Lucan Sarsfields see off Davis’ in U21 football title showdown
MARK Lavin and Jack Lawlor led from the front at 12th Lock on Saturday as Lucan Sarsfields secured the Dublin U21 ‘B’ Football Championship title with a convincing 1-19 to 1-11 victory over Thomas Davis.
Between them, this duo contributed a combined haul of 1-16 to keep their Tallaght counterparts at bay in an entertaining clash.
It is little surprise that Lavin was so prominent in this game, given he has shone for Dublin in the inter-county underage ranks in recent years.
Back in December 2020, he kicked four points as the Sky Blues lost out to Galway in an All-Ireland U20 football decider.
Thomas Davis’ Adam Waddick featured at centre half-back in the same team, while his club-mate Fionn Murray was a key for the Dublin U20s in their march to a Leinster showpiece earlier on this year.
They flew the flag for the Kiltipper Road outfit in this contest, but Lucan had that bit extra in the tank to get over the line in comprehensive style.
After winning the pre-game toss, Lucan opted to play with the aid of a first-half breeze and this proved to be a shrewd decision.
By the 12th minute of the play, the hosts had developed a 0-7 to 0-1 lead with Lavin and Lawlor in excellent form.
Davis did reduce their deficit to four points with a 29th minute goal, before Lucan knocked over back-to-back scores to establish a 0-14 to 1-5 buffer at the break.
Although this meant they were well on course to come away with the silverware on offer, Sarsfields had reason to be wary of a Davis side that now had the elements at their disposal.
The Tallaght side had shown enough in the opening period to suggest a fightback might be on the cards and there was plenty of experience within their starting line-up as well.
Along with the aforementioned Waddick and Murray, inside forward Conor Guilfoyle featured for Davis in their Dublin Senior One Football Championship semi-final defeat to eventual champions Kilmacud Crokes on October 2 at Parnell Park.
Yet Lucan had plenty of know-how themselves, both on and off the field of play.
Lavin is already a pivotal member of the Sarsfields senior side and his adult team-mate Darren Gavin – who has donned the blue of Dublin at various levels in recent years – was part of the club’s management set-up for this encounter.
Thanks to goalkeeper Alex Bernie and midfielder Henry Keogh, Lucan created a strong platform off their kick-outs that eventually helped them to reinforce their authority in attack.
Lavin was to end the proceedings with an outstanding haul of 11 points, but Charlie Keher and Jack Behan also worked their way onto the scoresheet.
Lawlor added a goal in the closing minutes to bring his personal tally up to 1-5 and this ensured there was a safe distance between the teams in the end.
