Go Ahead Dublin Senior Two Hurling Championship Round-Up: October 8-9

Pic courtesy Niall O'Connell

Go Ahead Dublin Senior Two Hurling Championship Round-Up: October 8-9

By Daire Walsh

Faughs and Whitehall Colmcille will face each other in the Go Ahead Dublin Senior Two Hurling Championship decider following their respective semi-final wins over Castleknock and Ballinteer St John’s in Parnell Park at the weekend.

Far out in front of the top-tier competition with 31 titles - the last of those coming in 1999 - the Templeogue-based Faughs will be back in the hunt for Senior One glory in 2023 as a result of their flawless march to the Senior Two decider.

After topping Group Two with four consecutive victories, Faughs automatically progressed to the penultimate phase of this competition. Castleknock’s status as the second-placed team in Group One put them on a collision course with Ballyboden St Enda’s 'B' in a quarter-final just over a fortnight ago, but the Somerton Park outfit triumphed in that game on a scoreline of 1-18 to 1-15.

Faughs displayed no ill-effects from being idle since August 27, however, as Carl O’Mahony (free) and Liam Mostyn posted unanswered points during the early exchanges. Castleknock responded through a Cian Boyle free, before their southside opponents reinforced their authority with further scores from O’Mahony and Fergal Heavey.

Emmet McKenna and O’Mahony (with his third successful free) kept the scoreboard ticking over for Faughs, but Castleknock were starting to take shape in attack. Featuring Dublin senior footballer Ciaran Kilkenny in their ranks, ‘Knock reduced the deficit to the bare minimum with fine contributions by Conal Purcell and Boyle (two).

Nevertheless, Faughs were determined to leave their imprint on the game and found themselves six clear by the 29th minute. Squeezed in between points from O’Mahony and Eamon Hennessy, Ciaran Brennan rattled the net in superb fashion.

Although this was a set-back for Castleknock, they were offered renewed hope at the end of the opening period. Boyle was a leading light throughout for his side and he produced a 1-1 salvo to leave the 2015 intermediate champions just two behind (1-8 to 1-6) heading into the dressing rooms.

Buoyed by this powerful finish to the first half, ‘Knock subsequently levelled matters with points from Purcell and Eoin Sawyer on the restart. There were all of 12 minutes gone in the second period before Faughs finally added to their account - O’Mahony bagging his first point from play.

This proved to be the catalyst for an impressive purple patch that effectively placed Johnny Greville’s men into an unassailable position. Single scores from David Croke and James O’Brien supplemented a three-point salvo by the dependable O’Mahony to leave Faughs six points in front with seven minutes of normal time to play.

While a Boyle point at the opposite end (bringing his personal tally to 1-6) interrupted this scoring sequence, Faughs were determined to finish the game on a high. Centre half-back Conor O’Shea, Niall Fitzgibbon, Jake Moore and Jamie Maloney all added their names to the scoresheet as the Tymon Park side claimed a deserved 1-18 to 1-9 victory.

At the same venue on the previous day, Paddy Spellacy’s free deep into time added on finally earned Whitehall a 2-19 to 2-18 triumph over Ballinteer at the end of an absorbing last-four encounter.

This is a game that could have gone either way with the lead changing hands in dramatic fashion on numerous occasions. Although Ballinteer will feel the game was there for them, the early signs were extremely ominous for the southsiders in the Donnycarney venue.

With less than seven minutes on the clock, Whitehall had stormed into a 1-4 to 0-0 cushion in clinical style. Unbeaten in this year’s competition ahead of Saturday’s bout, Colmcilles got up and running with unanswered points from Spellacy and Enda O’Donnell.

The latter played alongside his brother Eoghan - who featured for the Dublin footballers and hurlers during the 2022 inter-county season - and his speculative strike crept into the net on four minutes to give his side a firm stranglehold on the proceedings. Luke McCarthy and Conor Sheedy added further scores, before wing-forward Barry Mannion finally got Ballinteer up and running with a white flag effort.

John’s midfielder Seamus Fenton and Enda O’Donnell went on to trade points, but with Spellacy finding the range in response to a Jack Gilligan single at the opposite end, Whitehall maintained their firm grip on the contest. Yet a brace of Fenton frees kept Ballinteer in the mix, in advance of Sheedy once again splitting the uprights for Whitehall.

Despite Tom Aherne and Fenton posting fine points in the latter stages of the opening period, Ballinteer were facing into a 1-9 to 0-8 interval deficit. This scoreline was altered dramatically on the restart, however, with John’s astonishingly finding themselves four points clear within seven minutes of the restart.

After Glenn Whelan had grabbed his first score of the tie, Aodhan Clabby displayed great composure in claiming an equalising goal on 33 minutes. The bustling Clabby knocked over an excellent point moments later, before Rob Aherne also shook the net during a powerful blitz.

This left Whitehall shell shocked, though they weren’t out of the reckoning just yet. Either side of an Iain O hEithir strike for Ballinteer, Sean Foran and Dublin senior footballer Cormac Costello showcased their unerring accuracy to bring the gap down to three.

A Spellacy free cut further into the Ballinteer buffer and while Clabby got the John’s faithful off their seats with an outstanding sideline cut, Whitehall were just one adrift by the 51st minute. Foran, Sheedy and Spellacy also added to their personal haul, albeit another Whelan special ensured Ballinteer remained in the ascendancy.

John’s netminder Joe Maher did likewise when saving a Spellacy penalty and with Fenton pointing a free just before this incident, Ballinteer were dreaming of a spot in the forthcoming final. Even though Spellacy and the increasingly-influential Costello got Whitehall back on level terms, Ballinteer immediately restored their two-point advantage with successive scores from Whelan.

However, the tide turned in favour of Colmcilles when Sean Gannon fired emphatically beyond the reach of Maher on the hour mark. There were no fewer than nine minutes of stoppage-time played due to several second half hold-ups and it was difficult for anybody in the ground to draw breath during this juncture.

Whelan’s fifth of the day helped Ballinteer to restore parity and Fenton did the same when Costello thought he had conjured the winning point. Extra-time was looming large, until Spellacy fired over a place-ball on 68 minutes.

Remarkably, there was one last opportunity for Ballinteer, but the Whitehall faithful breathed a sigh of relief when it tailed wide and their side were assured of a final place and promotion to next year’s Senior One Championship.