Dublin Senior Football Championship Round 2

ST. VINCENT’S 2-17 NA FIANNA 2-15

By John Harrington at Parnell Park

Enda Varley was the main man for defending champion St. Vincent’s as they just about held off the energetic challenge of a young Na Fianna outfit in this Dublin SFC Round 2 clash.

The Mayo-man finished with a personal tally of 1-8, 1-6 of which he kicked from play, and some of his score-taking was a joy to behold.

He’s such a consistent performer for the Marino club that you really do have to think Mayo could have gotten more from his prodigious talent.

This was an entertaining match right from the off. Both teams attacked with great pace and fluidity, and defenders often found themselves chasing shadows in the late afternoon sun.

Na Fianna especially looked lively in the opening exchanges and roared into the lead when Conor McHugh volley a great finish to the net after Sean Caffrey’s initial shot was saved.

But the Mobhi Road men didn’t have much time to enjoy that moment, because within two minutes they’d conceded two goals themselves at the other end of the field.

The evergreen Tomás Quinn was a central figure in both of them for St. Vincent’s.

First, he placed a really classy curling shot to the bottom hand-corner of the net, and then he set up Varley for an even more emphatic finish as the Mayo man absolutely blasted the ball to the roof of the net from a tight angle.

The electric Varley followed that goal up with two points and it started to look like St. Vincent’s were taking control of the contest, but Na Fianna eventually found a second wind.

Wing-forward Glenn O’Reilly led the charge with three points from play and one from a free, and thanks largely to his contribution Na Fianna had drawn level by the 25th minute.

St. Vincent’s produced another power-surge just before half-time though, as two points from their strapping centre-forward Lorcan Smyth helped them into a 2-8 to 1-9 half-time lead.

The pace didn’t let up in the second half as St. Vincent’s scored two points inside the first minute through Varley and Shane Carthy before Na Fianna struck back with a goal.

It was scored by corner-forward Sean Caffrey who somehow got a shot off under pressure that sailed into the top right corner of the net.

Once again, the ability of St. Vincent’s to react positively to adversity was impressive, as Quinn knocked over two frees to undone most of the damage sustained by the goal.

From there, the second-half developed into a tit for tat battle.

Whenever Na Fianna managed to clip a point at one end of the field, St. Vincent’s would go straight down the other end and cancel it out with one of their own.

This happened four times in a row, so that by the 53rd minute there was still three points between the teams, with St. Vincent’s leading by 2-16 to 2-13.

The question now was whether the youthful legs in the Na Fianna team would give them sufficient spring in their step to produce one last charge.

Michael Deegan gave them an initial surge of momentum with a nicely taken point, and then Conor McHugh left the minimum between the teams when he pointed a free two minutes into injury-time.

But the Mobhi Road men couldn’t find an equaliser. Instead St. Vincent’s swept down the field with the last attack of the match and that man Varley finished sweetly yet again to settle the contest.

Na Fianna are an up and coming team, but St. Vincent’s won’t be knocked from their throne easily.

Scorers for St. Vincent’s: Enda Varley 1-8 (2f), Tomás Quinn 1-4 (4f), Lorcan Smyth 0-3, Nathan Mullins 0-1, Shane Carthy 0-1.

Scorers for Na Fianna: Conor McHugh 1-4 (1f), Glenn O’Reilly 0-6 (3f), Sean Caffrey 1-0, Michael Deegan 0-2, James Doran 0-2, Eoin Murchan 0-1.

St. Vincent's: Michael Savage; Michael Concarr, Jarlath Curley, Craig Wilson; James McCusker, Ger Brennan, Brendan Egan; Nathan Mullins, Lorcan Galvin; Joe Feeney, Lorcan Smyth, Cormac Diamond; Enda Varley, Shane Carthy, Tomas Quinn. **Subs: **Albert Martin for Joe Feeney (ht), Sean Lambe for Brendan Egan (44)

**Na Fianna: **David O’Hanlon; Darragh Kennedy, Niall McGovern, Eoin Murchan; Aaron Byrne, Jonny Cooper, Paul O’Hanlon; Eoghan McHugh, JJ Martin; Conor McHugh, James Doran, Glenn O’Reilly; Michael Deegan, Timothy Foran, Sean Caffrey. Subs: Eoin O’Dea for Timothy Foran (38), Eoghan Neville for Paul O’Hanlon (51), Jimmy Higgins for Eoin Murchan (27)

 

Dublin Senior Football Championship Round 2

ST. VINCENT’S 2-17 NA FIANNA 2-15

By John Harrington at Parnell Park

Enda Varley was the main man for defending champion St. Vincent’s as they just about held off the energetic challenge of a young Na Fianna outfit in this Dublin SFC Round 2 clash.

