ADULT HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION TWO ROUND-UP: AUGUST 24
ADULT HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION TWO ROUND-UP: AUGUST 24
By Daire Walsh
Champions Naomh Barrog completed their Adult Hurling League Division Two campaign in style at Pairc Ui Bhriain on Saturday evening, recording a comprehensive 4-23 to 1-12 success at the expense of Naomh Olaf.
Having already secured their promotion to the top-flight with a similarly-emphatic triumph over St Sylvester’s on home soil 13 days earlier, the Kilbarrack men knuckled down to make it an impressive seven wins on the bounce. Their last defeat in the league was back on May 18 against Thomas Davis, who they recently shared the spoils with in a Dublin Senior ‘B’ Hurling Championship group stage clash.
Throughout their victorious season in the second-tier, Barrog have had a number of star performers on each line of the field. Josh Rooney has proven to be a calm presence between the sticks, while Donnacha Butler and former Fingal hurler Niall Ring provide a strong spine in their formidable defence.
Billy Foley and Adam Rooney have also performed admirably, and they were once again to the forein Sandyford on Saturday. Ex-Sky Blues underage star Cillian Costello combined effectively with Paul Ryan, making it possible for the likes of Nathan Kidd and Dean Flood to prosper in attack.
When the half-time whistle was sounded in their final league encounter of 2019, the visitors held an unassailable 2-17 to 1-4 cushion. To the credit of Olaf’s, they persevered with their challenge on the resumption and contributed an additional eight points to their final haul.
Nevertheless, a supremely confident Naomh Barrog remained in fine form and sealed their ninth win of the term in clinical style. The northsiders can now look forward to 2020 – and a groundbreaking stint in Division One – with considerable optimism.
Following confirmation of their respective second and third place finishes on the weekend, Faughs and St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh will meet in a forthcoming promotion play-off to determine who will join them in the top-tier.
Reversals to Erin’s Isle, Barrog and St Sylvester’s had hampered Faughs’ quest for an automatic return to Division One in the latter half of the season, but they remained in the hunt with a convincing triumph over O’Toole’s at Tymon Park on August 11.
On Saturday night at Wellington Lane, the southsiders led local rivals Thomas Davis by just three points (0-14 to 0-11) at the midway mark in the contest. Their Tallaght counterparts remained in touch when the action resumed, trailing by a single point on 36 minutes.
However, Faughs turned on the style in the final-quarter to finish with seven points to spare – 0-25 to 0-18. In their showdown with Scoil Ui Chonaill on the Clontarf Road, Plunkett’s fell to a 1-16 to 1-12 defeat.
This means that Faughs will have home advantage for the aforementioned play-off and will hope to maintain their winning form of recent weeks. The sides previously met on the opening weekend of the term in February, when Faughs prevailed on a scoreline of 3-12 to 3-7.
Victory for Scoil Ui Chonaill on home soil helped them to retain their Division Two status for next year and Naomh Fionnbarra will also remain at the same level, courtesy of a 0-20 to 1-14 win against Erin’s Isle at ‘The Bogies’.
Joining Scoil and Finbarr’s on 10 points apiece in mid-table are O’Toole’s and Raheny, who faced each other at Blunden Drive. Raheny came out on top in this tussle, a 0-25 to 0-15 win making it a good day at the office for the St Anne’s Park outfit.
Meanwhile, St Sylvester’s enjoyed a 2-23 to 1-14 success over Setanta in a bottom-of-the-table fixture at Broomfield. The Malahide hosts dominated proceedings from very early on, never allowing their Ballymun opponents a chance to settle.
Thanks to Seanie Graham and Collie Byrne goals, they were 2-14 to 0-8 in front at the break. Setanta were much-improved just after the restart and initially cut into their deficit.
Yet with Graham maintaining his potency in attack, Sylvester’s remained on top until the final whistle.