Templeogue Synge Street bounce back to defeat St Oliver Plunkett's/Eoghan Ruadh

PTSB DUBLIN SENIOR 1 FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GROUP 1

TEMPLEOGUE SYNGE STREET 1-18

ST OLIVER PLUNKETT’S/EOGHAN RUADH 0-16

Templeogue Synge Street produced a strong finish against St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh at O'Toole Park on Saturday afternoon to bolster their PTSB Dublin Senior 1 Football Championship Group 1 campaign in fine style.

Despite being in the ascendancy for the vast majority of the action, TSS found themselves adrift by a single point with just over six minutes of normal time remaining. Yet the southsiders dug deep from there until the final whistle as an unanswered haul of 1-3 propelled them towards a much-needed victory.

Returning to their starting line-up for this game, Lorcan O’Dell and Scott McConnell were in excellent scoring form for the winners, while Dublin senior panellist James McCormack was a powerful presence throughout from midfield. Irinel Popa and the evergreen Gareth ‘Nesty’ Smith did their best to keep Oliver Plunkett’s in the reckoning, but they ultimately came up short during a tense finale.

Both teams had entered this contest hoping to make amends for opening day defeats in this year’s championship. Templeogue had a tough start to the group at the hands of title holders Ballyboden St Enda’s - Plunkett's came off second best to Castleknock - but were the sharper of the two sides during the early exchanges on this occasion.

With just under two minutes gone on the clock, Max Fitzgerald stepped forward from between the TSS sticks to knock over a two-point free in clinical style. This was followed by a fisted effort from James McCormack (who lined up in the middle of the pitch alongside his brother Sean) at the end of a fast-paced move and with an O’Dell two-pointer from play preceding a close-in McConnell free, Templeogue were six clear on the stroke of 10 minutes.

Plunkett’s did open their account when netminder Cillian Campion showcased his own long-distance prowess by converting a ‘45’, but with centre half-back Alex O’Toole leading the way in defence, Templeogue continued to dictate affairs.

Fitzgerald also added a successful ‘45’ to his personal tally, before James McCormack split the posts with the outside of his right boot at the end of a memorable run. Plunkett’s inside forward Popa and McConnell traded scores to ensure TSS remained seven points in front on the 20-minute mark, but their Navan Road counterparts subsequently stormed back into contention.

After former Dublin and Cavan footballer Smith kicked 0-3 on the bounce (including an impressive two-pointer from a tight left-hand angle), industrious midfielder Sean O’Connor added his name to the scoresheet.

An orange flag strike from a free by Campion then brought the gap down to a bare minimum and when Ben McSweeney found the range off a 29th minute attack, the momentum appeared to be with Plunkett’s.

However, Templeogue kept their composure and McConnell’s third point of the opening period meant they established a slender 0-10 to 0-9 cushion in time for the interval.

It was impossible to predict at this stage how the rest of the game was going to pan out and with Popa knocking over a free within two minutes of the resumption, the teams were once again inseparable. It became somewhat stop-start as the third-quarter progressed, but TSS later forced the game back into life with quickfire scores from McConnell and O'Dell.

The latter (an All-Ireland senior winner with Dublin back in 2023) followed up with another sublime point off the outside of his right foot moments later, but Plunkett’s kept themselves within touching distance thanks to contributions from the increasingly-dangerous Popa either side of this score.

Popa's second effort from play restored parity at the beginning of the final-quarter, but Templeogue underlined their credentials once more when Connor Curran claimed a superb two-pointer on 47 minutes.

There was still a sense there could be plenty of twists and turns left in this encounter, however, and Plunkett’s took the lead for the very first time when substitute Ted Furman, Dublin footballer Sean Bugler and Smith all found the target in successive style.

This ramped up the pressure on Templeogue, but the Dolphin Park men were back on level terms almost immediately with another one-point free from McConnell. Multiple Celtic Cross winner Niall Scully exerted a strong influence in the second half and his powerful run on the hour mark released O’Dell for a point that edged TSS back into the ascendancy.

A lengthy period of stoppage-time meant the final result was far from set in stone, but after O’Dell kicked another impressive point, Harry O’Donovan was picked out on 66 minutes for an expertly-taken goal that placed the outcome beyond any doubt and also helped to revitalise Templeogue Synge Street’s senior championship prospects.

Scorers – Templeogue Synge Street: L O’Dell 0-6 (1 P2), S McConnell 0-5 (3f), M Fitzgerald 0-3 (1 F2, 1f), H Donovan 1-0, C Curran 0-2 (P2), J McCormack 0-2. St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh: I Popa 0-5 (3f), G Smith 0-4 (1 P2, 2f), C Campion 0-3 (1 F2, 1 ‘45’), S O’Connor, S Bugler, B McSweeney, T Furman 0-1 each.

 Templeogue Synge Street: M Fitzgerald; L O’Keeffe, D Murphy, B Dignam; C Curran, A O’Toole, C Cunningham; J McCormack, S McCormack; C Murphy, N Scully, L O’Dell; C Finn, S McConnell, H O’Donovan. Subs: A Cotter for Murphy (40), D Mulvihill for Finn (42), J Patterson for S McCormack (50), C Mulvihill for O’Keeffe (53), K Hughes for Curran (55).

St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh: C Campion; L Keating, J O’Donoghue, R Ovenden; E Walshe, S Bugler, N Clerkin; S O’Connor, J Rouse; C Maguire, T Cullen, B McSweeney; I Popa, G Smith, D Bugler. Subs: T Furman for D Bugler (45), C Hayes for Rouse (50), C Walsh for Maguire (61).

Referee: Eamonn Dromgoole English (Cuala).