AFL DIV. 2 ROUNDUP – 13TH JUNE
ADULT FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION TWO ROUND-UP: JUNE 13
By Daire Walsh
Round Tower Clondalkin moved to the summit of the Adult Football League Division Two table with a hard-earned success over Scoil Ui Chonaill at Clontarf Road on Wednesday evening.
While Templeogue Synge Street and Skerries Harps had led the chasing pack prior to the night’s proceedings, their respective reversals allowed Towers to leap-frog them into first position. Templeogue were on the receiving end of a five-point defeat (0-15 to 1-7) to Naomh Mearnog at Portmarnock, whereas Skerries Harps lost out to St Anne’s (2-9 to 0-13) in a tricky home assignment.
Mearnog now join TSS and Skerries on 10 points, just behind the in-form Towers. After a difficult start to the season – which saw them follow up an opening round stalemate against Na Fianna with a defeat to Mearnog – the Clondalkin men recorded four wins on the bounce.
With both teams short a number of first-team regulars, it was little surprise that the sides were hard to separate in the early exchanges. However, in a blistering end to the opening period, Towers gave themselves a commanding nine-point interval cushion.
Ian Ward (who featured heavily for Dublin at underage level), Darren Gilligan and Mick Hallows all found the net for the visitors, for whom Conor L’Estrange was a key performer throughout. Though they appeared to have the measure of their opponents for large stretches, a final-quarter scoring blitz moved Scoil back into the reckoning.
Towers maintained their composure in the closing moments, though, and eventually eked out a 3-12 to 1-14 victory. Supplementing fine scoring contributions by L’Estrange, Micheál Walsh and Conor Flannery, full-back Tom Lyons (nephew of Keith Barr) brilliantly converted three ’45’s to keep their northside counterparts at bay.
They are back in action at Monastery Road on Wednesday week (June 27) against Fingallians – who claimed a comprehensive 1-14 to 0-2 win at home to Raheny. They are now just two points behind the league leaders, in what is proving to be a hectic and tense second-tier campaign.
Meanwhile, Ballyboughal recorded their fourth triumph of 2018 in a home encounter with St Mary’s, Saggart. Playing with the aid of a strong breeze, the hosts were driven forward in the opening moments by the powerful midfield pairing of Cathal Flynn and Richie Downey.
John Harney and Niall McElligott also delivered strong defensive performances, but a brace of well-timed goals meant that Mary’s entered the break on level terms with Ballyboughal. Although the wind was not as strong after the restart, the home team adopted a running game from the third-quarter onwards.
This paid dividends for Ballyboughal, with Ciaran Wynne, Gerry Seaver and John Rodgers all rattling the Mary’s net in the second half. A game Mary’s persevered with their challenge, only to ultimately fall to a 3-8 to 3-14 reversal.
Whitehall Colmcille bounced back from a recent defeat to Fingallians with an emphatic display against Na Fianna ‘B’ at Collins Avenue. Despite being without the considerable talents of multiple All-Ireland winner Cormac Costello, Whitehall possessed enough fire power to secure the spoils on a scoreline of 6-11 to 2-11.
Thanks to impressive three-pointers courtesy of Peter Corry, Eoghan O’Donnell and Kevin O’Donohue, Whitehall were eight in front (3-6 to 0-7) on the half-hour mark. Their dominance continued after the break, with John Bridgeman and Sean Ryan offering strong attacking outlets.
Corry added his second goal of the game, while O’Donohue completed his hat-trick with a brace of fine finishes. Na Fianna subsequently replied with a two-goal salvo, but it was never going to be enough to stem the flow of the Whitehall attack.
Clontarf remained in promotion contention with a 3-18 to 4-10 win over Fingal Ravens at St Anne’s Park and it was also a productive night for St Patrick’s, Palmerstown in an away clash with basement side O’Toole’s – 1-14 to 1-11 the final score at Blunden Drive, in favour of the Glenauline Park men.