Olafs Pip Judes By 2 In AFL1: Match Report

ADULT FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION ONE

NAOMH OLAF 2-14

ST JUDE’S 2-12

By Daire Walsh

Tom Keane and substitute Darragh Byrne kicked late points at Pairc Ui Bhriain on Saturday evening to give Naomh Olaf a narrow victory over southside rivals St Jude’s in Division One of the Adult Football League.

After previously building up a four-point lead, Olaf’s found themselves on level terms 10 minutes from the end of the contest. All the momentum appeared to be with Jude’s at this point, before Keane and Byrne intervened to secure the spoils for the home team.

Keane’s impressive haul of 2-3 proved crucial on the night for Olaf’s, but he was ably-assisted by powerful midfielder Darren O’Neill. Declan Donnelly and Padraig Clarke were the danger men in attack for Jude’s, who were minus the services of county star Kevin McManamon.

Though Olaf’s fielded without their own Sky Blues representative, David Byrne, they ultimately dug deep to register their second win in this year’s league. On a bright summer night in Sandyford, Jude’s inside forward Donnelly got the ball rolling with a pointed free in the opening minute.

He later turned provider for an outstanding Clarke effort from play, as the Templeogue men looked to issue a statement of intent. With Olaf’s attacker Mark Doyle playing a roving role, former Laois footballer Billy Sheehan assumed a free role inside the Jude’s defence at times.

Yet, as the first-quarter progressed, Olaf’s were beginning to find pockets of space inside the opposition half. Following back-to-back efforts courtesy of Ryan Cafferkey and Glenn Soraghan, Keane edged them in front.

O’Neill subsequently linked up with midfield partner Conor Haskins for an excellent point - the first of four he accumulated over the course of the hour. Jude’s half-forward Barry Fitzgerald dissected the posts at the opposite end to reduce their deficit and the maiden goal of the tie then arrived in the ninth-minute.

When a throw ball on the Olaf’s ’21’ broke into his path, Donnelly coolly fired into the bottom right-hand corner of the net. Their opponents were showing no signs off letting up, though, and they issued a dramatic response from the resulting attack.

A neat pass by Doyle released the elusive Keane - who struck beyond the reach of Jude’s netminder Paul Copeland. The relentless pace of the game continued as the minutes passed by, with both teams trading three-pointers in quick succession.

Clarke got on the end of Chris Guckian's long delivery for a neat finish on the stroke of 15 minutes, while Keane claimed his second goal of the half in stunning fashion. His direct approach was causing real problems for the Jude’s defence, but the visitors soon replied through hard-working centre-fielder Seamus Ryan.

Although the concluding stages of the opening period were less eventful, a number of clear-cut opportunities were created at either end of the pitch. Soraghan and O’Neill scores from play complimented Keane and Derek O’Flaherty placed-ball efforts, offering Olaf’s some breathing space as the interval beckoned.

A Donnelly point narrowed the gap to a minimum (2-8 to 2-7), however, and the same player restored parity for his side just after the restart. Brendan McManamon (older brother of Kevin) and Tom Devlin had already entered the fray for Jude’s by this point, whereas Niall Manning was added to the Olaf’s forward division in place of Conor McInerney.

O’Neill’s 0-2 salvo (including a magnificent ’45’) allowed Olaf’s to re-assert their authority, and they moved further into the ascendancy with additional O’Flaherty and Doyle points.

This was the cue for Jude’s to re-discover the attacking groove that served them so well in the first-half - routine frees from the aforementioned duo of Clarke and Donnelly providing the perfect tonic towards the end of the third-quarter.

Devlin split the posts at the end of a prolonged move to make it a one-point game and Clarke was then on hand to wipe out the Olaf’s cushion with another successful free. A stalemate appeared to be on the cards in a tentative conclusion, until Keane moved his side back ahead with a 55th-minute point.

Donnelly’s narrow miss allowed them to hold onto their slender buffer and O’Neill was also wide of the mark deep into stoppage-time. Byrne released the pressure on Olaf’s with a fine point, though, which was enough to seal a morale-boosting triumph for the hosts.

Copeland - an ex-Dublin underage shotstopper - was red-carded in the dying moments of the play, and Jude’s will now look to bounce back at home to St Vincent’s on Wednesday. Olaf's, on the other hand, face a tricky away assignment against Ballymun Kickhams.

Scorers - Naomh Olaf: Tom Keane 2-3 (0-2f), Darren O’Neill 0-4 (1 ’45’), Derek O’Flaherty (f), Glenn Soraghan 0-2 each, Mark Doyle, Ryan Cafferkey, Darragh Byrne 0-1 each. St Jude’s: Declan Donnelly 1-5 (0-3f), Padraig Clarke 1-4 (0-2f), Seamus Ryan, Barry Fitzgerald, Tom Devlin 0-1 each.

NAOMH OLAF: Brendan Redmond; Fiachra O’Sullivan, Conor Waters, Aaron Walsh; Tom McGuirk, Colin Doyle, Derek O’Flaherty; Darren O’Neill, Conor Haskins; Conor McInerney, Eoin O’Mahoney, Tom Keane; Mark Doyle, Glenn Soraghan, Ryan Cafferkey. Subs: Niall Manning for McInerney (31), Darragh Byrne for O’Mahoney (52), Shane Whyte for Soraghan (55), Paul Hayes for Cafferkey (60).

ST JUDE’S: Paul Copeland; Oisin Manning, Ciaran Fitzpatrick, Cillian O’Reilly; Ciaran McLoughlin, Billy Sheehan, Aidan Fitzmaurice; Kieran Doherty, Seamus Ryan; Barry Fitzgerald, Chris Guckian, Ronan Joyce; Declan Donnelly, Padraig Clarke, Neal Mangan. Subs: Brendan McManamon for Guckian, Tom Devlin for Mangan (both 22).

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