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LUCAN SARSFIELDS 0-25
RAHENY 2-11
Lucan Sarsfields secured their spot in the quarter-finals of the Go-Ahead Ireland Dublin Senior 1 Football Championship as they got the better of a lacklustre Raheny by eight points in their Group 3 encounter at Parnell Park on Saturday afternoon.
Lucan entered the break leading by 0-13 to 0-8 with ten of those scores arriving in the final eleven minutes of the half as they enjoyed a marked supremacy around the middle third.
A Conor Baldwin goal in the opening minute of the second-half threatened to derail Lucan briefly but they finished the game in an impressive manner with Mark Lavin taking his personal tally to eleven points by the final whistle.
It didn’t take long for Sean MacMahon to make an impact as the Dublin defender burst through the middle before kicking the opening score within twenty seconds.
While Lavin replied in an instant for Sarsfields, Raheny were initially making better use of the possession that came their way as they regained the lead through Colin Hehir in the 3rd minute.
A two-pointed free from Rob Hennelly stretched that advantage four minutes later as neither side managed to establish any kind of dominance in a scrappy opening quarter.
Raheny maintained their precarious grip on the lead through scores from Jack Fagan and Conor Baldwin but their opponents began to control matters as they punched repeated holes in the Raheny defence.
An excellent Conor Gallagher point in the 20th minute was the catalyst for a scintillating period of play as they kicked ten points on the bounce to take command of matters.
Jordan Delmar, Cormac Coffey, Matthew Guilfoyle, Lavin and Daire Newcombe all troubled the umpires as Lucan seized ferociously on Hennelly’s restarts.
Their opponents looked bereft of ideas and inspiration at this stage but the latter arrived with the last kick of the half as Brian Howard’s sumptuous two-pointer limited Raheny’s damage to five points by the interval.
Raheny could not have hoped for a more positive start to the second-half with MacMahon once again leading the way as he burst through before releasing Baldwin for a composed finish inside the near post of Alec Birnie.
However, it failed to act as a springboard to greater things as Lucan continued to defend well and a brace of Lavin scores at the opposite end were just reward for their more measured play.
Lavin added two further frees from Raheny indiscretions by the end of the third quarter and his two-pointed free in the 52nd minute enhanced their buffer to nine points.
Raheny were handed a lifeline through a goal from a free by Sean Grenham two minutes later and his two-pointed score soon after added momentum to their comeback ambitions.
However, those pretensions were snuffed out far to readily as Darren Gavin, Rian Doherty and Newcombe added insurance scores to complete a resounding victory for the 12th Lock outfit.
Scorers – Lucan Sarsfields: M Lavin 0-11 (1 F2, 5f); R Doherty 0-3 (1 P2); D Newcombe, M Guilfoyle, J Delmar, C Gallagher 0-2 each; C Coffey, D Gavin, A Murphy 0-1 apiece. Raheny: S Grenham 1-2 (1-0f, 1 P2); C Baldwin 1-1; R Hennelly (F2), B Howard (P2) 0-2 each; C Hehir, J Fagan, D Lunney (f), S MacMahon 0-1 apiece.
Lucan Sarsfields: A Birnie; E Kilduff, D Cahill, F Bruton; D Kane, D Newcombe, J Smith; C Coffey, D Gavin; A Murphy, S Cleary, M Guilfoyle; J Delmar, M Lavin, C Gallagher. Subs: H Keogh for Guilfoyle (half-time), C Behan for Coffey (41), R Doherty for Delmar (44), B Gallagher for C Gallagher (45), C Gavin for Murphy (54).
Raheny: R Hennelly; B McHugh, C Harnett, A Kinsella; D Byrne, S MacMahon, C Hehir; J Fagan, B Howard; T Hurley, A McAweeney, C Baldwin; S Grenham, D Lunney, C McAweeney. Subs: A McLoughlin for Hurley (half-time), J Kearns for Kinsella (half-time), P Reid for A McAweeney (39), B Dunne for Harnett (42), C Ivers for C McAweeney (49).
Referee: Darren Delaney (Wanderers).