St Vincents claim victory over Faughs in extra time thriller to avoid relegation

PTSB DUBLIN SENIOR 1 HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP RELEGATION PLAY-OFF

ST VINCENT’S 3-24

FAUGHS 4-17

(After extra-time)

By Daire Walsh

St Vincent’s produced the goods in extra-time at O’Toole Park on Saturday afternoon to preserve their PTSB Dublin Senior 1 Hurling Championship status at the expense of Faughs.

Following an intense 60 plus minutes of small ball action, Vincent’s and Faughs couldn’t be separated in this do-or-die relegation play-off. This meant two periods of 10 minutes each were required and there was still parity between the teams after the first of those.

Yet after registering 1-4 without reply in the second half of extra-time, Vincent’s ultimately claimed the spoils – and their spot in the top-tier for 2027 – in advance of Faughs bagging a late consolation goal.

In addition to dead-ball specialist Brian Bolger, Vincent’s also had some strong performers in the shape of James Mulcahy and Mark Sweeney. James O’Brien and Liam Mostyn were amongst those to make an impact for Faughs, who came perilously close to remaining in the Senior 1 Championship for another year.

Faughs had started the game with the aid of a strong breeze and immediately took advantage of the elements when Brian Murray gathered a ball inside to fire home a goal with just 10 seconds gone on the clock. While this was an early set-back for their Marino counterparts, Oisin Mulcahy and Tom Connolly found the range either side of Faughs netminder Eoghan McNamara sensationally firing over a point from play inside his own 21-metre line.

Kyle Ward and Bolger raised white flags during a juncture that also saw O’Brien opening his account at the opposite end, before their Templeogue opponents finally enjoyed a sustained purple patch that drew unanswered points from wing-back Aedan Mostyn, Liam Mostyn and Ciarán Nagle. In fact, after rival marksmen Bolger and O’Brien traded quickfire scores, corner-back Colm McCabe moved Faughs five in front with a point on the run in the 19th minute.

Vincent’s were digging deep, however, and three successive points off the stick of Bolger kept them very much in contention. Yet another huge effort from inside his own half by McNamara (this time with a free) helped Faughs to re-establish themselves and he later stepped forward from his goalmouth to negotiate a penalty in first half stoppage-time.

His resulting strike was turned away by opposite number Dara Perry, but a successful ‘65’ from O’Brien nevertheless ensured Faughs were leading 1-9 to 0-8 at the midway stage in normal time.

A strong breeze meant opportunities would be presented to Vincent’s on the resumption and despite Nagle adding his second point, Perry matched the exploits of McNamara by knocking the sliotar all the way over from the subsequent puck out. This was a further indication of how strong the wind was in the Kimmage venue and in the wake of another Bolger free, Vincent’s full-forward Kyle Ward broke through for a 33rd minute goal.

There might have been an expectation that the northsiders were going to push on in the remaining minutes and they slowly worked their way into the ascendancy with Bolger (two) and Sweeney responding to another place-ball contribution from O’Brien that briefly helped Faughs to restore their lead.

The Wellington Lane outfit did so again when Liam Mostyn profited from an excellent individual run by Aedan Mostyn to rifle home a 46th minute major that sparked an extraordinary start to the final-quarter. Although Vincent’s secured a goal of their own when Mulcahy got his hands on a direct delivery from Perry, yet another green flag was raised on behalf of Faughs with eight minutes of normal time remaining – the adventurous Aedan Mostyn scooping the ball over the advancing Perry.

This had Faughs on the front foot with the end of regulation time quickly approaching and even though Rory Dunne and James Mulcahy found the target for Vincent’s, Carl O’Mahony and O’Brien (free) cancelled out both of these efforts.

A determined Vincent’s appeared to have swung the pendulum back in their favour with points by Stephen Williams and Sweeney, before a nerveless O’Brien converted a 65th minute free to force the game into extra-time.

There was a huge amount at stake during the additional periods and in spite of Faughs creating some daylight with points from Niall Fitzgibbon, Liam Mostyn and Oisin Walsh in response to a James Mulcahy score at the far end of the pitch, substitute Harry Curley and Sweeney restored parity ahead of the final 10 minutes of an engrossing affair.

The tie was delicately poised by this stage, but with Vincent’s eventually working a number of long-range opportunities with the breeze at their backs, Sweeney, Brian Moorehouse-Carroll and James Mulcahy all proceeded to split the posts.

Their new-found advantage was later supplemented by a well-taken Stephen McCarry goal and Vincent’s were suddenly seven in front when Bolger recorded his ninth point of the game. Faughs’ O’Mahony drilled a free to the net in the dying embers of the play, but this wasn’t enough to deny St Vincent’s a precious triumph.

Scorers – St Vincent’s: B Bolger 0-9 (5f, 1 ‘65’), J Mulcahy 1-3, M Sweeney 0-4, K Ward 1-1, S McCarry 1-0, D Perry, B Moorehouse-Carroll, R Dunne, T Connolly, O Mulcahy, S Williams, H Curley 0-1 each. Faughs: J O’Brien 0-6 (5f, 1 ‘65’), L Mostyn 1-2, C O’Mahony 1-1 (1-0f), A Mostyn 1-1, B Murray 1-0, E McNamara 0-2 (1f), C Nagle 0-2, C McCabe, N Fitzgibbon, O Walsh 0-1.

St Vincent’s: D Perry; B Moorehouse-Carroll, M O’Farrell, L Sweeney; A Cosgrave, S Mulcahy, R Dunne; M Sweeney, C Burke; T Connolly, B Bolger, M Cardiff; O Mulcahy, K Ward, J Mulcahy. Subs: H Curley for Cosgrave (h-t), S Williams for Connolly (38), P Gilroy for Sweeney (52), S McCarry for Cardiff (59), L McGovern for O Mulcahy (start of e-t), B Murray for Ward (69), T Connolly for Moorehouse-Carroll (77), T Kildellan for J Mulcahy (80).

Faughs: E McNamara; J Kenny, E McKenna, C McCabe; A Mostyn, F Heavey, N Fitzgibbon; E Brennan, R Hennessy; C O’Mahony, C Nagle, B Murray; S McConnell, J O’Brien, L Mostyn. Subs: D Pryce for Nagle (41), C Leahy for Heavey (46), O Walsh for Hennessy (55), C Brennan for E Brennan (59), C Kenny for O’Mahony (60+3), E Brennan for A Mostyn (66), C O’Mahony for O’Brien (69), R Hennessy for McKenna (72).

Referee: Gavin Donegan (Trinity Gaels).