Craobh Chiaráin and St Judes will contest this year’s Go Ahead Dublin Senior 2 Hurling Championship decider following their semi-final wins in O’Toole Park on Saturday afternoon.
First up in Kimmage was the encounter between Craobh and Ballyboden with the Donnycarney outfit dominating from the first whistle, despite the absence through injury of key attacker Billy Ryan, as they prevailed by 0-20 to 0-9.
A tight affair was anticipated in advance but Chiaráin’s raced out of the blocks with three Cian Derwin points leaving them five clear before a Fergal Ryan free opened the St Enda’s account at the end of the first quarter.
Derwin added another brace as the half evolved and while James Roche and the impressive Cillian Kirwan offered brief hope for Ballyboden, their opponents completed the scoring for the half as they entered the break with a healthy 0-10 to 0-3 advantage.
The contest resumed in a similar pattern of Craobh control with points by Derwin, James Finn and Stephen O’Brien extending their lead to nine points by the 43rd minute.
It was at this point that Ballyboden played their most decisive hurling as they scored four points on the bounce through Ryan, Leon Kennedy (2) and Kirwan to leave just five between the teams with ten minutes remaining.
Chiaráin’s seized complete control for this period however, putting the contest to bed with five unanswered scores with the brilliant Derwin taking his personal tally to 0-11, seven from open play, by the final whistle.
At the opposite end of the field, Eoin Forbes was hugely impressive at full-back with Matthew Forbes shining at half-back while Conor Ryan was his typically busy and influential self at midfield for Craobh.
Boden failed to show their true colours over the hour, despite three points from by Kirwan and fine displays from Keith McCarron, David O’Connor, Kennedy, Daniel Glynn and goalkeeper Sean O’Donnell.
The second semi-final was a far tighter affair with St Jude’s requiring extra-time before eventually accounting for Naomh Barróg by 1-24 to 0-24.
Conor Nolan, after great work from David O’Callaghan, gave the Templeogue side a dream start when netting from Judes’ opening attack but Barróg were back on level terms by the end of the first quarter thanks to points by Joe Flanagan, Cillian Costello and Ciaran Gallagher.
Joe McManus added a quickfire brace to restore the St Jude’s lead as the half progressed, leaving his side with a marginal 1-9 to 0-11 interval lead.
McManus and Flanagan continued to impress from placed balls as the contest resumed in a similarly tight manner with the Kilbarrack side enjoying a tight advantage by the end of the third quarter thanks to Sean Doyle’s point.
St Jude’s replied through McManus and the excellent Danny Sutcliffe and while the latter edged his side a point clear deep into added time, Flanagan was on hand to ensure extra-time on a score of 1-17 to 0-20.
Points from Costello and Paddy Doyle kept Barróg in the hunt in extra-time but Sutcliffe’s influence became even more pronounced the longer the game evolved.
Fittingly, the Dublin attacker landed the final score of the game, taking his personal tally to 0-8 in the process, with goalkeeper Ross O’Reilly another player to feature heavily for the winners.
Raheny confirmed their place in next year’s Go Ahead Dublin Senior 2 Hurling Championship as they overcame Erin’s Isle by 3-16 to 0-21 in their SHC3 semi-final at Farnham Drive on Saturday afternoon.
The ability of the visitors to find the net proved the difference between the well-matched sides with Liam Dunne playing a starring role for Raheny as he finished the contest with a personal and match-winning contribution of 3-12.
The hosts didn’t help themselves throughout in terms of their shooting as a Dunne brace saw Raheny enter the break with a crucial 2-7 to 0-8 interval advantage.
Isles kept in the hunt with Eoin Carney delivering an exceptional performance while Ollie Gaffney and Graham King kept their scoreboard ticking over with six points apiece.
The likes of Darren Hanlon, Gaffney and Darren Kelly (0-2) ensured that Erin’s Isle kept Raheny on their toes with Conor Donohoe (0-3) and Tadhg Gorman (0-2) also adding to the home tally.
However, a third Dunne goal along with points from dual players Sean Grenham, Ben McHugh and Adam McAweeney alongside Mark Murphy saw Raheny hold on with goalkeeper Ryan Coyne and defender Charlie McHugh making vital interventions for the winners
The other semi-final went right down to the wire as Naomh Mearnóg finished on the front foot in edging Na Fianna by 1-16 to 1-14 at Páirc Mearnóg.
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