AFL DIV. 2 ROUND-UP: MARCH 3

ADULT FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION TWO ROUND-UP: MARCH 3

By Daire Walsh

St Sylvester’s produced a star-studded performance at Collins Avenue on Sunday morning to make it two wins from as many games in Adult Football League Division Two.

Following a narrow triumph over Kilmacud Crokes ‘B’ two weeks ago, the Malahide men recorded a comprehensive 3-17 to 0-3 win against Whitehall Colmcille. With Ronan Palmer, Ross Hazley, Paudie White and James Walsh providing a strong spine in the middle-third, Syls dominated the opening period.

Ten minutes into the contest, they had developed a six-point cushion. The hard-running tempo of their play was maintained for the remainder of the half and the visitors found themselves 0-12 to 0-2 in front during the interval.

Already a potent threat in the Syls attack, corner-forward Mark Hazley stepped things up a notch on the resumption. He grabbed a brace of three-pointers to increased the gap between the sides and he subsequently completed his hat-trick inside the final-quarter.

While he converted four frees to compliment two goals from the penalty spot, Hazley (who finished with a personal tally of 3-7) was equally adept in open play. In addition to displaying a ruthless streak in front of the posts, Conor Quinn, Andrew Cunningham and Dan Deneher ensured they were organised and disciplined in defence.

Sylvester’s are joined on four points by a host of clubs, including Na Fianna ‘B’ – who were six-point victors (2-12 to 1-9) over Naomh Fionnbarra at St Mobhi Road. Also joining them in the early hunt for promotion are Ballyboughal and Castleknock.

‘Boughal had the measure of Round Tower Clondalkin on home soil (3-13 to 1-5), while Castleknock – relegated to the second-tier alongside Sylvester’s in 2018 – emerged on the right side of a 1-12 to 1-8 scoreline away to Clontarf.

Round one winners at the expense of St Patrick’s, Palmerstown and Whitehall respectively, Naomh Olaf and Round Tower Lusk played out a 0-10 to 1-7 draw at Pairc Ui Bhriain to remain unbeaten heading into round three at the end of March.

Kilmacud Crokes ‘B’ responded to their round one set-back by defeating Scoil Ui Chonaill at Pairc De Burca in Glenalbyn (1-11 to 0-10). It was a similar scenario for both Naomh Mearnog and St Mary’s Saggart in their home encounters with Raheny and Pat’s, Palmerstown.

Playing with the aid of a strong breeze, Mearnog led 0-10 to 0-2 at the break in Portmarnock. Raheny forged a spirited fightback after the restart, only for the hosts to hold out with three points to spare (0-11 to 0-8).

Supplementing strong scoring returns by Niall Murphy (0-5) and Shane Kavanagh (0-3), Jamie Walsh (two) and Oisin Taylor also found the target for the triumphant Mearnog.

At a wet and blustery Saggart, Mary’s created early daylight courtesy of Carl Finn’s three-point salvo. A powerful scoring burst by Pat’s significantly reined in their challenge, though, and it wasn’t until the latter stages of the opening half that Mary’s regained control.

Thanks to Finn’s calmly converted penalty, the sides were tied at 1-6 apiece on the half-hour mark. Despite continuing to cause issues for the Pat’s defence, Mary’s found themselves five adrift heading towards the closing stages of the tie.

Yet, a sequence of 2-5 without reply – which included goals for Alex Darcy and James Timmins – eased them over the line with a 3-14 to 3-8 success. Alongside Finn’s final haul of 1-6, Ciaran Howard (0-4) and former Dublin footballer Blaine Kelly (0-2) contributed handsomely to the Mary’s cause.