Dublin 2-17
Carlow 1-13
By Kieran Murphy
HAPPY New Year? Not that this Walsh Cup first round result at Parnell Park on Wednesday will be of any real significance later on in the season, but as an indicator of a prosperous 2017 for the Carlow senior hurlers the signs were good here.
When Dublin opened an early four-point gap with scores from Donal Burke (free), Canice Maher, Donal Fox (free) and Fionntain McGibb (sideline) it looked grim for the visitors. The Metropolitans stretched the Carlow full-back line with a combination of high deliveries or well-placed passes to eager forwards who had the measure of their markers.
Carlow’s Craig Wall tracks Dublin’s Niall McMorrow during last Wednesday’s Walsh Cup opener in Parnell Park Photo: Inpho/Tommy Dickson
A Denis Murphy free opened the Carlow account and with that score the outsiders grew into the affair. Murphy added another point and when Eddie Byrne ran at the Dublin defence the ball ran loose and in came Chris Nolan to score an equalising goal. Playing at this level in competition for the first time, the teenager will hardly have an easier tap-in but his support of his club colleague ensured he was rewarded when the ball popped free.
Shortly afterwards, Carlow edged into a one-point lead when Murphy passed to John Michael Nolan and the Naomh Eoin man powered over from at least 60 metres.
Carlow’s John Michael Nolan claims a high ball
“It was our second field session and in terms of knocking out the cobwebs, improving fitness and touch we got what we expected. Lads competed well,” said Carlow player Seamus Murphy afterwards.
From there to the interval Dublin swung into intense action once more as Cian O’Sullivan ran at the Carlow defence before shooting low and hard to the bottom right-hand corner from an angle on the left. They were deserving of their 1-10 to 1-6 interval lead while both sides could have had a goal in the second quarter with Eddie Byrne seeing his shot saved by the Dublin keeper.
Just before that Brian Treacy showed tremendous reflexes when his outstretched foot denied Dublin full-forward Donal Burke an almost certain three-pointer.
The Carlow squad ahead of their Walsh Cup clash with Dublin
Almost from the throw-in Alex Quinn registered a Dublin wide but there was confusion on the notice board with the wide appearing to have been recorded as a point. Later in the half Carlow were also credited with a score which they didn’t get. In the end both wrongs were righted.
For much of the second period Dublin kept their distance from Carlow. Yet the visitors did many things well. Paul Coady scored three good points from play while Murphy was deadly accurate from placed balls. Elsewhere, James O’Hara, Diarmuid Byrne and Craig Wall put in good shifts. The Ballinkillen man had a good goal chance but having failed to gather first time, he saw his shot from an angle flash wide at the far post.
Three points down Carlow were right in the game going into the closing stages. Then disaster. What should have been a simple pick-up and clearance wasn’t executed. At this level you get punished for those kind of mistakes. There was no reprieve as Alex Quinn collected and ran into the ever increasing amount of space. Treacy had no chance in the Carlow goal.
“They probably hit a few wides, our touch was not as good as theirs. They have more work done. We were within two points of them near the end but they came down and scored a goal,” said Murphy.
“Possibly a free could have gone our way but they came down the field and scored a goal. The momentum changed.”
The game petered out from there. Both sides were already down to 14 with Jack Kavanagh for Carlow and Dublin’s Liam Rushe seeing red on the advice of a linesman.
“It was a good level to start with and with 10 or 11 more matches later in the year it was a good way to build here,” noted Murphy.
Dublin: Jonathan Tracey; Darragh Gray, Shane Barrett, Fionn O Riain Broin; Matthew McCaffrey, Chris Crummy, Sean McGrath (0-1); Liam Rushe, Donie Fox (0-4 frees); Conor Burke (0-1), Tomás Connolly, Fionntain McGibb (0-2, 1 sl); Canice Maher (0-1), Donal Burke (0-5 frees), Cian O’Sullivan (1-0). Subs: Gary Maguire for Tracey, Fergal Whitely (0-1) for C Burke, Alex Quinn (1-1) for Connolly, Ben Quinn (0-1) for McCaffrey (all half-time), Niall McMorrow for Maher (56 mins), Caolan Conway for McGrath (61 mins).
Carlow: Brian Treacy (Naomh Eoin): Paul Doyle (St Mullins), Richard Kelly (Mount Leinster Rangers), Dion Wall (Ballinkillen); Richard Coady (MLR), Diarmuid Byrne (MLR), James O’Hara (Naomh Eoin); Jack Kavanagh (St Mullins), Craig Wall (Ballinkillen); John Michael Nolan (0-1 Naomh Eoin), Jack Murphy (MLR), Kevin McDonald (MLR); Denis Murphy (0-9, 0-7 frees 65, MLR), Eddie Byrne (MLR), Chris Nolan (1-0 MLR). Subs: Paul Coady (0-3 MLR) for C Nolan, Gary Bennett (St Mullins) for Kelly (both h/t), Sean Brennan (Ballinkillen) for McDonald (46 mins), David English (Ballinkillen) for O’Hara (48 mins), Eoin Redmond (Naomh Eoin) for D Wall (51 mins), Andrew Casey (Erin’s Own) for R Coady (50 mins), Seamus Murphy (St Mullins) for J Murphy (62 mins), Shane Kavanagh (Naomh Eoin) for Doyle (62 mins), Paul Doyle for D Byrne (64 mins), Kevin McDonald for D Murphy (68 mins).
Referee: Michael Murtagh (Westmeath)
