Skerries Harps edge past Na Fianna to earn Quarter-Final place

SKERRIES HARPS 2-17

NA FIANNA 3-13

Skerries Harps secured their place in the quarter-finals of the PTSB Dublin Senior 1 Football Championship when edging Na Fianna by the slimmest of margins in their thrilling Group 3 clash at Parnell Park on Saturday afternoon.

Skerries were full value for their 1-12 to 0-7 interval lead with Ciaran Murphy’s 12th minute goal augmented by two-pointers by Finn McGinnis, Murphy, Adam Fearon and the influential Greg McEneaney.

They maintained that buffer for the large part as Ciaran Reddin and Murphy exchanged goals but late goals from Reddin and Conor McHugh left the contest delicately poised as David Lacey spurned a late chance to salvage Na Fianna’s season as his two-pointed free attempt drifted wide of the target.

It was Skerries that seized the early initiative thanks to a well-worked score from McEneaney in the 2nd minute before Conor McHugh levelled matters when converting a straightforward free soon after.

Na Fianna enjoyed a fair degree of possession in the early stages but were unable to translate that into scores and this contrasted hugely with a Skerries side that were clinical in their shooting.

With the wind at their backs, they regained their lead thanks to Paddy Kelly while McGinnis enhanced their advantage as he kicked a superb two-pointer in the 7th minute.

The lively McEneaney added his second point soon after before Murphy raised the second orange flag with a sublime effort off the outside of the boot.

There was a brief pause to the Harps dominance courtesy of Brian O’Leary’s 11th minute point but Na Fianna’s uncertainty in defence was punished as Murphy calmly slotted home past Stephen Murray after a great team move down the Skerries left wing.

Matters deteriorated for Na Fianna as Fearon joined the party in terms of two-pointers with his superb score leaving ten points between the sides by the 14th minute.

Gradually, their opponents began to play with a greater degree of fluency and were rewarded through points by David Quinn and McHugh and they should have netted in the 20th minute but Conor Early blazed the ball of the crossbar with the goal at his mercy.

Luke Whelan ended a scoreless period of eight minutes for Harps but their play lacked its previous cohesion as their lead was trimmed through successive scores from Stephen Murray (’45), O’Leary and McHugh (free).

However, Harps finished the half in a promising fashion as McEneaney kicked their fourth two-pointer, leaving eight points between the sides in the process.

The jinking Stephen Smith, surprisingly held scoreless in the first-half, righted that wrong with a cracking sole score in the 32nd minute and he doubled his personal tally with another smart score three minutes later.

Another classy forward, McHugh, elevated the Na Fianna display with a glorious two-pointer to open their second-half account in the 37th minute but all his good work was undone in an instant as Harps netminder Shane Davis split the uprights for his team’s fifth two-pointer of the day.

The Skerries scoring dried up from that point allowing Na Fianna to close the gap through O’Leary and McHugh before Reddin crashed home in the 52nd minute to leave five points between the teams.

A classy McEneaney score and Murphy’s second goal looked to have stalled any hopes of a Na Fianna comeback but two goals in as many minutes by Reddin and McHugh left them just a point behind.

There was sufficient time for Reddin to be fouled and with a draw of little use to Na Fianna, Lacey opted for the two-pointer but his high effort lacked precision, leaving Skerries deserved but relieved winners by the final whistle.

Scorers – Skerries Harps: C Murphy 2-2 (1 P2); G McEneaney 0-5 (1 P2); F McGinnis (P2), S Davis (F2); S Smith, A Fearon (P2) 0-2 each; P Kelly, L Whelan 0-1 apiece. Na Fianna: C McHugh 1-8 (0-3f, 1 P2); C Reddin 2-0; B O’Leary 0-3; S Murray (’45), D Quinn 0-1 apiece.

Skerries Harps: S Davis; E Smith, P Wilde, A El Shamy; A Fearon, J Smith, E O’Connor Flanagan; E Dunne, G McEneaney; P Kelly, T Deering, F McGinnis; L Whelan, C Murphy, S Smith. Subs: E Wilde for Kelly (44), C Emmett for J Smith (50), A Coleman for Fearon (Temp, 53), R Delaney for S Smith (58), S Rocks for Coleman (58); Coleman for McEneaney (61).

Na Fianna: S Murray; O Donohoe, A Rafter, F Costello; C Baxter, N McGovern, T Brennan; J Doran, D Clerkin; V Flynn, B O’Leary, C Early; C McHugh, C Reddin, D Quinn. Subs: S Smith for Early (half-time), E Murchan for Baxter (40), K Deeley for Flynn (48), A Neville for McGovern (50), D Lacey for Quinn (58).

Referee: Barry Tiernan (O’Dwyer’s).