:format(auto))
LUCAN SARSFIELDS 1-24
CRAOBH CHIARÁIN 0-16
Lucan Sarsfields pulled away in the second-half on their way to an ultimately comfortable eleven-point win against Craobh Chiaráin in Group 1 of the Go-Ahead Ireland Dublin Senior 1 Hurling Championship at Parnell Park on Saturday afternoon.
In what was a slow-burner of a first-half, it was Lucan that entered the break leading by 0-11 to 0-10 with Cian Derwin keeping Craobh in the hunt when landing six points in that opening period.
However, a lively start to the second-half from Lucan resulted in Paul Crummey’s 36th minute goal while Ben Coffey took his personal tally to ten points by the final whistle.
There was little to separate the teams initially as Lucan’s Ben Coffey and Craobh’s Cian Derwin exchanged early points before Paul Crummey edged Lucan back in front in the 3rdminute.
The locals replied through scores from James Finn and Derwin (‘65’) but their narrow lead was short-lived as Sarsfields began to get on top thanks to successive points from Liam Garrigan, Sean Harkness and Paul Crummey.
A smart Billy Ryan score allowed Craobh to resettle and despite losing Finn through injury by the end of the first quarter, points from Derwin (free) and a cracking Gary Kelly effort saw them restore parity by the 18th minute.
Lucan’s shooting deserted them on occasion, admittedly playing into the breeze, but a Coffey brace and Flannery’s second score of the half edged them two points clear approaching the break.
Further scores by Sean McClelland (free) and Garrigan doubled that advantage as we entered a prolonged period of injury-time but Chiaráin’s finished the half impressively with two Derwin frees and an Aaron Cooling score reducing their deficit to the bare minimum by the interval.
Lucan wasted little time in restoring their four-point buffer with Coffey’s two frees augmented by a Charlie Keher point, all inside in the opening three minutes of the second-half.
Their lead was enhanced further by the 36th minute as fine approach play from Garrigan and Coffey allowed Paul Crummey the time to sidestep Lee Allen and fire home into the empty net.
That they didn’t pull further away was down to the excellence of Derwin, who clipped over three points by way of riposte but Lucan were able to keep them at arm’s length as the contest evolved through scores from Garrigan, Paul Crummey, Coffey and Chris Crummey.
As a result, the competitive nature of the contest petered out in the closing stages as Lucan piled on the scores with the lively Coffey landing a hat-trick of points late on.
Scorers – Lucan Sarsfields: B Coffey 0-10 (6f); P Crummey 1-3; L Garrigan 0-3, C Keher, D Flannery 0-2 each; S McClelland (f), C Walsh, C Crummey, S Harkness 0-1 apiece. Craobh Chiaráin: C Derwin 0-11 (7f, 2 ’65); G Kelly, J Finn, B Ryan, A Cooling, S Brennan 0-1 apiece.
Lucan Sarsfields: S McClelland; C Kennedy, J Bellew, M McCaffrey; R Smith, C Walsh, R Ward; C Crummey, L Garrigan; C Keher, D Flannery, K Fitzgerald; B Coffey, S Harkness, P Crummey. Subs: D Lyons for Harkness (Temp, 21-23), Lyons for Fitzgerald (48), K Costello for Ward (51), C Dowling for P Crummey (56),
Craobh Chiaráin: L Allen; M Hayes, E Forbes, E Farrell; A Doherty, K Hetherton, G Warren; G Kelly, S O’Brien; S Brennan, J Finn, R Burnett; C Derwin D Kelly, B Ryan. Subs: A Cooling for Finn (16), C Sammon for O’Brien (41), S McCormack for D Kelly (52),
Referee: Jason Buckley (Setanta).