Dublin Senior ‘A’ Hurling Championship Group B
By Darragh Twomey at Parnell Park
Crumlin eased past Ballinteer in their Senior ‘A’ Hurling Championship Group B clash at Parnell Park on Saturday evening (4th May).
Crumlin were without inter-county player Kevin Byrne who was due to start at centre-forward, however he was ruled out with an injury.
Ballinteer got off to a flying start as Aodhán Clabby found the net in the second minute after he cut in from the wing and buried the ball into the roof of the net.
Shane Martin replied with a point for Crumlin in the fifth minute, but Ballinteer struck back with three points in as many minutes courtesy of Fionan Clabby, Aodhán Clabby and James Ó Giollagáin.
A Wes O’Brien point for Crumlin was the only score in the next twelve minutes.
Adam McGreal brought the quiet spell to an end with two points, one from play and the other a free, while his opposite number Maher done the exact same at the other end.
In the twenty-second minute, Colm Hennebry scored a goal for Crumlin. A high ball in from O’Brien was caught on the end line by Shane Ryan, who hand-passed the ball across the goal for Hennebry to bury into the net.
An Aodhán Clabby point put Ballinteer one ahead, but their lead was short lived as three McGreal points put Crumlin 1-7 to 1-6 ahead at the break.
Crumlin started the second half with the same momentum they ended the first half with, as Hennebry slotted over a point.
Six minutes after the interval, Crumlin found the net again.
Ben Quinn got a hold of the ball, gave it a quick tap on the hurl and smashed it into the top corner past Louis O’Flaherty.
McGreal scored another point from a placed ball three minutes later, and he added another three minutes later. This brace and a Martin score gave Crumlin an eight point advantage midway through the half.
Ballinteer pulled a goal back in the forty-sixth minute, and it was an absolute screamer from Jack Ó Giollagáin on the twenty-one yard line.
However, that goal was cancelled out three minutes later when Conor Murphy made a magnificent run with the ball from centre-back before finishing neatly into the bottom-right corner of the net off his left-hand side.
Crumlin added three points through Ryan and O’Brien, who pointed twice, while Ballinteers James Ó Giollagáin managed two points for himself, one from a free.
An injury-time goal-line scramble at the Donnycarney Church end of the ground resulted in a Ciaran Lane goal for Ballinteer, but it was too little too late as they lost by 3-14 to 3-8.
Scorers:
Ballinteer St.Johns: Fionan Clabby (0-1), Jack Ó Giollagáin (1-0), James Ó Giollagáin (0-3, 0-1 F), Aodhán Clabby (1-2), Joe Maher (0-2 0-1 f), Ciaran Lane (1-0).
Crumlin: Conor Murphy (1-0), Wes O’Brien (0-3), Shane Martin (0-2), Shane Ryan (0-1), Ben Quinn (1-0), Colm Hennerby (1-1), Adam McGreal (0-7, 0-4 f).
Balinteer St.Johns: Louis O’Flaherty, Ronan Collins, Frank O’Donoghue, Mícheál Ó Meachair, Fionan Clabby, Keith Nolan, Jack Ó Giollagáin, Glen Whelan, Cian Dolan, James Ó Giollagáin, Ciarán Walsh, Feargal Chambers, Aodhán Clabby, Seanie Lane, Joe Maher. Subs: Colm Ó Muirgheasa (for Feargal Chambers 30 mins); Fergal Duffy (for Colm Ó Muirgheasa 48 mins); Ciaran Lane (for Ciaran Walsh 55 mins).
Crumlin: Lee Coleman, Colin Martin, John Cullen, David Meehan, David Murphy, Conor Murphy, Jamie Maher, Wes O’Brien, Paul O’Brien, Shane Martin, Alan Curtis, Shane Ryan, Ben Quinn, Colm Hennerby, Adam McGreal. Subs: Philip Daly (for Alan Curtis 30 mins); Paul Devlin (for David Murphy 30 mins).