IMPRESSIVE BARROG WIN
DAIRE WALSH
DUBLIN AFL3
NAOMH BARROG 3-15
ERIN’S ISLE 2-9
NAOMH Barrog continued their impressive start to the new Adult Football League Division Three season with a convincing victory over Erin’s Isle at a rain-soaked Pairc Barrog on Sunday morning.
Following an opening round success at the expense of St Brigid’s in Russell Park, the hard-working Kilbarrack men were aiming to make a statement on home soil.
PRESSURE
Despite coming under pressure from Isles during the early stages of the contest, Paul Tolan and Luke Nolan amassed a combined tally of 1-10 to drive Barrog over the line.
Having lost out narrowly to St Anne’s in Finglas a fortnight earlier (0-10 to 0-14), Isles certainly had motivation on their side. They fell behind in the opening moments to a Nolan point, before his opposite number – Robbie Walsh – replied with a superb effort off his right boot.
Walsh had seen an earlier strike rebounding off the crossbar – but Aaron Browning subsequently edged them in front. With former Dublin underage star Luke Sweetman providing a direct threat on the edge of the square, Isles were building momentum inside the Barrog ’45’.
Walsh added a brace of frees to give the visitors a three-point cushion (0-4 to 0-1) on the first-quarter mark.
However, after Tolan had cut the gap with his maiden score, Liam Durran capitalised on a defensive mix-up to grab the game’s first goal on 18 minutes.
Tolan and Walsh proceeded to trade points in advance of another powerful Barrog scoring blitz. Supplementing Tolan and McHugh singles, centre-forward Ryan Alexander fired beyond the reach of Isles netminder James Keoghan.
RELEASE
While Sweetman and Walsh (free) pointed to offer their northside rivals a temporary release, the increasingly-influential Alexander propelled Barrog towards a 2-6 to 0-7 interval buffer. Even though substitute Cian Wheatley – in a direct riposte to McHugh’s second – kept Isles in contention, they suffered a fatal blow in the 36th-minute.
Full-back Aron McGrane was dismissed on a straight red-card offence and Tolan bolstered his personal tally with a couple of quick-fire frees.
The dynamic midfielder displayed unerring accuracy throughout the course of the hour and he effectively placed the outcome beyond all doubt with a coolly-struck penalty.
Additional points by McHugh and Nolan moved the home team of all of 12 points clear, until Isles brought a halt to their latest scoring spree. Walsh – who matched Tolan’s final haul of 1-6 – also converted a spot-kick to give Isles some form of solace.
A second goal followed through Wheatley with seven minutes remaining as Isles dealt admirably with their numerical deficiency.
Nevertheless, Naomh Barrog eased home courtesy of points by Nolan, Tolan and Conor Gibson.
MATCH FILE
Scorers – Naomh Barrog: P Tolan 1-6 (1-0 pen, 0-5f), L Nolan 0-4, R Alexander 1-1, L Durran 1-0, S McHugh 0-3, C Gibson 0-1. Erin’s Isle: R Walsh 1-6 (1-0 pen, 0-5f), C Wheatley 1-1, A Browning, L Sweetman 0-1 each.
NAOMH BARROG: C Quill; B Lyne, M McCarthy, S Deering; M Tolan, C Gallagher, D Higgins; C Gibson, P Tolan; S McHugh, R Alexander, C McDonnell; L Nolan, B Foley, L Durran.
Subs: L Fitzgerald for Foley (44), N O’Connor for McDonnell (47), K Higgins for Deering (55), D McCormack for Doran (58).
ERIN’S ISLE: J Keoghan; N Dwyer, A McGrane, A Fairbrother; D Murray, C Donohue, J Perry; S Gaffney, C Carney; S Kane, M Victory, A Browning; C Berrigan, L Sweetman, R Walsh.
Subs: C Wheatley for Berrigan (h-t), J Keeley for Gaffney (37), A Redmond for Browning (47), S Doyle for Dwyer (53).
MENTORS – Naomh Barrog: D Clare, D Flood, O Fahey, P Donovan. Erin’s Isle: C Carney, P Canning.
Referee: Ciaran Reilly.
WIDES – Naomh Barrog: 8 (6+2). Erin’s Isle: 4 (3+1).
CONDITIONS: Heavy rain throughout.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Luke Nolan (Naomh Barrog).