ADULT FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION TWO ROUND-UP: MARCH 1
By Daire Walsh
Round Tower Clondalkin produced a strong second half performance at Silver Park on Sunday morning to get the better of Kilmacud Crokes ‘B’ in Division Two of the Adult Football League.
Courtesy of points from Joe Leech and Ian Ward, Towers hit the ground running in the Leopardstown venue. Despite playing against a strong breeze, the visiting team were dictating the early terms of engagement.
Following excellent approach work by Leech, Jason Murphy found the back of the Crokes net to hand Towers a five-point advantage. However, Crokes fired back with a powerful scoring blitz to restore parity to the contest.
A Cathal Carty free brought this particular sequence to a close, before Crokes rallied to establish a 0-7 to 1-3 interval advantage. In a frantic start to the second half, there was goalmouth action at both ends of the pitch.
Yet, it was Towers who ultimately displayed a clinical edge in this juncture as Leech registered his side’s second goal on 35 minutes. This acted as the catalyst for the Monastery Road outfit to assert their authority on the proceedings.
Ward (two) and Lee Moran added unanswered scores to leave Towers six points to the good moving into the final-quarter. As expected, Crokes maintained a potent threat on their home turf.
Yet, Derek Murray and Tommy Galvin singles provided Towers with breathing space. Ward was a reliable source of scores throughout and the former county star nailed a stoppage-time free to seal a 2-10 to 0-10 success.
Having dropped down to the second-tier at the end of last season, St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh will be hell-bent on securing a return to Division One in 2021. They certainly made a fine start to their campaign by registering a 1-14 to 0-9 victory against St Anne’s in Broombridge.
In the absence of current Dublin footballer Sean Bugler, seven-time Celtic Cross winner Bernard Brogan stepped up to the mark for Plunkett’s. He dovetailed effectively with Gareth ‘Nesty’ Smith, who represented Dublin at underage level before lining out for Cavan at the senior grade.
A win looked in doubt for Plunkett’s when they led by just two points at the break – after playing with the elements at their backs. The wind wasn’t as strong on the resumption, though, and the Martin Savage Park brigade emerged as worthy victors in the end.
Ballyboughal enjoyed a productive 2019 in Division Two and began their latest odyssey with a 1-15 to 2-9 triumph over Whitehall Colmcille at Collins Avenue, thanks in no small part to a number of long range scores from Gerry Seavers. An impressive second half performance from Cormac Costello not enough to save Whitehall from defeat.
It was a mixed opening to the new league season for Fingallians and Templeogue Synge Street, who clashed on the first weekend of last year’s Division One campaign.
Fingallians suffered a 1-9 to 0-10 reversal at the hands of St Sylvester’s at Broomfield, while Templeogue played out a 1-11 to 0-14 draw with Round Tower Lusk in Dolphin Park.
There was also a stalemate between Raheny and Naomh Barrog in Alfie Byrne Park on the exact same scoreline – the former club being the ones to raise the green flag.