💥Mens Hurling Quarter Final 💥
St Finians 3-27 Castleknock 0-31(after extra time)
In a thrilling encounter and in what must be the best adult
hurling match played in Ridgewood Park in a long time, St Finians showed great character and plenty of skill to qualify for the championship semi final after an extra time quarter final win.
With very heavy underfoot conditions one might have expected a low scoring encounter but the opposite was the case. Castleknock scored a whopping 31points but the ability of the St Finians full back line to keep out goals was a key factor in the win. Sean Cronin, David Hattie and Mikey Gormally were superb in this sector as was kieran Murnane when introduced @ the beginning of extra time.
First half goals from MJ Feehan and James Burke gave Finians a great boost but Castleknock with the aid of the breeze were picking off great points and accordingly Casteknock led at half time on a 0-17 to 2-8 scoreline.
Minor Player and Dublin under 20 hurlers Senan Crosbie led the St Finians attack superbly in the 2nd half & one stage it looked as St Finians would secure the victory in normal time, but Castleknock had other ideas and struck the equalising scores. It was nip and tuck in extra time until a Jack Murray goal in the 2nd period of extra finally gave St Finians a bit of breathing space. However , a 3 point lead meant Castleknock came at Finians looking for the equalising goal. The defence well led at Dave Kelleher at centre back managed to lock things down and clear the lines after some hectic goal mouth scrambles & pushed on to win by 5 points.
On the day the contribution of the substitutes bench was the winning of the match - with Conor Halpin, Brian O'Neill, Jack Murray, Kieran Murnane and Fintan Merriman all contributing hugely in a match that was always going to need a panel effort to advance
Match report: Gene Griffin
