Na Fianna ease past St Vincents making it 4 wins from 4

NA FIANNA 3-23

ST VINCENT’S 0-13

Na Fianna completed their fourth successive victory in Group 1 of the PTSB Dublin Senior 1 Hurling Championship when overcoming 14-man St Vincent’s by nineteen points at Parnell Park on Friday night.

After a tight first-quarter, Na Fianna gradually took control and a superbly-converted penalty from Sean Currie in the 30th minute helped them build a healthy 1-11 to 0-7 lead by the turnaround.

The 33rd minute sending-off of Callum Walsh all but ended any hopes of a St Vincent’s comeback with Shane Barrett netting twice as Na Fianna cruised home by the final whistle.  

It was Vinnies that opened the scoring through Tom Connolly in the 1st minute with Na Fianna levelling matters two minutes later thanks to Peter Feeney.

The tone was set for an even opening quarter with James Mulcahy and Matteo Cardiff keeping the St Vincent’s scoreboard ticking over while Feeney and his midfield partner Will Wheatley replied in kind for the Glasnevin side.

With Conor Burke an influential presence behind his half-back line, Vins continued to show well with scores by Mulcahy and Brian Bolger (free) reflecting their competitive start to proceedings.

While far from their fluent best, their opponents began to enjoy a period of control as two points from placed balls by Donal Burke and a well-taken score from Sean Burke edged the group leaders two points clear.      

With Vinnies registering a number of deflating wides, they fell further behind as Burke (free) and Sean Currie tagged on scores while Bolger and Liam Rushe elevated the quality on show with sublime points for their respective sides.

The latter was instrumental in the 26th minute as his lengthy delivery was grasped by Donal Burke, who was fouled in the act of shooting with his subsequent injury necessitating his replacement by Liam Stacey.

Sean Currie assumed the responsibility for the resultant penalty and he made no mistake as he crashed home powerfully past the sprawling dive of Dara Perry in the St Vincent’s goal.

Trailing by double scores at the interval, St Vincent’s made an encouraging start to the second-half through points by Bolger (free) and substitute Brian Murray but any momentum those scores may have generated was punctured as Callum Walsh received a second booking for an ill-timed challenge on John Tierney.

That dismissal proved fatal for the Marino outfit as Currie converted two frees in quick succession and Shane Barrett effectively settled the issue with a rasping drive in the 40th minute that saw Perry diving in vain once again.

Conor Kelly, Eoghan McHugh and Wheatley piled on the pain with points by the end of the third quarter as the St Vincent’s defence came under incessant pressure the longer the contest evolved.

They defended admirably for the large part but were powerless to prevent Barrett from putting the finishing touches to a well-worked move in the 52nd minute for Na Fianna’s third goal.   

The contest meandered to its inevitable conclusion with Na Fianna facing Kilmacud Crokes in their final group match while St Vincent’s will encounter a pointless Naomh Barróg.      

Scorers – Na Fianna: S Barrett 2-4 (0-3f); S Currie 1-5 (1-0pen, 0-4f); D Burke (2f, 1 ’65), W Wheatley 0-3 each; P Feeney 0-2; J Tracey (f), S Burke, C Kelly, L Rushe, J Tierney, E McHugh 0-1 apiece. St Vincent’s: B Bolger 0-5 (4f); J Mulcahy, M Cardiff, B Murray 0-2 each; T Connolly, C Burke (f) 0-1 apiece.

Na Fianna: J Tracey; S Burke, C McHugh, C Kelly; K Burke, L Rushe, D Clerkin; W Wheatley, P Feeney; J Tierney, D Burke, E McHugh; AJ Murphy, S Barrett, S Currie. Subs: L Stacey for Murphy (Temp, 8-14), Stacey for D Burke (29), G Spollen for K Burke (half-time), D Ryan for Murphy (46), R Fenlon for Currie (50), C Stacey for Tierney (57).

St Vincent’s: D Perry; R Dunne, B Moorehouse-Carroll, L Sweeney; P Gilroy, M O’Farrell, S Mulcahy; M Sweeney, C Burke; C Walsh, B Bolger, M Cardiff; T Connolly, J Mulcahy, O Mulcahy. Subs: S Williams for Gilroy (half-time), B Murray for S Mulcahy (half-time), K Ward for O Mulcahy (47), R Murphy for Connolly (57).   

Referee: Thomas Gleeson (Naomh Fionnbarra).