McGinnis gets Skerries over line
DUBLIN SFC
SKERRIES HARPS 2-13
CLONTARF 2-12
Daire Walsh
KILLIAN McGinnis kicked a stunning late point to give Skerries Harps the edge over Clontarf in a gripping Dublin SFC1 Group Two encounter at Parnell Park last night.
Following defeat for both sides in their opening games, the stakes were significantly high for this encounter. ‘Tarf created early daylight with a Maitias MacDonncha, before Kevin Lillis and Nathan Doran combined to provide them with a 1-5 to 0-1 cushion on 20 minutes.
Skerries eventually found their feet when Conan Doherty palmed to the net off a goalmouth scramble, but two points apiece, courtesy of Andy Foley and Lillis, ensured ‘Tarf brought a commanding five-point buffer (1-9 to 1-4) into the break. Yet, after Donal McIlgorm finished to the net on the restart, the reliable Ciaran Murphy registered a succession of scores to propel Skerries into the driving seat.
MacDonncha then grabbed his second goal inside the final-quarter to subsequently reignite the ‘Tarf challenge and as the action progressed, a sharing of the spoils appeared to be on the cards.
Yet, with Jack McCaffrey largely subdued for Clontarf, McGinnis split the posts in superb fashion on the right-wing to offer Skerries a fighting chance of reaching the knockout stages.
Scorers – Skerries Harps: C Murphy 0-8 (6f), D McIlgorm 1-1, C Doherty 1-0, J Smith, C Daly, M Boylan, K McGinnis 0-1 each. Clontarf: K Lillis 0-6 (2f), M MacDonncha 2-0 (1-0 pen), A Foley 0-3, N Doran 0-2 (2f), K McKeon 0-1.
SKERRIES HARPS: S Davis; R McGarry, S Rocks, K Dalton; J Smith, B Cullen, C Daly; E McGinley, M Boylan; K Gilmore, C Murphy, C Doherty; K McGinnis, D McIlgorm, S Smith. Subs: A Fearon for Dalton (22), T Ryan for Gilmore (30), C O’Brien for Doherty (52).
CLONTARF: R O’Hanlon; D Monaghan, C Doran, C Cronin; A O’Halloran, J McCaffrey, C Kyne; M Walsh, A Foley; T O’Flaherty, N Doran, S Quigley; K Lillis, M MacDonncha, K McKeon. Subs: S Walsh for Cronin (42), C McConnell for M Walsh (45).
Referee: D Stynes (St Peregrine’s).