Cuala edge out Lucan Sarsfields in second round of the PTSB Dublin SHC 1

CUALA 2-19

LUCAN SARSFIELDS 0-23

Seán Brennan proved Cuala’s hero as he produced three superb late saves as Cuala edged Lucan Sarsfields by two points in their thrilling PTSB Dublin Senior Hurling Championship Group 2 Round 2 clash at Parnell Park on Saturday afternoon.

The teams enjoyed contrasting wins last weekend with Cuala easing past St Jude’s while Lucan pipped Ballyboden St Enda’s but Sarsfields luck ran out on this occasion despite some concerted late pressure on the Cuala goal.

The sides were deadlocked at 2-7 to 0-13 by the turnaround with goals in the first-quarter from Liam Murphy and Conall O’Toole handing Cuala the early edge, especially as they played into the breeze.  

Matters remained similarly tight upon the resumption but Cuala’s defensive solidity saw them deservedly hold on in a contest that reflected well on both team’s chances this year.

Despite opening the scoring through a fine Jack Behan point within forty seconds, Lucan were clawed back in an instant as Donal O’Shea fired over a superb levelling score.

From the resultant puck-out, Lucan turned the ball over allowing Cillian Sheanon to release Murphy, who rounded Sean McClelland before firing home from ten yards.

Sarsfields replied to this setback through points from Charlie Keher and Matt Coogan but Cuala were equally bright up front as they replied courtesy of Jamie Conroy and Sheanon.

A brace of Ben Coffey frees saw Lucan trim their deficit briefly but they suffered another body blow when Cuala embarked on a superb team move in the 13th minute that featured seven players as Colm Cronin eventually found Conall O’Toole, who shot emphatically to the net.

A brace of Killian Costello points helped Lucan limit the damage somewhat but their opponents continued to hold the upper hand with Sheanon and George O’Toole both on target.   

Another brace, this time by Keher, saw Cuala’s lead dwindle towards the end of the half and parity restored by half-time as Behan landed his second score in injury time.

The other members of the Lucan half-back line joined in on the act early in the second-half with both Matt McCaffrey and Chris Crummey pointing within two minutes of the restart.

The momentum swung back in Cuala’s favour as frees from Murphy and O’Shea preceded a cracking Conroy point as the Dalkey side edged back in front in the 38th minute.  

Sheanon and O’Shea added to that narrow buffer but Paul Crummey sprung into life with two quickfire scores to leave the contest delicately poised by the end of the third quarter.  

Kevin Kirwan made an instant impact when introduced with his point restoring Cuala’s three-point margin but two Coffey frees left the bare minimum between the sides with ten minutes remaining.

A brilliant reflex save by Sean Brennan, parrying Ciaran Dowling’s powerful shot to safety, looked pivotal at the time, especially as points by Conor Groarke and Diarmuid Ó Floinn added some much-needed breathing room for Cuala.

Brennan eclipsed his previous intervention by thwarting Dowling once again with a sprawling dive to his right with Conroy and O’Shea firing over critical late scores for the winners.       

Scorers – Cuala: L Murphy 1-3 (0-1f); D O’Shea 0-6 (4f); C O’Toole 1-0; J Conroy, C Sheanon 0-3 each; C Groarke, D Ó Floinn, G O’Toole, K Kirwan 0-1 apiece. Lucan Sarsfields: B Coffey 0-7 (6f, 1 ’65); C Keher, K Costello, P Crummey 0-3 each; J Behan 0-2; S McClelland (f), C Crummey, M McCaffrey, M Coogan, C Dowling 0-1 apiece.

Cuala: S Brennan; C O’Callaghan, E O’Callaghan, C Groarke; D Ó Floinn, S Moran, J Malone; D O’Shea, J Twomey; J Conroy, C Sheanon, G O’Toole; L Murphy, C Cronin, C O’Toole. Subs: S Roche for Twomey (36), K Kirwan for Sheanon (48), A English for Ó Floinn (58).

Lucan Sarsfields: S McClelland; M Pappalardo, P Rigney, R Smith; J Behan, C Crummey, M McCaffrey; C Kennedy, K Costello; C Keher, B Coffey, S Harkness; P Crummey, M Coogan, D Meehan. Subs: L Mooney for Smith (37), C Dowling for Meehan (44), S Coffey for McCaffrey (48), D Flannery for Coogan (51).    

Referee: Colm McCarthy (St Vincent’s).