The opening fixtures of Division 1 of the Dublin U19 Hurling league took place last weekend with Cuala getting our season up and running on the right note by beating Lucan Sarsfield’s by 1-16 to 1-11 in Arthur Griffith Park.
Conditions were perfect apart from a heavy pitch and it set the scene for a great game.
Cuala went down early on by a point but they did not trail for long.
This team have been working on work rate and it showed. The bigger Lucan team struggled to find their groove and were turned over 23 times in the first half.
Things got tight though as the halftime whistle blew just after Lucan found the back of the net.
Another three unanswered points drew the sides level but Cuala stuck to the game plan and forced a few frees. Cormac Egan on return from injury came on and his first touch was to put the ball into the back of Lucan’s net to build on an impressive 12 points (9 frees) from Conor Lowry and a further 3 from Jamie Conroy.
Mark Smith and Jack O’Sullivan kept play tidy in midfield while the half-back line led by Oisin O’Rathallaigh with Luc Breathnach and Jack Basquille were dogged and unflappable.
The full-back line was solid all game while the forwards piled on the pressure.
There is strength in depth in this squad and the injection of fresh legs in the second half made a difference.
Team: 1. Mikey Dunphy, 2. Padraig Hogan, 3. Hugh Bourke, 4. Eoin O’Carroll, 5. Jack Basquille (Capt), 6. Oisin O’Rathallagh, 7. Luc Breathnach, 8. Jack O’Sullivan, 9. Mark Smooth, 10. Conor Lowry, 11. Jamie Conroy, 12. Cormac Flavin, 13. Aodhan English, 14. Matthew Ryan, 15. Rory McGrath, 16. Conall O’Drisceoil, 17. Scott Patton, 18. Cormac Egan.
Our division 3 team at the same venue against Lucan had a tougher day out. The final score flattered Lucan as our brave lads in red had good possession but couldn’t convert it to enough scores while at the other end Lucan put away 6-11.
It was great to see the return of some key players back to hurling and we are confident this team will get back to their habit of winning in no time.
Report by Justin Lowry
