Lucan Sarsfields were pushed all the way before eventually seeing off a stubborn St Brigid’s by 0-23 to 2-15 in their Go-Ahead Ireland Dublin Senior 1 Hurling Championship Group 1 clash at O’Toole Park on Saturday afternoon.
After drawing with Cuala in their opening fixture four weeks previously, Lucan impressed initially through early scores by Matt McCaffrey, Ben Coffey, Ciaran Dowling and Charlie Keher.
However, they lacked accuracy throughout, undermining some promising situations and allowing their opponents to remain in touch as Jonathan McGuirk struck three first-half scores to reduce his team’s deficit to five points (0-11 to 0-6) by half-time.
A further two frees by McGuirk saw St Brigid’s keep their feint hopes alive but four points by the influential Coffey within six minutes either side of the three-quarter mark looked to have handed Sarsfields an unassailable lead.
St Brigid’s replied with Andrew Dunphy leading the charge with a trio of inspirational scores from wing-back and their comeback gathered further momentum as Donnnacha Ryan crashed home superbly in the 58th minute.
Substitute Darragh Lyons stemmed the flow briefly with a late Lucan point but there was sufficient time for McGuirk to pull one-handed to the net, albeit too late to spare St Brigid’s their fate.
The second contest of the Kimmage double-header saw Ballyboden St Enda’s pull away in the final quarter on their way to a 1-27 to 0-15 Group 2 win against Whitehall Colmcille.
Whitehall were missing talisman Eoghan O’Donnell from their line-up and his absence was keenly felt as they lacked sufficient punch up front against a wasteful St Enda’s side.
Niall McMorrow and Kevin Desmond popped over two points apiece from play in the first-half but Michael Noonan, Enda O’Donnell and Daire Gray did likewise at the opposite end as Boden entered the break with a narrow 0-12 to 0-10 interval lead.
Ballyboden pushed on towards the end of the third quarter as Paddy Dunleavy clipped over two fine scores from wing-back while corner-back Stephen O’Connor caught the eye with four points over the hour.
With Colmcille held scoreless from the 49th minute, St Enda’s piled on the pain with a goal from substitute Cillian Kirwin in added time putting a slightly flattering complexion on the final scoreline.
Across in Parnell Park, Na Fianna maintained their unbeaten start in Group 1 as they accounted for Cuala by 1-25 to 1-18.
Two smart points from Liam Murphy ensured Cuala stayed in the hunt initially and a brace of Jake Malone scores left the teams deadlocked at 0-8 apiece by the 18th minute.
However, a foul on Ciaran Stacey was punished emphatically from the penalty spot by Donal Burke three minutes later with scores by Colin Currie and lively substitute Jack Meagher edging the holders into a 1-11 to 0-11 interval lead.
Joe Kavanagh Na Fianna prepares to pounce as the sliotar breaks from a malee during the Go Ahead SHC 1 – Cuala v Na Fianna fixture in Parnell Park, Dublin 3 (Photo by Conor Ryan/Ryan Images)
Currie and Meagher shared four points in the opening seven minutes of the second-half but the introduction of Con O’Callaghan provided an instant impact for Cuala as he forced his way through for a 42nd minute goal.
The dual star added a point at the start of the final quarter but Na Fianna never looked in serious trouble as Currie took his personal tally to 0-11 by the final whistle.
St Vincent’s seized control of Group 2 with Cian McBride’s goal proving pivotal as they edged local rivals Craobh Chiaráin by 1-18 to 0-19.
Go-Ahead Ireland SHC1 Group 1: Cuala 1-18 Na Fianna 1-25; Lucan Sarsfields 0-23 St Brigid’s 2-15.
Go-Ahead Ireland SHC1 Group 2: Ballyboden St Enda’s 1-27 Whitehall Colmcille 0-15; St Vincent’s 1-18 Craobh Chiaráin 0-19.