The Mayo-man finished with a personal tally of 1-8, 1-6 of which he kicked from play, and some of his score-taking was a joy to behold.

He’s such a consistent performer for the Marino club that you really do have to think Mayo could have gotten more from his prodigious talent.

This was an entertaining match right from the off. Both teams attacked with great pace and fluidity, and defenders often found themselves chasing shadows in the late afternoon sun.

Na Fianna especially looked lively in the opening exchanges and when Conor McHugh volley a great finish to the net after Sean Caffrey’s initial shot was saved.

The Mobhi Road men didn’t have much time to enjoy that moment, because within two minutes they’d conceded two goals themselves at the other end of the field.

The evergreen Tomás Quinn was a central figure in both of them for St. Vincent’s.

First, he placed a really classy curling shot to the bottom hand-corner of the net, and then he set up Enda Varley for an even more emphatic finish as the Mayo man absolutely blasted the ball to the roof of the net from a tight angle.

The electric Varley followed that goal up with two points and it started to look like St. Vincent’s were taking control of the contest, but Na Fianna eventually found a second wind.

Wing-forward Glenn O’Reilly led the charge with three points from play and one from a free, and thanks largely to his contribution Na Fianna had drawn level by the 25th minute.

St. Vincent’s produced another power-surge just before half-time though, as two points from their strapping centre-forward Lorcan Smyth helped them into a 2-8 to 1-9 half-time lead.

The pace didn’t let up in the second half as St. Vincent’s scored two points inside the first minute through Varley and Shane Carthy before Na Fianna struck back with a goal.

It was scored by corner-forward Sean Caffrey who somehow got a shot off under pressure that sailed into the top right corner of the net.

Once again, the ability of St. Vincent’s to react positively to adversity was impressive, as Quinn knocked over two frees to undone most of the damage sustained by the goal.

From there, the second-half developed into a tit for tat battle.

Whenever Na Fianna managed to clip a point at one end of the field, St. Vincent’s would go straight down the other end and cancel it out with one of their own.

This happened four times in a row, so that by the 53rd minute there was still three points between the teams, with St. Vincent’s leading by 2-16 to 2-13.

The question now was whether the youthful legs in the Na Fianna team would give them sufficient spring in their step to produce one last charge.

Michael Deegan gave them an initial surge of momentum with a nicely taken point, and then Conor McHugh left the minimum between the teams when he pointed a free two minutes into injury-time.

But the Mobhi Road men couldn’t find an equaliser. Instead St. Vincent’s swept down the field with the last attack of the match and that man Varley finished sweetly yet again to settle the contest.

Na Fianna are an up and coming team, but St. Vincent’s won’t be knocked from their throne easily.

Scorers for St. Vincent’s: Enda Varley 1-8 (2f), Tomás Quinn 1-4 (4f), Lorcan Smyth 0-3, Nathan Mullins 0-1, Shane Carthy 0-1.

Scorers for Na Fianna: Conor McHugh 1-4 (1f), Glenn O’Reilly 0-6 (3f), Sean Caffrey 1-0, Michael Deegan 0-2, James Doran 0-2, Eoin Murchan 0-1.

St. Vincent's: Michael Savage; Michael Concarr, Jarlath Curley, Craig Wilson; James McCusker, Ger Brennan, Brendan Egan; Nathan Mullins, Lorcan Galvin; Joe Feeney, Lorcan Smyth, Cormac Diamond; Enda Varley, Shane Carthy, Tomas Quinn. **Subs: **Albert Martin for Joe Feeney (ht), Sean Lambe for Brendan Egan (44)

**Na Fianna: **David O’Hanlon; Darragh Kennedy, Niall McGovern, Eoin Murchan; Aaron Byrne, Jonny Cooper, Paul O’Hanlon; Eoghan McHugh, JJ Martin; Conor McHugh, James Doran, Glenn O’Reilly; Michael Deegan, Timothy Foran, Sean Caffrey. Subs: Eoin O’Dea for Timothy Foran (38), Eoghan Neville for Paul O’Hanlon (51), Jimmy Higgins for Eoin Murchan (27)