Davis make club history with leap to top ranks
By Hayden Moore
FOR THE first time in the club’s history, Thomas Davis have been promoted to the top ranks of the Senior Hurling Champion-ship for 2020 and will contest the Senior ‘B’ Final next weekend after having beaten Crumlin in the semis.
By making the Senior ‘B’ Final, both Thomas Davis and Scoil Uí Chonaill have guaranteed promotion to the top tier.
Thomas Davis secured promotion to the Senior A Hurling Championship ranks for the first time
After coming through a tough group that saw them beat Cuala and draw with Kilmacud Crokes, Davis’ beat Ballyboden St Enda’s in the last-eight before securing their promotion to the top tier with a win over Crumlin in penultimate rounds on Sunday.
Speaking after their 2-16 to 1-12 triumph over Crumlin, Thomas Davis Senior Hurling coach Johnny McGlynn spoke of how the club has progressed since his arrival four years ago.
“We’re buzzing. In four years, we’ve gone from mid-table intermediate championship to the top championship in Dublin, Senior ‘A’,” exclaimed McGlynn.
“In all fairness the club have really got their ducks in a row. They’ve laid the foundations over the past few years and there’s a good bit of youth coming through now and it is paying off.
“The club made a five-year plan to get into Senior ‘A’ Championship and, look, we did it in four so we’re obviously delighted.
“Thomas Davis has been predominantly a football club; they were established in 1888 and only started playing hurling 40 years ago.
“It’s such a huge achievement for a club in Dublin to go from Intermediate to Senior in the way that we have.”
Beaten by Faughs in the semi-final stage in 2018, McGlynn did add that through their strength and conditioning training regime with former Dublin hurler David Donnelly, his side were able to physically match their opposition this year.
But ‘The Little Village’ are sure to have their work cut out for them when they take on Scoil Ui Chonaill in Parnell Park next Saturday after they beat Na Fianna by six points.
Goals from Davy Byrne and Zak Moradi on either side of half-time took the wind out of Crumlin’s sails on Sunday in O’Toole Park as Davis’ marched past them to the final.
The mix of Byrne, who tallied 1-4 from play, and Kevin Ward, who managed 0-8 with his 100 percent accuracy from frees proved potent with a dogged Crumlin side working to stay in the clash.
Perhaps the move of the match was Byrne’s goal in the first half when Sean Kennedy turned over play in the backline with the team working their way up the field through some quick stick work.
Wing forward Sean Reilly dropped from the half-forward line to pick up the sliotar and sent a cross field ball into Byrne, who took on his man before burying it across goal.
Having gone into the break five points up, Moradi, a Lory Meagher Cup winner with Leitrim, delivered the killer blow a minute after the restart when he capitalised on a rebounded Dean Gibbons shot to flick the ball across the line.
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