CLASS KIERNAN KILLS VINS
Corner-forward in scintillating form for St Jude’s in AFL Div 9 clash
DUBLIN AFL DIVISION 9
ST JUDE’S……………………………….1-11
ST VINCENT’S……………………………0-8
Daire Walsh
DAVID Kiernan produced a magnificent individual display at Tymon North last Thursday to help St Jude’s get the better of a patched-up St Vincent’s side in Division Nine of the Adult Football League.
The elusive corner-forward kicked seven points over the course of the hour, as Jude’s registered their first win of the campaign. While this defeat is a set-back for Vins after their recent victories over Clontarf, Clann Mhuire and Naomh Maur, a spirited display ensured they remained in contention for large stretches of the contest.
This encounter was just under three minutes old when Kiernan opened his account by dissecting the posts from a distance of 35 metres. He added a second point off his left-foot at the end of a subsequent attack, offering the Templeogue men an early platform on their home patch.
The only goal of the night then arrived in the seventh minute, as centre-forward John O’Riordan set up Rory O’Riordan for a palmed finish past Vins custodian Mick O’Neill. Their Marino counterparts soon settled with a free from midfielder Padraig Mullins (son of Dublin legend and current Vincent’s senior boss Brian), and they started to make greater inroads in the Jude’s half as the action progressed.
Mullins narrowed the gap for the visitors with another fine score towards the end of the first-quarter, and Shane Moore had a close-range effort turned away by Jude’s netminder John Conlon. Current Dublin physio Kieran O’Reilly was a prominent figure in the Vincent’s forward division and it was his precise pass on 20 minutes that released Niall Heery for a neat point at a tight angle.
The earlier withdrawal of John O’Riordan led to the introduction of Jude’s substitute Padraig McDonagh – who eventually swapped places with corner-back Sean Gleeson. Their barren spell in front of goal continued for the rest of the half, and it was left for Mullins to reduce the deficit to a minimum (1-2 to 0-4) just in time for the interval.
Jude’s struggled to build on their impressive opening, which allowed Vincent’s to gain a foothold in the proceedings. They managed to put this right on the restart, however – registering four points without reply to place a serious dent in the Vins challenge.
Kiernan followed up his solitary place-ball contribution with another effort from play, while Karl Synott and full-forward Liam Coffey also found the target in style. Moore eased the Vincent’s nerves by kicking a 41st-minute point, but this preceded another dominant spell for the hosts.
Substitute Hugh Devine and Coffey split the posts, and Kiernan maintained his imperious form with another 0-2 salvo inside the final-quarter. They breathed a huge sigh of relief when Vins replacement Andrew Stack rattled the crossbar with a powerful shot, and the same player found the range either side of Heery’s second of the evening.
Though this brought the margin down to a potentially manageable five points, it was fitting that Kiernan completed the scoring with an outstanding point at the end of an incisive move.
MATCH FILE
Scorers – St Jude’s: D Kiernan 0-7 (1f), R O’Riordan 1-0, L Coffey 0-2, K Synott, H Devine 0-1 each. St Vincent’s: P Mullins 0-3 (2f), N Heery, A Stack 0-2 each, S Moore 0-1.
ST JUDE’S: J Conlon; R Howard, A Friel, S Gleeson; T Parsons, N Broderick, J Austin; N Lawlor, L Hayes; K Synott, J O’Riordan, B Herity; R O’Riordan, L Coffey, D Kiernan.
Subs: P McDonagh for J O’Riordan (15), E Flood for Herity (h-t), H Devine for R O’Riordan (39), S Willoughby for Howard (49), D O’Leary for Coffey (53), K Fallon for Synott (58).
ST VINCENT’S: M O’Neill; N Boland, J Calvert, N Hardy; P O’Meara, J Harney, B Reynolds; A Fuller, P Mullins; D Harvey, S Moore, J Savage; K O’Reilly, C Donohoe, N Heery.
Subs: A Stack for Heery (23), Heery for Donohoe (36), Donohoe for O’Meara (46).
MENTORS – St Jude’s: Eamonn Walsh, Mick Doherty. St Vincent’s: Richie Hession, Johnny Lambe, Mark Doyle, Niall Dunne.
Referee: Mark Carroll (St Anne’s).
WIDES – St Jude’s: 7 (5+2). St Vincent’s: 6 (4+2).
CONDITIONS: Some light drizzle, but dry for the most part.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: David Kiernan (St Jude’s).