Judes beat Lucan in PTSB Championship opener

ST JUDE’S 1-19

LUCAN SARSFIELDS 1-11

Image courtesy Michael Moran.

St Jude’s kick-started their Dublin Senior 1 Football Championship Group 4 campaign for 2026 in impressive fashion at O’Toole Park on Saturday evening as they overcame the challenge of Lucan Sarsfields with eight points to spare.

With 10 different players getting their names on the scoresheet over the course of the action, it was an accomplished team display that helped the Wellington Lane-based outfit to get over the line. The long-range shooting of Mark Lavin was a feature of Lucan’s game in the southside venue, but despite Jack Carey also registering a haul of 1-2, the 12th Lock men ultimately came up short in their opening game of this year’s championship.

It was Jude’s who got the ball rolling in this contest with netminder Brendan Flynn stepping forward to steer a third minute ‘45’ over the black spot. Inside forward Hugh O’Neill also raised a white flag during the early exchanges and courtesy of wing-back Eoghan Costello knocking over the maiden two-pointer of the tie, Jude’s were firmly in the ascendancy.

Yet Flynn was forced into making a save from the adventurous Daire Newcombe and even though Alan Connolly split the posts in superb style at the opposite end, the Jude’s custodian had to turn over a goal-bound Carey shot in the 11th minute.

This provided Lucan with their opening score of the game, but they found themselves facing into a five-point deficit once again when O’Neill profited from the hard work of Oisin Costello to kick his second score on the first-quarter mark.

However, 12 minutes passed before Jude’s added their next score of the tie and during this barren spell, Lucan came storming back into the reckoning. Supplementing a Rian Doherty point, Cian Gavin curled over off his left boot to finally offer Sarsfields some form of momentum.

It got even better for Lucan on 27 minutes as the industrious Carey cut in from the left-hand side and proceeded to poke the ball beyond the reach of Flynn for a goal.

This helped to wipe out the Jude’s lead, but the three-time senior finalists ended the opening period with a flourish. Following unanswered scores from Liam Toye, Michael Lawlor and the experienced Tom Lahiff, the Tymon Park crew brought a 0-9 to 1-3 buffer into the dressing rooms.

As a result of this strong end to the first half, Jude’s were in a confident mood on the resumption. Within seven minutes of the restart, Toye, Lawlor (free) and O’Neill had also added to their personal tallies and doubled their side’s cushion in the process.

Lucan eventually opened their account for the second half when Lavin registered an outstanding two-pointer, but Jude’s had their tails up and created further daylight between themselves and their opponents.

After Kamen Bagnall kicked a well-worked point, Jude’s were in for their only goal of the game on 39 minutes. Full-forward Alan Connolly had a low effort partially saved and while it may have been trickling towards the net, it looked like Eoghan Costello was on hand to supply the finishing touches just shy of the line.

Regardless of who this major was credited to, it put Jude’s in a powerful position – which was enhanced after Toye and Lawlor added points in the 41st and 43rd minutes respectively.

This left Lucan with an uphill battle moving towards the final-quarter, though another majestic Lavin two-pointer and a Carey single did breathe some life into their challenge. Michael O’Brien did make a difference upon his introduction to the field of play, but Jude’s maintained their potent attacking threat at the far end of the pitch.

A brace of Lahiff points helped them to keep the scoreboard ticking over as did a score from hard-working midfielder Kieran Doherty. Lucan did create some goal-scoring opportunities in the closing stages and Matthew Guilfoyle kicked a fine effort on the run that preceded a third two-pointer from the dangerous Lavin.

St Jude’s always kept Lucan at arm’s length, however, and a David Sheehy point deep into second half stoppage-time put the seal on a hard-earned win. 

Scorers – St Jude’s: E Costello 1-2 (1 P2), M Lawlor 0-3 (2f), T Lahiff, L Toye, H O’Neill 0-3 each, B Flynn 0-1 (‘45’), K Doherty, K Bagnall, A Connolly, D Sheehy 0-1 each. Lucan Sarsfields: M Lavin 0-6 (3 P2), J Carey 1-2, C Gavin, M Guilfoyle, R Doherty 0-1 each.

St Jude’s: B Flynn; S Kirwan, A Hassett, P Keighran; E Costello, S King, T Lahiff; L Toye, K Doherty; D Kavanagh, K Bagnall, O Costello; H O’Neill, A Connolly, M Lawlor. Subs: S Murphy for Kavanagh, K Lahiff for E Costello (both 46), B Shouldice for Bagnall (49), D Sheehy for Lawlor (59), T Tisdall for (62).

Lucan Sarsfields: M Griffen; S Curran, D Cahill, E Seery; D Newcombe, C Behan, M Coogan; D Gavin, C Coffey; C Gavin, J Carey, M Guilfoyle; B O’Sullivan, M Lavin, R Doherty. Subs: A Murphy for O’Sullivan (40), M O’Brien for C Gavin (41), A Rock for Guilfoyle (53), E Kilduff for Seery (55), D Coakley for Coffey (59).

Referee: Seamus Farrelly (Ballinteer St John’s).