DUBLIN JUVENILE ‘B’ FC SEMI-FINALS
Basque to the fore as Eanna bag local decider
Daire Walsh
COLAISTE Eanna will face neighbours St Colmcille’s CS in the upcoming Dublin Schools Juvenile Football ‘B’ Championship decider, following their respective semi-final wins in the past week.
Southsiders Eanna enjoyed home advantage for their encounter against Portmarnock CS on Monday afternoon, and with Paul Basquel (cousin of Dublin senior footballer Colm) leading by example, they developed an early advantage. The Ballyboden St Enda’s clubman was a major source of scores for Eanna, and thanks to additional efforts from Ciaran Kiely and Thomas Davis star Ross Mullarkey, they were three points ahead at the midway point in the contest.
Portmarnock caused a number of problems for Eanna prior to the interval, though, and they remained in contention for large stretches of the second period. Another cousin of an inter-county ace, Eoin Scully (relative of Templeogue Synge Street’s Niall), was also in fine form for Eanna – but their Carrickhill counterparts kept the game in the melting pot moving into the final-quarter.
Yet, Eanna kept their cool, and a brace of Leon Kennedy penalties eventually guided them towards a 7-7 to 3-9 success. They will now lock horns with Colmcille’s – who they narrowly defeated in the group stages of the competition – after they came through a tight affair with Malahide CS on Monday at Broomfield.