Cuala Claim Emphatic Win Over Faughs To Continue 100% Start

CUALA 3-25

FAUGHS 0-10

Cuala continue to lead the way in Group 2 of the PTSB Dublin Senior 1 Hurling Championship following their emphatic twenty-four point victory over Faughs at Parnell Park on Saturday afternoon.  

The contest was effectively over by half-time as the Dalkey outfit led by 2-14 to 0-3 with goals from Conall O’Toole and Colm Cronin reflecting their dominance all over the field.

The procession towards the Faughs goal continued unabated in the second-half and the issue was settled long before substitute Cormac Spain added a third goal ten minutes from time.   

It was Cuala that served early notice of their intent with midfielder Donal O’Shea pointing inside the 1st minute and they doubled that lead through his centrefield partner Conor Groarke two minutes later.

A goal could have arrived in the 4th minute but Eoghan McNamara raced bravely from his line to block Cronin’s goal bound effort.

With Faughs guilty of some speculative shots from distance, Cuala proved far more clinical as Stephen Roche and Groarke added to their tally as the contest evolved.

The Tymon Park side eventually opened their account through Liam Mostyn in the 10th minute but they suffered a body blow soon after as Diarmuid Ó Floinn’s strong run down the middle allowed O’Toole the chance to crash high past the helpless McNamara.

Kevin Kirwan and O’Shea (free) maintained the pressure on Faughs, who were offered a degree of hope through a well-taken point by Chris Bennett at the start of the second quarter.

Sadly, that proved far too isolated a moment of positivity as Groarke, excelling around the middle third, clipped over his third point and even when his point attempt dropped short in the 23rd minute, Cronin was on hand to delicately flick the ball home from close range.  

The likes of Kirwan, Jamie Conroy, O’Shea and Conall O’Toole heaped further misery on Faughs towards the end of the half with seventeen points separating the teams by the turnaround.

A wonderfully timed challenge from Aodhán English to deny the marauding Mostyn ended up in Groarke adding to his personal tally within three minutes of the restart while O’Shea’s free maintained the one-way traffic towards the Faughs goal.

Groarke and Sean Moran oozed class throughout and tagged on deserved points in the third quarter with Ó Floinn also rewarded for his efforts with a cracking point in the 41st minute.

After Moran had added another sublime score from deep, Cuala added a third goal in the 49th minute as Conroy and Cronin combined to release Groarke and while McNamara repelled the low shot, Spain raced in to flick the rebound into the empty net.

James O’Brien managed four points while Cormac Dowd added another score for Faughs but they were never more than consolation efforts, if that, and even when Mostyn raced through on goal late on, Seán Brennan produced a wonderful flick to dispossess the attacker.  

Conroy and O’Toole tagged on points late on to reaffirm their team’s dominance as they completed their fourth win on the bounce, confirming their development as genuine title contenders in the process.            

Scorers – Cuala: D O’Shea 0-7 (5f); C Groarke 0-6; C O’Toole 1-2; K Kirwan 0-4; C Cronin, C Spain 1-0 each; J Conroy, S Moran 0-2 each; D Ó Floinn, S Roche 0-1 apiece. Faughs: J O’Brien 0-4 (2f, 1 ’65); C Dowd (1f), L Mostyn 0-2 each; C Bennett, O Walsh 0-1 apiece.

Cuala: S Brennan; C O’Callaghan, E O’Callaghan, S Roche; D Ó Floinn, S Moran, A English; C Graorke, D O’Shea; J Conroy, K Kirwan, G O’Toole; C O’Toole, C Cronin, C Sheanon. Subs: J Twomey for C O’Callaghan (24), C Spain for Kirwan (41), A Sheeran for Roche (47), P Egan for O’Shea (51), D Ryan for Moran (51).    

Faughs: E McNamara; J Kenny, S McDonald, C Leahy; A Mostyn, C Nagle, C Byrne; C O’Mahony, C Dowd; N Fitzgibbon, L Mostyn, B Murray; C Brennan, J O’Brien, C Bennett. Subs: O Walsh for Fitzgibbon (half-time), C Kenny for O’Mahony (39), F Heavey for Bennett (44), C McCabe for Leahy (52) , E Brennan for Murray (52).       

Referee: Rory Hanley (St Brigid’s).