Dublin 1-24 Carlow 0-22

By Kieran Murphy at Netwatch Cullen Park

Dublin had to dig deep in this Leinster senior hurling championship second round game at Netwatch Cullen Park on Saturday. Only a three-pointer in the final quarter put distance between the sides with Carlow testing and pushing the pre-match favourites all the way.

The goal was of the lucky variety. The home side had led by four points at half-time and while Dublin got their noses in front in the final stages it was a tame 59th minute shot from Fergal Whiteley which finally broke the Carlow resistance.

When the Dublin substitute took possession out on the left he would surely have had point on his mind but the ball never looked like going over the bar. Instead the sliotar arrowed its way towards the posts and dipped just under the crossbar as both Dublin and Carlow players tried to secure possession.

As Carlow struggled to recover from the concession, Dublin half-backs, Eoghan O’Donnell and Chris Crummey subsequently fired over a point each which helped to kill off the challenge of the 2023 Joe McDonagh Cup winners.

Carlow gave as good as they got in the first half. From the outset, the Barrowsiders had harried and harassed all around them. Dublin hit nine wides in the opening half and not all were down to just bad shooting. Marty Kavanagh led the Carlow attack scoring six points from placed balls and play. Jon Nolan also fired over two fine points for Carlow while Conor Kehoe, Fiachra Fitzpatrick and Paddy Boland were also on the mark.

As the Metropolitans fought to raise their game, they made a series of errors hitting a quickly taken free over the side-line while Carlow also intercepted a number of moves to turn defence into attack. The home side’s interval lead of 0-13 to 0-9 was fully deserved. Neither side could build up any momentum.

In the early stages of the second half, Dublin keeper, Sean Brennan brought off a brilliant diving save from Conor Kehoe. That would would prove to be a huge moment in the contest.

It was probably the home side’s best chance and from there Dublin slowly, but surely gained the upper-hand. The goal was the killer blow but Conor Burke’s three second half points were vital too. Dublin enterprise was rewarded with three of their starting backs all scoring from play.

Scorers for Dublin: Donal Burke 0-9 (8fs), Fergal Whiteley 1-1, Conor Burke 0-3, Danny Sutcliffe, Eoghan O’Donnell, Daire Gray 0-2 each, Chris Crummey, Cian O’Sullivan, Sean Currie, Paul Doyle, Dara Purcell 0-1 each.

Scorers for Carlow: Marty Kavanagh 0-13 (65 10fs), Jon Nolan 0-3, Chris Kehoe 0-2, Fiachra Fitzpatrick, Ciaran Whelan, Chris Nolan, Paddy Boland 0-1 each.

DUBLIN: Sean Brennan; John Bellew, Paddy Smyth, Paddy Doyle; Chris Crummey, Conor Donohoe, Eoghan O’Donnell; Mark Grogan, Conor Burke; Ronan Hayes, Donal Burke, Daire Gray; Danny Sutcliffe, Cian O’Sullivan, Sean Currie.
Subs: Darragh Power for Grogan (h/t), Fergal Whitley for Hayes (42), Paul Crummey for Currie (58), Dara Purcell for Sutcliffe (63), James Madden for O’Donnell (63).

CARLOW: Ciaran Abbey; Paul Doyle, Dion Wall, Niall Bolger; Jack Kavanagh, Kevin McDonald, Fiachra Fitzpatrick; Ciaran Whelan, Jack McCullagh; Jon Nolan, Tony Lawlor, Marty Kavanagh; Conor Kehoe, Chris Nolan, Paddy Boland.
Subs: John Michael Nolan for Whelan (48), Richard Coady for J Kavanagh (60), Fiach O’Toole for Fitzpatrick (65), Scott Treacy for C Nolan (65).

Referee: Caymon Flynn (Westmeath).