Dublin Senior Two Hurling C’ship: Jude’s edge Davis’

A GOAL from sharpshooter Joe McManus was the difference for St Jude’s as they recorded a 1-17 to 0-17 win over Thomas Davis in the first group game of the Dublin Senior Two Hurling Championship.

It was a blustery occasion in Tymon Park on Sunday for a quasi-local derby which welcomed the beginning of the championship campaign, and it proved to be a tentative occasion.

Both teams remained in their shells for large spells, but Thomas Davis did start the better of the two with Kevin Ward leading from the front, clipping over several frees to take the lead.

Ward tallied 0-8 overall from dead ball situations, helping the travelling side to a 0-10 to 0-8 advantage by the half-time interval.

The Kiltipper outfit had the breeze at their backs and tried to make the most of it with Dublin hurler Davy Keogh getting on a lot of ball around the middle of the park.

However, their forwards struggled to get into a rhythm and were disappointed heading into the break with only a two-point lead.

David Keogh of Thomas Davis on the ball

But that was the story of the game, it was a stop-start affair due to the amount of frees which were conceded.

Yet, despite not hitting their overall shot count, the Templeogue outfit were hyper-efficient with the shots they did have and Joe McManus was their talisman.

McManus was deployed at full-forward and hit Davis’ for 1-6, his all-important goal coming in the 46th minute after capitalising on a mistake.

David O’Callaghan turned over possession and McManus flicked the ball on to John Carty, whose shot was saved well by Davis’ netminder Seán Blanchfield, but McManus was at hand for the rebound.

Ciaran Hogan was excellent in midfield for Jude’s, tallying 0-4 from play on a day where usual point-taker Danny Sutcliffe was unavailable for selection due to injury.

While Jack Crennan and Conor Nolan chipped in with a brace each for the hosts, Jamie McDonald and Daire Kerr were in good-form in Thomas Davis’ defence.

Down the other end, Sean Reilly put in a great shift in the corner for the Little Village, contributing 0-4 from open play, while Keogh and substitute Conor Cronin point to keep the pressure on Jude’s.

However, Jude’s remained in the ascendancy, O’Callaghan, Carty and Fearghal Kilbane all finding their range to kill the game off and start their team’s championship campaign on the right track.

Next, St Jude’s will welcome Naomh Fionnbarra to Tymon Park while Thomas Davis host Ballyboden St Enda’s in Kiltipper Road, both throwing-in at 7.15pm on Wednesday, July 26.