NA FIANNA BEAT TEMPLEOGUE SYNGE ST TO GO FIFTH IN AFL DIVISION ONE
ADULT FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
NA FIANNA 5-16
TEMPLEOGUE SYNGE STREET 2-9
By Daire Walsh
Na Fianna moved up to fifth in the Adult Football League Division One table with a convincing win over Templeogue Synge Street at Dolphin Park on Sunday morning.
Building on their midweek triumph against Thomas Davis, Dessie Farrell’s men bolstered their title credentials with an impressive attacking display. Dublin senior panellist Conor McHugh amassed an impressive tally of 1-5 for the Glasnevin men, while Glenn O’Reilly, Odhran O Maoleidigh, Sean Caffrey and David Quinn also registered goals over the course of the hour.
Having secured a share of the spoils away to Kilmacud Crokes on Wednesday, Templeogue were aiming for a maiden victory in this season’s top-flight. After playing a starring role in the Sky Blues’ Leinster SFC success over Louth the night before, Niall Scully was marked absent for the hosts.
Eoghan O’Gara was included in the TSS attack, however, where he joined forces with younger brother Killian. While Jonny Cooper was missing for Na Fianna, the inclusion of Eoin Murchan at half-back was a major plus for the visitors.
He carried forward with purpose throughout the opening period, providing his side with a strong attacking platform as a result. It took Na Fianna just two minutes to break the deadlock – Michael Deegan lashing over at the end of an enterprising move.
The ever-threatening McHugh added a brace of quick-fire scores, before he released O’Reilly for an excellent point. Templeogue finally got their account up and running with a Ger Vickery free, but they suffered a significant set-back on the stroke of 10 minutes.
Though O Maoleidigh had an initial strike on goal turned away, he fired a rebounded effort beyond the reach of netminder Tom Muldoon. Having clawed back a number of deficits in their showdown with Kilmacud, Templeogue now found themselves six points adrift (1-4 to 0-1).
They managed to put the shackles on Na Fianna for an extended spell and consequently bolstered their tally at the opposite end. Eoghan O’Gara gathered Vickery’s cross-field kick just shy of the first-quarter mark and clipped an excellent score off his left foot.
When the younger O’Gara sibling – Killian – was fouled in the 20th-minute, Vickery curled between the posts to further reduce the gap between the sides. Na Fianna’s James Doran proceeded to trade scores with Lorcan O’Dell, the latter profiting from Eoghan O’Gara’s excellent build-up play.
McHugh and Vickery also swapped frees as the interval approached, but there was enough time left for Na Fianna to get a firm grip on the action. McHugh was proving to be a reliable source for scores and his latest two-point salvo offered the St Mobhi Road outfit a 1-8 to 0-5 interval cushion.
The loss of Killian O’Gara to injury on 29 minutes was a major blow for Templeogue, who were also forced to introduce Ken Devine for half-back Mikie Lyons on the resumption. Former Dublin minor footballer Danny O’Reilly was also thrown into the mix and with Luke O’Brien (O’Gara’s replacement) cancelling out Deegan’s latest effort, they remained in touch.
Yet the Na Fianna challenge was relentless and they produced a stunning blitz that ultimately left Templeogue with too much ground to make up. Supplementing an O Maoleidigh point, O’Reilly and McHugh grabbed two goals in the space of 60 seconds to create a 13-point buffer.
Caffrey also found the net off a speculative shot on the right-wing – which preceded Deegan singles in the 39th and 41 minutes respectively. Templeogue eventually halted this scoring sequence with a Cillian Keogh point at the end of the third-quarter, only for a rampant Na Fianna to respond through McHugh and substitute David Lacey.
To Templeogue’s credit, they displayed admirable perseverance during the closing moments of the tie. Either side of a Caffrey point, O’Dell and Vickery split the posts for the southsiders.
Although a fifth Na Fianna goal arrived via the boot of Quinn, their opponents managed to end the contest in brighter spirits. O’Reilly rounded off an impressive team move on the hour with a cool finish to the net and Vickery also raised a green flag in stoppage-time.
Templeogue now move forward to a clash with Thomas Davis at Kiltipper Road on June 8 – when both teams will be searching for their opening win of the campaign. Na Fianna will look to expand on their recent run of good form when they entertain Naomh Maur on the same night.
Scorers – Na Fianna: Conor McHugh 1-5 (0-3f), Michael Deegan 0-4 (3f), Glenn O’Reilly, Odhran O Maoleidigh, Sean Caffrey 1-1 each, David Quinn 1-0, James Doran 0-2, David Lacey (f), Cormac O’Neill 0-1 each. Templeogue Synge Street: Ger Vickery 1-4 (0-4f), Danny O’Reilly 1-0, Lorcan O’Dell 0-2, Eoghan O’Gara, Luke O’Brien, Cillian Keogh 0-1 each.
NA FIANNA: Stephen Murray; Emile Mullen, Aengus Farrell, Eoin O’Dea; Darragh Kennedy, Niall Cooper, Eoin Murchan; John Lawless, Killian Deeley; Glenn O’Reilly, Michael Deegan, James Doran; Odhran O Maoleidigh, Conor McHugh, Sean Caffrey. Subs: David Lacey for Doran (38), David Quinn for O Maoleidigh (40), Senan Coughlan for O’Reilly (45), Thomas Connell for Deegan (50), Eoin Connolly for Kennedy (52).
TEMPLEOGUE SYNGE STREET: Tom Muldoon; Rob Power, Sean Brew, Alex O’Toole; Mikie Lyons, Mark Swaine, Kevin Hughes; Mark Hayes, Joe Varley; Jack Walsh, Lorcan O’Dell, Eoghan O’Gara; Killian O’Gara, Ger Vickery, Conor McKiernan. Subs: Luke O’Brien for K O’Gara (29), Ken Devine for Lyons, Danny O’Reilly for Varley (both half-time), Cillian Keogh for Walsh (38), Barra Dignam for Hughes (49), Sean McGrath for Brew (55).
Referee: Dan Stynes (St Peregrine’s).