Castleknock defeat St Oliver Plunkett E/R in PTSB Dublin Senior 1 Football Championship

PTSB DUBLIN SENIOR 1 FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GROUP 1

CASTLEKNOCK 2-15

ST OLIVER PLUNKETT’S/EOGHAN RUADH 1-9

By Daire Walsh

Substitute Eoin Sawyer struck a brace of second half goals at O’Toole Park on Sunday afternoon as Castleknock recorded a nine-point victory over St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh to make it a successful start to their Dublin Senior 1 Football Championship Group 1 campaign.

Recently-retired Dublin inter-county stalwart Ciarán Kilkenny enjoyed a strong impact in a deep-lying role and with their final tally of 2-15 being shared amongst eight different players, it was a satisfying performance all round from the Somerton Park outfit.

A goal from Jack O’Shea had moved Plunkett’s to within five points of their opponents on 42 minutes, but despite having some strong moments over the course of the action, the Martin Savage Park side ultimately couldn’t rein in the Castleknock challenge.

An All-Ireland U21 football championship winner with his county back in 2016, Mayo’s Shairoze Akram has joined forces with Castleknock for the 2026 club season. He broke the deadlock inside the opening 60 seconds of this contest by kicking over via a fast-paced attack, though this was quickly cancelled out at the far end by Plunkett’s forward Conor Tyrrell.

Castleknock were looking to dictate the flow of the game, however, and created some daylight when full-forward Ger McDermottroe converted a two-point free in the fifth minute. Yet while they were on top of possession for the vast majority of the opening quarter, Plunkett’s made life difficult for their rivals and forced a number of turnovers inside their own half.

Nevertheless, Castleknock continued their pursuit for additional scores and were rewarded when midfielder Kevin Stephenson found the range following a run down the left-flank. Although 11 minutes passed before Castleknock troubled the scoreboard again, Plunkett’s weren’t able to do so themselves facing into a stiff breeze.

After knocking over a free from close-range, Castleknock inside forward Lenny Cahill immediately supplemented this effort by kicking an excellent point from play. Plunkett’s displayed plenty of endeavour during the first half and a sweetly struck two-point free by netminder Cillian Campion helped to bring the gap down to three with the interval approaching.

Nevertheless, there was enough time left on the clock for Castleknock to enhance their position and consecutive two-pointers by Rob Shaw and McDermottroe ensured they brought a 0-10 to 0-3 buffer into the second half.

This left Castleknock in a powerful position on the resumption and it looked even brighter for the 2016 county finalists when Cahill and Akram increased their personal hauls. Plunkett’s needed a score just to give themselves a fighting chance of success and the evergreen Gareth ‘Nesty’ Smith was on hand to provide it as he struck a superb two-pointer on the turn off his left foot.

Smith’s fellow attacker Darragh Bugler has a shot smothered by Castleknock custodian John Vahey off a subsequent move and despite Senan Forker joining his midfield partner Stephenson on the scoresheet at the opposite end, O’Shea’s clinical green flag finish provided Plunkett’s with a major tonic heading towards the final-quarter.

However, Castleknock were eager to reinforce their authority and did just that when Sawyer palmed to the net off an intricate attack in the 46th minute. This had them within reach of an opening round triumph and with the aforementioned Kilkenny’s influence becoming more pronounced as the play progressed, they were very much in control of their own destiny.

Plunkett’s eventually added to their total when Ben McSweeney had a goal-bound strike tipped over the crossbar and he was quickly joined in raising a white flag by fellow substitute Craig Dunleavy.

Tyrrell also registered a two-pointer in response to a single contribution from Conor Chawke, but it was Castleknock who ended the game on a high. After Stephenson had doubled his account with a point, Sawyer got on the end of a lung-bursting Shaw run to claim his second goal of the day and put the seal on an emphatic win for his side.

Scorers – Castleknock: E Sawyer 2-0, G McDermottroe 0-4 (1 F2, 1 P2), L Cahill 0-3 (2f), R Shaw 0-2 (P2), S Akram, K Stephenson 0-2 each, S Forker, C Chawke 0-1 each.St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh: J O’Shea 1-0, C Tyrrell 0-3 (1 P2), C Campion 0-2 (F2), G Smith 0-2 (P2), C Dunleavy, B McSweeney 0-1 each.

Castleknock: J Vahey; A Hughes, T Quinn, R O’Shea; R Shaw, C Kilkenny, S Akram; S Forker, K Stephenson; N Millmore, S Boland, D Clarke; L Cahill, G McDermottroe, C Chawke. Subs: E Sawyer for Millmore (41), B Galvin for Boland (49).

St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh: C Campion; L Keating, J O’Donoghue, R Ovenden; J Rouse, C Maguire, S Bugler; S O’Connor, J O’Shea; I Popa, G Smith, C Tyrrell; L Hughes, D Bugler, T Cullen. Subs: N Clerkin for Rouse (29-30, blood), B McSweeney for Hughes (35), C Hayes for D Bugler (42), C Dunleavy for O’Connor (53), T Adamson for Smith (56).

 Referee: Craig McKeown (St Anne’s).