Daire Walsh
A FIRST-HALF scoring blitz from full-forward Paddy Gleeson proved to be the catalyst for Na Fianna at O’Toole Park on Sunday morning, when they secured their fourth consecutive Dublin Minor ‘A’ Hurling Championship title with an impressive victory over Lucan Sarsfields.
An Emmet Allen point helped Lucan to break the deadlock just 20 seconds into the action, and after this was supplemented by a successful Ben Coffey free, Na Fianna opened their account with a superb score by Dublin minor star Sean Currie.
Cian McHugh was on hand to restore Lucan’s two-point lead, and even though Na Fianna fired back with points from David Lacey and Micheal Murphy (free), Lucan registered the game’s first goal midway through the half.
Corner-forward Alan Murphy kicked to the net following great persistence in attack, but after Currie’s second point was cancelled out by Allen, they suffered their first major set-back of this decider.
Gleeson levelled matters by finishing off a goalmouth scramble, but with Murphy’s second free being squeezed between Harry Ladd and Allen scores for Lucan, they remained in arrears. However, an influential point from distance by Darragh Bergin galvanised the Na Fianna challenge, and they edged in front for the very first time when a long-delivery by centre-back Kevin Burke was flicked to the net by Gleeson.
Indeed, the imposing forward doubled another Burke clearance beyond the reach of Lucan’s Cillian Murray, giving him three goals in the space of six minutes.
Na Fianna were far from a one-man attack, though, and unanswered points from Bergin (sideline), Currie, Lacey, John Tierney and Eoin O’Dea drove them towards a 3-11 to 1-6 interval advantage.
Despite causing the Na Fianna defence a number of problems in the early stages, Lucan were suddenly faced with a mountain to climb. They did create some promising opportunities after the restart, but it was their northside opponents who added to their tally with a free from the excellent Murphy.
The introduction of Liam Gaughran had added fresh impetus to the Na Fianna forward line, and his low shot produced a fourth goal for his side. Lucan finally disrupted this scoring sequence (which saw Na Fianna recording 3-7 without reply) with a Coffey point from close-range, but this only provided a temporary relief for the 12th Lock brigade.
Murphy and Gaughran supplemented their own personal hauls at the end of the third-quarter, and a fifth goal subsequently arrived through Bergin in the 47th-minute. As the proceedings drew to a close, Ladd and Allen were on target either side of a Murphy ’65’.
Lucan ended the game in fine spirits with a much-deserved goal from Coffey, but this wasn’t enough to spoil the four in-a-row party for Na Fianna – who were led superbly by full-back Donal Ryan.
MATCH FILE
Scorers – Na Fianna: P Gleeson 3-0, M Murphy 0-5 (4f, 1 ’65’), D Bergin 1-2 (0-1 s/line), L Gaughran 1-1, S Currie 0-3, D Lacey 0-2, J Tierney, E O’Dea 0-1 each. Lucan Sarsfields: E Allen 1-5 (1-2f), B Coffey 1-1 (0-1f), A Murphy 1-0, H Ladd 0-2, C McHugh 0-1.
NA FIANNA: C McHugh; S Fraughen, D Ryan, R Mackey; C Berigan, K Burke, A Buggy; D Bergin, M Murphy; A Berigan, J Tierney, D Lacey; E O’Dea, P Gleeson, S Currie.
Subs: L Gaughran for Berigan (h-t), A Rafter for Mackey (34), P Skelly for O’Dea (57), N Brennan for Currie (58), N King for Tierney (59).
LUCAN SARSFIELDS: C Murray; E O’Connor, E Reynolds, E Seery; G Milea, L Walsh, R Ward; A McNulty, H Sviglinskas; A Carroll, C McHugh, B Coffey; A Murphy, H Ladd, E Allen.
Subs: E Higgins for Sviglinskas (40), O O’Brien for McHugh (46), C Keane for Carroll (51), I Crowley for Milea (52), K Boylan for Ladd (55).
MENTORS – Na Fianna: Dermot Moran, Shane Barrett, Jonathan Tracey, Willie Bergin, Phil Kelly, Greg Whooley. Lucan Sarsfields: Dermot O’Brien, Vincent O’Connor, Tony Moulton, Joe Whyte, Dermot Donnellan.
Referee: Thomas Gleeson (Naomh Fionnbarra).
WIDES – Na Fianna: 7 (4+3). Lucan Sarsfields: 6 (4+2).
CONDITIONS: Bright and sunny weather with a slight breeze.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Paddy Gleeson (Na Fianna).