Garda Westmanstown Gaels claim Go-Ahead Ireland Dublin Junior 2 Football title with win over Erin Go Bragh

GARDA WESTMANSTOWN GAELS 0-17

ERIN GO BRAGH 1-9

Garda Westmanstown Gaels produced an exceptional team display as they overcame Erin Go Bragh by five points in their Go-Ahead Ireland Dublin Junior 2 Club Football Championship decider in Westmanstown on Sunday afternoon.

The hosts were full value for their victory as they controlled possession for the large part and they entered the break with a deserved 0-8 to 0-5 lead.

It proved a disappointing afternoon for the visitors and while they raised hopes of a comeback after the turnaround through a goal from Cathal Burke, they were unable to place further pressure in the final quarter to reel in their opponents.

Garda Westmanstown Gaels opened up brightly with points from Dara McNicholl and Luke Curran reflecting their early pressure and they continued on the front foot as Thomas Quigley supplied a wealth of possession from midfield.

The Clonee/Ongar outfit kept in contention however through the scoring returns of Sean Bowe and Conor McLeod and their three-point deficit at half-time ensured they remained in the hunt upon the restart.

However, the form that had seen them register knockout wins against both Portobello and St Kevin’s-Killian’s eluded them on the biggest stage despite Bowe finishing the contest with five points from full-forward.

In contrast, Gaels continued to impress through the efforts of Cian Daly, Luke Fagan and Matthew Heskin with the latter chipping in with two vital points over the hour.

At the opposite end of the field, Naoise Barry and Callum Bradley kept a tight rein on the Erin Go Bragh attack with the latter excelling throughout in what was a hugely influential display by the wing-back.

Curran’s four points from play highlighted his sharpness at corner-forward and the icing on the Garda cake was provided by McNichol, who converted a superb two-pointed free in the final minute to secure his side’s worthy success.     

Scorers – Garda Westmanstown Gaels: D McNicholl 0-8 (4f, 1 F2); L Curran 0-6 (2f); M Heskin 0-2; T Quigley 0-1. Erin Go Bragh: S Bowe 0-5; C Burke 1-0; C McLeod 0-3; J Lyons 0-1. 

Garda Westmanstown Gaels: T Daly; C Murray, D Moran, C Murray; C McNicholl, N Barry, C Bradley; T Quigley, S Wallace; L Fagan, C Daly, D McNicholl; L Curran, M Heskin, G Reddy. Subs: NONE.

Erin Go Bragh: T Bowe; R Nolan, L Howard, L Crowe; C McLeod, C O’Grady, P Agnew; S Walsh, J Daly; J Crowe, B Nolan, J Lyons; A Walsh, S Bowe, C Burke. Subs: J Reilly for Crowe (40), B Canny for B Nolan (40), B Padden for Burke (45), G Campion for Lyons (50).   

Referee: Chris McGinn (Clontarf).