Skerries Harps crowned Senior 2 football champions

SKERRIES HARPS 3-14 

ST OLIVER PLUNKETT/ER 1-17

Skerries Harps withstood some concerted late pressure from St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh to secure the Go-Ahead Ireland Dublin Senior 2 Football Championship title at the Clann Mhuire grounds in Naul on Saturday afternoon. 

Despite being reduced to fourteen players on the stroke of half-time, Skerries looked destined for victory as they entered the break leading by 1-13 to 0-4 with Paddy Kelly’s 29th minute goal helping build that healthy lead. 

A Ciaran Murphy goal helped stall some growing Plunkett’s momentum at the start of the second-half and while Irinel Popa reduced their deficit at the start of the final quarter, a classy Stephen Smith goal handed Harps a sufficient buffer to edge home by three points. 

While the teams exchanged early points through Killian McGinnis of Skerries and Sean Bugler of Plunkett’s, it was Harps that raced out of the blocks in the opening quarter, building a nine-point lead by the 10th minute. 

Smith kicked a cracking two-pointed score in the 4th minute and Harps pushed further clear through scores in quick succession by Adam El Shamy, Smith and Greg McEneaney. 

They continued to blitz their opponents on restarts and two further Smith points sandwiched a two-pointer by Murphy as Plunkett’s struggled to gain any foothold in the contest. 

They gradually found their collective feet with Popa and Conor Tyrrell to the fore and three points on the bounce through Gareth Smith, Luke Hughes and Bugler saw them trim their arrears to a more manageable six-points by the 22nd minute. 

However, their opponents finished the half strongly, kicking the next three points on offer as Smith, McGinnis and Murphy all added to their personal tallies. 

The latter was heavily involved in the game’s opening goal as his point attempt struck the woodwork, falling kindly into the grateful arms of Kelly, who shot home from eight yards. 

There was still sufficient time on the clock for further drama as referee PJ Murray was alerted by his umpires to an off-the-ball altercation with Harry Dawson receiving his marching orders as a result. 

The second-half saw Plunkett’s waste little time in eating into their arrears with scores from Hughes, Jack O’Shea and Bugler augmented by Popa’s superb two-pointer. 

Their ambitions were punctured in the 39th minute however as McGinnis gained vital possession at midfield and with Plunkett’s exposed in defence, Murphy had the simplest of tasks of raising Skerries’ second green flag. 

Popa flicked home deftly from Tyrrell’s pass in the 46th minute but once again, any potential momentum that goal could have provided was eroded as Smith jinked through and placed an unerring finish into the bottom right-hand corner of Gerard O’Reilly’s goal. 

Plunkett’s continued to dominate possession and finished the contest impressively through five points from substitute Ted Furman but time ran out on their comeback hopes as Harps held on for a deserved victory. 

Scorers – Skerries Harps: S Smith 1-7 (1P2, 0-2f); C Murphy 1-3 (1P2); P Kelly 1-0; K McGinnis (1f) 0-2; A El Shamy, G McEneaney 0-1 apiece. St Oliver Plunkett’s/ER: I Popa 1-3 (1P2); T Furman 0-5 (1F2, 1P2); G Smith (1f), S Bugler 0-3 each; L Hughes 0-2 (1 ‘45’); J O’Shea 0-1.  

Skerries Harps: S Davis; E O’Connor Flanagan, S Rocks, F O’Leary; A El Shamy, J Smith, G McEneaney; K McGinnis, E Dunne; C Emmett, E Wilde, P Kelly; C Murphy, H Dawson, S Smith. Subs: T Deering for McEneaney (47), McEneaney for J Smith (50), A Coleman for Wilde (63), D Gielty for El Shamy (66). 

St Oliver Plunkett’s/ER: G O’Reilly; T Cullen, J O’Donoghue, M McManus; B McSweeney, C Dunleavy, C Tyrrell; E Walshe, J O’Shea; I Popa, C Hayes, S Bugler; G Smith, N Clerkin, L Hughes. Subs: T Furman for Walshe (half-time), C Walsh for Hughes (43), D Kelly for Dunleavy (50), P Brogan for Clerkin (57). 

Referee: PJ Murray (St Finian’s Swords).