Mahon’s nerves of steel seals the deal for Mark’s

EXTRA-TIME was necessary to split St Mark’s and Commercials in the Dublin Junior ‘H’ Hurling Championship Final, with the former battling to a 2-12 to 0-17 win at McGee Park on Sunday.

Deep into extra-time, it was a game of two possible deciding frees.

After Commercials skewed their placed ball wide, the Saints guided their deadball between the posts to claim the title.

However, everything that came before that deciding Gar Mahon free in the 80- minutes of hurling enthralled the crowd in a game chock full of twists and turns that could have went either way.

While Mahon’s nerves of steel sealed the deal, it was the tenacity of Liam McLoughlin that spurred St Mark’s on in their quiet moments.

McLoughlin was awe-inspiring at centre-forward and dragged his team through spells in the game, while the likes of Stephen Loughlin and Callum Byrne ran at the Commercials backline.

In a team full of young players, the experience of Mark’s legends Fran McCann, Colly Donoghue and Barry Redmond did a lot to get their team across the line.

Veteran McCann rolled back the years and put on a clinic at centre-back while Donoghue and Redmond were as energetic as ever in the forward line.

Spearheaded by McCann, defenders Michael Kavanagh, Chris Mullen and Hayden Moore worked tirelessly to keep Commercials at bay while goalkeeper Keane Jago minded the net.

Meanwhile, down the other end, Darragh Doyle proved to be a major problem with his aerial ability and physical threat, eventually finding the net having hit the crossbar earlier in the game.

After some quality build-up play, McLoughlin eventually doubled his team’s goals tally.

On multiple occasions, St Mark’s carved out a lead only for Commercials to work their way back into contention, ultimately bringing the game into extra time.

A well-organised outfit, the third team representing the Rathcoole club pushed the second Mark’s team to the pin of their collar in the two extra periods.

However, with ice-cold blood running through his veins, Gar Mahon stepped up and delivered a gigantic game-winning point from way out the field to take the title.